Category: current events

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Iran, US and Canadian News, The Writing Life, and Queer Eye

What a great day!

Okay, that was overcompensating. It’s not all that cheery, what with the Doomsday Clock moving forward to just 85 seconds to midnight. Then there are the protests where people are getting killed. You’re thinking Minnesota, but the terrors are visiting Iran, too.

In an excellent podcast interview everyone should hear, a friend of mine talks about what’s going on in Iran. You need to hear this. Find Sher Kruse, author of Stoic Empathy, on the Chicago Unscripted Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s the January 28th episode: “Revolution and Death on the Streets of Iran.”

Sher believes a war with Iran is inevitable, but it’s not all doom and gloom. I especially liked her bus analogy. The bus won’t necessarily take you all the way to a solution, but it will bring you closer to better days. Too often, people say, “If we can’t fix everything immediately, we may as well not try to do anything at all.”

Striving for progress, not perfection, is how change happens.

In this morning’s episode of The Writing Life (and other things):

1. Don Lemon arrested.
2. A spam folder come-on. My work is headed for Hollywood! (Really? No.)
3. The final season of Queer Eye is done. The show’s uplifting message was somewhat undermined by friction within the cast. Karamo says he was bullied. If Antoni was in on that, I really don’t want to know and I’m not looking it up. He seems such a nice young man from Canada. It’s unthinkable. But Tan? Yeah, I can see that. And Jonathan must be exhausting. I always liked Bobby and Jeremiah.

The home reno was always the real workhorse of the show. For instance:

Tan: Let me show you the French tuck again to hide the belly.
Antoni: Sweet guy, heart on his sleeve. “Here’s how to cook with your family and elevate a burger.”
Jonathan: Says honey a lot. Dances. Clown manqué. Good at coloring hair, doesn’t do fades, needs to get more aggressive about trimming beards tighter.
Karamo: Asks the heroes good, thought-provoking questions. “Let’s go make you some business cards.”
Bobby and Jeremiah: “Let’s do the impossible in a week and transform your messy hovel into a lovely home.”

US News:

The Feds arrested Don Lemon for being a journalist!

The First Amendment (and Second, and Fourth) are just so old hat, I guess. Don Lemon spent a night in jail, but this prosecution/persecution is going nowhere (99.1% sure, anyway).

Maybe the Feds are using the Don Lemon arrest to distract from taking the ballots in Georgia. That will drum up a lot of propaganda about an election that has already been litigated and re-litigated. Trump has even accused Obama of election conspiracies when Obama was out of power. The poorest little billionaire whines that an election that he won was fixed. What?

Also, Pam Bondi? Speaking of distractions, any ETA on those Epstein files, or is the erasing of Trump’s presence there still not done? And by “presence,” I mean damning evidence.

Meanwhile, in Canada

Treasonous Albertans are trying to secede. I lived in Alberta for four years. Nice folks, generally. The few who fantasize about leaving Canada underestimate the cost to themselves of untangling from one of the greatest countries in the world. Going to US administration officials for big cash to facilitate this nonsense is treason, by the way. But bang on, ya knobs! Every insult is fuel for the wider, unapologetic patriotism among Canucks.

We didn’t always have a 24-hour news cycle.

Remember that? And yet, we can’t seem to squeeze it all in. So much news comes so fast, we’ve forgotten that policy-based politics is supposed to be boring. Distractions abound. Our attention is fragmented, and our bandwidth is too narrow. Some block out all the noise so they get no signal. Others are just busy trying to get through the day and make it pay. I can’t blame them, but those who can do something to save the future must do so.

This morning’s spam folder had this silly anonymous offer:

Hello,
I specialize in promoting high-quality book stories to film producers who routinely review written material for potential adaptation. When a producer shows interest in a story, authors are typically compensated in the range of $2,000–$3,000, depending on the strength and market appeal of the work.
Your book aligns with the type of material currently being reviewed. Would you like a brief overview of how the promotion process works? 

They could have at least gone to the trouble of signing it, making up a company, and telling me which of my books will soon go to the silver screen and win an Oscar. Bleh! Stop it!

FINAL THOUGHTS ON QUEER EYE AND MONEY

On the final episode of Queer Eye, the hero was a handsome, funny, and charming tour guide in Washington supporting a wife and five kids. Self-care is good, but watching this guy get told to be more present and take time for himself, all I could think was, “IN THIS ECONOMY?!”

NOTE: My wife worked as a tour guide and bus driver in Toronto, Quebec, and Niagara Falls for a few summers. It’s not a high-paying job. Tip: Next time you’re on a tour, tip generously if you can.

Anyway, the tour guide is dancing as fast as he can, and the Fab Five are telling him to somehow carve more time out of the clock and still make enough money to eat? His first kid was going off to college. I hope it was a great scholarship. The house renovation was nice. It was all nice. I enjoyed most of the entire run of QE. But that tour guide didn’t need a lecture on motivation and time management. He needs money.

The first episode of this final season was the best. Expect a few laughs and a lot of ugly crying. Expect to see Antoni Porowski as a judge on cooking shows from now until the end of civilization. Hopefully, that’s gives us all a lot of time.

That’s the wrap-up for Friday, January 8.

Bonus content below:

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Stay Safe. We’ll Wait.

I’m a novelist who writes dystopian, apocalyptic, and crime fiction. My current income from over 40 books is far less than I made from far fewer books in 2011. I have to be honest, though. I can’t be mad about it.

Most of my readers are from the United States, where health insurance premiums are shooting up. Disposable income is down. It’s spiraled into a dystopian nightmare where Nazis write their own warrants to bust into homes. Children are getting kidnapped by government agents. Innocent people are assaulted and incarcerated without due process.

You’ve seen the video of a gaggle of ICE agents murdering people in Minnesota while gaslighters from the federal government libel the victims and tell you not to trust your lying eyes.

Reading novels isn’t the priority right now. Protesting, justice, and a general strike are top of mind. This is not to devalue art. It’s a sad acknowledgment of what is. I see you. I care. Yes, fiction can act as a wonderful distraction from ugly reality. Novels transport us. I love putting movies in your heads. That’s not the mood many are in right now. I get that, and I am sincerely sorry for all you’re going through.

My hope is that sanity will return. My wish is that all of you will be safe. My worry is that, though the chaos is concentrated in Minnesota at the moment, you are all in danger. One day, this will all be over. As the famous book title goes, one day everyone will always have been against this.

In the meantime, please stay as safe as you can.

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No apologies

Citizen Second Class

America has fallen.

The rich have retreated behind the walls of the fortress they call New Atlanta. They won’t give up their power easily. Oppression and starvation gave birth to the Resistance, but every rebellion needs a champion.

Desperate to save her grandmother, Kismet Beatriz must make the journey to infiltrate the stronghold of the Select Few.

From the author of This Plague of Days comes a near-future thriller built for fans of Nineteen Eighty-four and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Endemic

Endemic won the prestigious North Street Book Prize in genre fiction, the Literary Titan Award, and first place in science fiction at both the New York Book Festival and the Hollywood Book Festival.

Ovid Fairweather is a neurodivergent book editor in New York when a deadly plague sweeps the United States. Bullied by her father, haunted by her dead therapist, and hunted by marauders, Ovid must find courage amid the chaos to become the person she was always meant to be.

She was a nail. She will become a hammer.

I am Robert Chazz Chute, and I hate police states.

Being against fascism shouldn’t be a controversial choice, but our world has changed. If you’re looking for anti-fascist news, check out #worldtok on TikTok or read HuffPost.

If you’re looking for inspiration, read Citizen Second Class and Endemic.

Whether you defy, flee, or resist, I’m on your side.

Never 51. Elbows up. Hands off.

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You Are In Danger

We love Americans, but we’re fed up with His Golden Weakness. We are angry with the new administration and Trump’s wild lies. He has declared a trade war on us and other allies. He deals in threats, but we’re all going to hurt financially. This isn’t just about money, either. There will be mortal wounds, too.

Families will be broken up and displaced as xenophobia continues to rise. Women and minorities will continue to be disenfranchised. Millions will be denied health care and impoverished as a handful of billionaires laugh and hoard their money. Human rights will be denied. There is no long-term strategic thinking here. Instead, he lies and blames vulnerable and powerless groups for any and all problems. There is no regard for facts or expertise. Even freedom of speech, long-cherished and lauded by Americans, is off the table with his latest edict to quell protests on campuses. The bullying tactics won’t end there.

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” ~ Elon Musk

“The fundamental basis of a civilization is empathy and cooperation. Also, fuck off, Phony Stark. You asked for the chance to solve world hunger and decided not to.” ~ Robert Chazz Chute

As the POTUS devalues Canadians, insults us, and demands we bend the knee, his citizens are hostages to his whims. Those who don’t understand that soon will. Canada was the United States’ biggest customer. We’re trying to buy Canadian products and services now. We’re resisting when and where we can. The wait has begun.

How long before his supporters (those who aren’t TFG*) realize he’s hurting them more than helping? Will we have to wait until polio comes raging back? Will it be grocery prices skyrocketing, the inability to buy a car, or another pandemic that finally gives his believers pause? How long before his cult wakes from their sleep to realize that no one is made stronger in isolation?

The bright future we all dream of is struggling for air. He can’t say he’s the leader of the free world anymore. Former American allies are turning away from the madness and chaos. We will still move toward that hoped-for future, but at a slower pace now. Fascism is on the rise, and we are all getting pulled into a war where there is no winner.

I sell most of my novels in the United States, so yes, this post could hurt me financially. Someone is bound to be offended as I call for an end to bullying, fascism, and foolish decisions based on ego. However, fiction is the lie that tells the truth. I always try to tell the truth. The truth is, you, reading this right now, are in danger. We’re all in danger. I just hope the whole mess is not TFG.

*TFG = Too Far Gone

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Do You Hear the People Sing?

Good news isn’t here yet, but it’s coming. Something interesting is happening. A fire has started, and the Resistance is beginning to rise. If you’re on TikTok, you need to check out two things: #worldtok and #bostontok. I found a lot of hope for the future there. Let me explain why, and maybe your mood will improve, too.

#WorldTok

I listen to a lot of American creators. Unsurprisingly, the messages from the Divided States of America are mixed. It’s a culture at war with itself. A creator can make a trenchant argument, but it often falls on deaf ears. It’s not because of shadow banning or malicious reporting of accounts (though that does occur). It’s because the debaters are unwilling to hear solid factual information based on data. They’re not there to engage. They’re there to yell. They aren’t listening, and they have little ability to self-regulate. Guys yelling “Trump!” and pretending that’s the end of the debate have to get muted often.

Please note: There is a vast chasm between an assertion and an argument. To demonstrate, here is an example from a recent TikTok debate:

“He’s the best because I say he’s the best! And I’m an alpha!” (Those are two dubious assertions.)

Reasonable Reply: “Let me tell you about the number of follies, dangers, and pitfalls ahead for this administration. Look at this bill here. For starters, the GOP plan does not include his no tax on tips campaign promise — “

Yelling over the host: “Pussy!” (That’s also an assertion, not an argument.”

Coarse friction is not the way things often go on #worldtok. Watching creators from other countries share their thoughts is actually calming. They discuss moving away from the United States politically and financially. Americans can object to that reality. I understand why they would. However, the POTUS expects friends and allies to grovel at his feet. He pursues isolationist policies. No wonder so many have decided to cut ties with the USA. Your leadership moved away from us first.

Pushing the world toward nuclear proliferation isn’t good. Pushing allies away from trade with the US and toward China isn’t necessarily great. I do like listening to the thoughtful garden party discussions on #worldtok, though. It’s solution-oriented. There’s a lot less yelling and a lot more listening.

Note to Americans: The common message is, “We don’t hate American citizens, but their leader sure is a petulant asshole. We used to see the States as strong. Trump is both silly or dangerous.

#BostonTok

Tom Homan, the head of ICE, warned Bostonians to get out of his way. He made it sound like Boston was about to be under siege by ICE agents. With much contempt, he threatened Boston, adding, “Hell’s coming with me!” (Jesus H. Murphy, this fuckin’ guy! Don’t ruin a great line from the movie Tombstone. Kurt Russell must hate this.)

Besides, “hell,” the way Wyatt Earp meant it, conveys that justice is coming. ICE hunting and detaining the undocumented, the documented, and American citizens with accents has nothing to do with justice. It does sound like hell, though.

The tough-guy posturing backfired in an extremely delightful way. Boston pride is strong, and they don’t like to be pushed around in ICE’s quest to round up immigrants. Boston school boards have already sprung into action to protect children. Bus drivers are under orders to keep the kids on the bus if ICE agents are waiting for them. Bostonians are moved to protect the undocumented and tell ICE officers to piss off. Gotta say, Boston has never been cooler.

A sampling #BostonTok responses from Bostonians:


“We started a revolution here before. Ever heard of the Tea Party? We’ll tip Teslas into the harbor.”

“Hell’s coming with you? Comin’ to Boston, that’s like taking sand to the beach.”

“You don’t understand Boston, or New England.”

“You’re gonna get chased down the street by a leprechaun with a fuckin’ baseball bat!”

“Don’t start a fight with the Irish.”

“You don’t get Boston Strong. Twelve years ago, we shut down the whole city just to get two people! You thnk we’re gonna put up with ya?”

And best of all, my favorite comment comes right out of Spider-Man:

“YOU COME FOR ONE OF US, YOU COME FOR ALL OF US!”

I got teary when I heard that line in the movie. Teared up again hearing it on #bostontok. That is the motto of true defenders. That’s the resistance energy we need.

You know what else is great? These messages are coming from ordinary but passionate and compassionate people. It’s not a bunch of roided-up bravado from a bunch of dude-bros on too many testosterone shots and beer kegs. They don’t sound like Tom Homan, at all. Instead, many of the defenders are women. A bunch are older women, too. They’ll organize. They’ll protest. They’ll find ways to change hearts and minds. They’ll make politicians understand their seats of power are not thrones. The leaders’ job is to serve the American people, not kick all the supports out from the so-called “underclasses.”

I do not hope for violence, of course. That would harm innocent people and could be highly counterproductive. However, I appreciate the shift in energy from helplessness to proud defiance.

The first five weeks of DJT’s reign have been riddled with mistakes and disasters. Damage is done to international relationships that will take generations to repair. The world is changing, and the next four years will be perilous. There is hope, though. People who voted for him are beginning to see how he’ll hurt them.

As the injuries pile up and the regrets deepen, his popularity will plummet. It’s already happening. The negative outcomes will be terrible, but we are beginning to see cracks in his power base. It’s early in his administration, and he’s flailing, lashing out in every direction. His only clear loyalties are to Teflon Muck, Putin, and himself. More of his subjects will remember their nation was forged in defiance of the whims of kings.

The Resistance has begun. It’s a low hum in the background at the moment. Someday, maybe soon, it will finally grow to a roar.

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Managing Stress in a Stupid Timeline

Something I’ve noticed lately is the number of people who end conversations with, “Stay safe.” We didn’t used to say that so often, but we sure do now. Given all that’s going on, that makes lots of sense. Besides the carelessness of those in power, misinformation, and disinformation are a couple of reasons why we’re in danger. Today, I have thoughts on why that is.

Alternatively, you can skip to the bottom of this post for stress management suggestions.


In our stupid timeline, there is no social cost for being a rabid conspiracy theorist. RFK, for instance, says he wants to make sure vaccines are safe. That will be difficult to prove to him since he doesn’t believe existing scientific research. He is dangerous, and more people will die because of him. His reward? More power to enact his dumbassery.

More Knuckleheads

It’s so strange to see people arguing the world is flat. How does that flashback to the ancient world fit? As they argue, they’re bouncing the twit signal off satellites to their cell phones. We have so much information at our fingertips, but some of us are terrible at critical thinking.

Flat Earthers are easy to stump. Are all the pilots on Earth in on it? What’s their motivation? Is Big Oblate Sphere paying everybody off? Why? How? If the Earth is flat, why can’t I see all the aircraft at once with a telescope? And we don’t have a single picture of the great ice wall that keeps us from falling off the edge? Weird. What could the explanation be? Are the answers stupid? They’re stupid, aren’t they?

Why do silly people defend their silliness?

In This Plague of Days, I came up with a line I think about often: A rational argument doesn’t work on an irrational person. Are there real conspiracies? Sure, there are a few that are real, but silly people aren’t interested in the actual and factual. Truth isn’t their point. Their convictions spring from fear and self-aggrandizement. Ignorant and unintelligent is a tough way to live.

Please note:

There is evidence that informed and bright is no picnic in the park, either.

But back to dumbassery. If the conspiracy theorists know something you don’t, they can feel superior. Go deeper, and you’ll find their fear. They are searching for a feeling of control in a world that is out of control. For that, I sympathize. I feel for them because they’re right about something. They’re trying to claw back some power wherever they can because they feel helpless.

In some regard, we are all helpless.

Things can go along great, but then a crack in your windshield shatters your budget. You feel good and strong, but then the doctor calls to talk about that recent blood test. We are all subject to the changing whims of global political forces. Hundreds of variables can affect your stress. A bit of delusional thinking can really aid in alleviating that problem. We feel more power when we ignore certain things (e.g. mortality, the underpaid underclasses, and that your cat often thinks about eating you).

Control is an illusion.

Jean-Luc Picard said that, so it must be true. But where does that leave us? How about we take our delusions of grandeur in a more useful and positive direction? Here are my humble suggestions:

  • Be more social. It extends your life. (As an introvert, I’m wary of this, but I’m trying.)
  • Support your friends.
  • Accept support.
  • Read more fiction that you know is fiction.
  • Read credible non-fiction books (i.e. not RFK’s book).
  • Ease up on the doom scrolling.
  • Make more jokes. Find more reasons to laugh.
  • Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do.
  • Self-care might mean a spa day, but a long hot bath or shower after a walk in the woods is cheaper.
  • In my book Do The Thing, I paradoxically suggested that you keep your to-do list short and your to-don’t list long.
  • Declutter.
  • Exercise.
  • Stretch and take more deep abdominal breaths to make your nervous system less nervous.
  • Help someone else, and you’ll feel better.
  • Start on that thing you’ve been putting off for months that will take less than twenty minutes to complete.
  • For bigger projects, just start on a small bit. Tell yourself you’ll only tackle it for a short time. You’ll probably get more done. Starting is hard. Continuing is easier.
  • Ask yourself, “Is this thing I’m doing giving me value?” (It’s okay to stop doing things that aren’t helping you.)
  • Ask yourself, “Am I setting myself on fire to keep others warm?” (I’ve done this one a lot!)
  • Those mistakes you made long ago? You regret them. The person who made those mistakes isn’t you anymore, are they?
  • To preserve your energy and sanity, stop trying so hard to change others. Start with you. People resent a good example less than a doofus slinging decrees.
  • People say love is the answer (though fudge yields the same happy hit on the neurons).
  • Give up on measuring your accomplishments by other people’s metrics. Your happiness is not about what you should want. It’s about what you really want.

When the oxygen masks drop on the plane, you put the mask on your face first so you can breathe. Only then can you assist others. Take care of yourself. Stay safe.

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Our Brains and Why All Empires Fall

One of the strangest turns in the news came this week when an alarming and easily predicted future became mundane history. Trump posted, “Long live the King.” That wasn’t surprising. However, some of his cult members backed him by celebrating. “Trump is king!” Many of these same folks post 1776 in their social media bios. Knuckleheaded knuckledraggers may know their country’s history. It seems they’ve abandoned the values they claimed they most cherished. Monarchy is back, baby! Get used to it!

Reminds one of the so-called evangelicals who, last year, decided to let go the gentler teachings of Christ. Jesus was “too woke” for our troubled times, apparently. They still call themselves Christian, just meaner and in a roid rage, I guess.

What feeds this nonsense? Bias.

There are many types of cognitive bias that affect us. There is hindsight bias, loss aversion bias, the gambler’s fallacy, and the beastly Dunning-Kruger effect. The D-K effect plus confirmation bias is a lethal combination, dangerous to civilization. Those are the better-known afflictions. I have a couple of favorites that may not be on your radar:

Survivor Bias

Survivor bias goes like this: “We live in a land of opportunity! I make a lot of money, so why can’t everybody else?”

This bias plays into the myth of the self-made individual. It ignores a plethora of historical, systemic, and personal variables. This bias turns the principle of fair financial compensation into a cruel game of keep-away. When interviewed, successful people often extol the virtue of hard work. Only a few self-aware ones say, “I worked hard, but I got incredibly lucky! I made it, but I’m not altogether sure how, but I know I’m an outlier.” It’s much more tempting to believe “I built X and now own a couple of yachts because I’m a genius.”

Lots of people work hard and are never adequately compensated. If success were so easily replicable, more people would attain it. For instance, if you’re a nepobaby who won the genetic lottery, the path to stardom is paved with pillows. Nobody who catches those breaks talks about that. When asked the secret to their success, I’ve heard actors say, “I know my lines and I show up on time.” Learning a script can be difficult, but showing up on time? You mean like every other employee on the planet? That’s blind privilege talking, you handsome dunce. That’s survivor bias.

Survivor bias doesn’t come up first as one of the more lethal societal ills, but it is dangerous. It feeds a delusion that’s used as a cudgel on the oppressed and unfortunate. If the poor deserve to be poor, you only care if you’re poor. Not much room for kindness and mercy there, huh? Survivor bias makes its believer a terrible person and everyone else worse off.

Normalcy Bias

An author friend messaged me to ask, since I write apocalyptic novels, does our current political situation feel like I’m living in one of my books? I’ve written about the many ways empires fall. My back catalog includes zombies, vampires, AI domination, killer robots, alien invasion, meteors, climate crises, disease, nuclear conflagration, mass poverty, and famine. Lots of fun to explore in fiction, right? What’s unfolding now, though? I couldn’t write it because so much of it sounds outlandish, too dumb, and replete with hissy fits. Nuclear stockpile inspectors and warhead assembly experts getting fired en masse sounds too silly, doesn’t it? That happened. Then somebody said, “Oopsy! Get them back! Where are their email addresses? What do you mean you deleted their email addresses?”

The doomsday clock is now 89 seconds to midnight. The world is teetering toward all your worst nightmares. Still, we carry on, believing that cooler heads will prevail. That, my friends, is normalcy bias.

The courts decided they couldn’t allow a presidential candidate to go to jail for even one day for his crimes. He should have been confined for contempt and endangering officers of the court, at the very least. Didn’t happen. Couldn’t happen. That was normalcy bias at its dark and dirty work. You’ve always been told no one is above the law. Obviously not so.

The objection always comes to changing circumstances: “X can’t happen because it’s never happened before. It would be unprecedented!”

This is a recurring theme in my fiction (and my answer to this complaint):

Everything is unprecedented until it’s not.

Normalcy bias keeps you dangerously comfortable. It assures you that the health insurance you have relied on will always be there for you. Why? Because it always has been. To lose it would be unprecedented! (See above.)

Normalcy bias kept endangered people from fleeing Germany before World War II broke out. Normalcy bias assures people that all their investments are safe until the stock market collapses. Normalcy bias made Canadians, Mexicans, and all NATO allies feel that the United States government would be their friend. The news reveals the truth: People have friends. Governments have interests.

Human behavior, mental illness, and neurobiology are interests I try to monetize by writing novels with flawed characters. Sometimes, they suffer mental health issues like mine (anxiety, for one instance). Other times, they use their knowledge to manipulate others. It’s fun in fiction. When cognitive biases dominate our media intake and the political sphere, ignorant people transform into monsters and innocent people suffer and die. Our biases make us more vulnerable to personal and systemic failure. Ignorance can be cured easily, but stupid is much more complicated.

Biases kill.

(On the other hand, when I meet with literary agents in April, I’ll pull from my bag of tricks in the pitch meetings to sell my next book, but that’s another post. Villainous laughter: Mwah-ha-ha-ha!)

In the meantime, have you read All Empires Fall yet?

Why all Empires Fall