An American Saga: The evolution, the oligarchy, and a prediction

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us.

It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken.

Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

--Carl Sagan

By J. Basil Dannebohm

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, a celebrity Democrat turned Republican President, granted an Australian named Rupert Murdoch U.S. citizenship after being in the country for only one year. Reagan then ordered his FCC Chairman to scrap the Fairness Doctrine that required broadcasters to present balanced and impartial coverage of controversial issues and current events. Ever since, Murdoch has been brainwashing Americans with tabloid journalism that rarely passes the litmus test of what qualifies as "news." His manipulative efforts are part of an ongoing decades-long plan to dismantle democracy as we know it, replacing it with an American Oligarchy.

In the mid-2000s, celebrity Democrat Donald Trump’s business ventures were hemorrhaging millions. He was on the verge of losing his ability to exploit a loophole that enabled him to avoid paying taxes. That’s when NBC stepped in and offered the failed businessman a reality series called The Apprentice.

Trump’s “larger-than-life” persona caught Murdoch's attention.

Murdoch, leaders of the Heritage Foundation, the Koch Brothers, and various other wealthy, old, white men were chomping at the bit to implement their long-planned oligarchy. Like Reagan, this group of masterminds wasn’t loyal to one party or the other. They weren’t authentically Republicans or Democrats; they were demagogues, focused on attaining power. Knowing that Democrats are statistically higher educated than Republicans, the masterminds, like Reagan, aligned themselves with the people they found easiest to dupe: The Grand Ol’ Party.

Back in 2015, I cautioned moderate Republicans that Fox News network was homing in on the Tea Party Caucus. I warned, that fueled by Murdoch’s propaganda machine, the caucus would eventually evolve into a full-blown cult once they found the right figurehead to lead the charge. Murdoch and the other masterminds viewed the so-called Tea Party “Patriots” (voters from rural areas of red states) as a dumb enough demographic to carry out the oligarchy plan without realizing they were being duped.

The masterminds evidently recalled the words of the Roman poet Juvenal, who famously coined the phrase, "panem et circenses," which translates "bread and circuses.” It refers to a concept wherein the government would provide its citizens with free food and entertainment in the form of spectacles, such as gladiator fights and chariot races. The strategy was employed by the ruling class to keep the population content and distracted from important political issues and matters of governance.

Observing that far-right “Patriots” were obsessed with football, wrestling, NASCAR, and reality television, Murdoch and the masterminds knew they had found the man to transition the Tea Party from caucus to cult.

That man was Donald J. Trump.

Shortly after my warning, which fell on deaf ears, Trump, like Reagan, would evolve from celebrity Democrat to Republican Presidential candidate. The rest, as they say, is history.

In his book, “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle,” author Chris Hedges writes:

"Today cinematic, political, and journalistic celebrities distract us with their personal foibles and scandals. They create our public mythology. Acting, politics, and sports have become, as they were in Nero's reign, interchangeable. In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we neither seek nor want honesty or reality. Reality is complicated. Reality is boring. We are incapable or unwilling to handle its confusion. We ask to be indulged and comforted by clichés, stereotypes, and inspirational messages that tell us we can be whoever we seek to be, that we live in the greatest country on earth, that we are endowed with superior moral and physical qualities, and that our future will always be glorious and prosperous, either because of our own attributes or our national character or because we are blessed by God. In this world, all that matters is the consistency of our belief systems. The ability to amplify lies, to repeat them and have surrogates repeat them in endless loops of news cycles, gives lies and mythical narratives the aura of uncontested truth. We become trapped in the linguistic prison of incessant repetition. We are fed words and phrases like 'war on terror' or 'pro-life' or 'change,' and within these narrow parameters, all complex thought, ambiguity, and self-criticism vanish.”

Just as the Tea Party evolved into the MAGA cult and Trump evolved into a “conservative,” the oligarchs also evolved. What was once a swampy cabal of geriatric oil tycoons and media moguls has grown to include “tech-bros” from Silicon Valley such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel. Like the elder masterminds, none of the tech-bros are loyal to partisan platforms. They are devoted exclusively to unchecked, self-serving power. They prey on the political party they perceive as dumb enough to help them achieve their goal.

And so, we find ourselves in our present reality.

In an essay from 1943 entitled, “Religion and Time,” Aldous Huxley wrote, “Reality cannot be ignored, except at a price; and the longer the ignorance is persisted in, the higher and more terrible becomes the price that must be paid.”

America must now pay the price for years of embracing reckless “cinematic” politics, as Hedges referred to it, and blatant political ignorance.

We ignored gerrymandering, overlooked voter discrimination, enabled snake oil lobbyists, and disregarded corrupt donations and PACs because those things didn’t affect us. In a similar fashion, our inclination to re-elect the incumbent candidate (the “safe” and “easy” option) time and again, without giving it a second thought, led to this moment.

It’s been said that ignorance is bliss. We were blissful and content, too comfortable with the status quo, turning a blind eye to politics, focusing our attention instead on football, pop stars, and reality television – just as Hedges observed and the masterminds banked on.

As we largely ignored what was happening in DC, in state legislatures, and even in our local governments, the framework for this present coup was being meticulously planned at conferences and training sessions orchestrated by the masterminds behind the American Oligarchy.

Thus, here we are.

Donald Trump has returned to power. Murdoch’s Fox News is an even stronger propaganda powerhouse. The Heritage Foundation’s infamous Project 2025 is being implemented page-by-page. Most of the tech-bros have purchased posh mansions in the D.C. beltway and regularly show up unannounced in the West Wing. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg randomly walked in on a top-secret national security meeting. Elon Musk has done the same thing. Peter Thiel’s “big brother” inspired technology is being implemented across various federal departments.

Trump’s return to Washington has desecrated democracy and “sacred institutions” in ways most Americans never imagined were possible. Sadly, most Americans, especially the “poorly educated,” who Trump loves so dearly, failed to learn from history. Adding insult to injury, with both Congress and the Supreme Court in the President’s favor, checks and balances no longer exist.

British philosopher Bertrand Russell once quipped, "First they fascinate the fools then they muzzle the intelligent."

Americans who haven’t been inebriated by the Kool-Aid find themselves engaged in an arduous battle against the forces of misinformation. In a move straight out of the fascist playbook, the regime, with the assistance of the tech-bros, has imposed restrictions on free-speech. Though the U.S. Constitution has guaranteed the right to a free press for nearly 240 years, Trump, his Congressional cronies, and the masterminds behind the American Oligarchy desire state media akin to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. In other words: a propaganda mill and misinformation machine.

Tariffs, mass deportations, and the termination of federal employees are all tactics rooted in a sinister desire for destabilization. It’s all part of a dirty game of chess where the poor and the middle class are the pawns.

On September 27th, 2024, at a rally in Michigan, Mr. Trump said, "In the 1890s, our country was probably the wealthiest it ever was because it was a system of tariffs. We had a president, you know, McKinley.”

Though his base isn’t particularly fond of facts, history indicates that under William McKinley, banks failed, the unemployment rate was more than 10% for five years, and the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 increased taxes on imported goods while eliminating taxes on luxury items for the wealthy. (Sound familiar?) As a result, the U.S. experienced an economic depression from 1893 to 1897. It’s also worth noting that in 1901 McKinley was assassinated six months into his second term of office.

Still, Trump maintains that America is making “record revenue” from his tariffs. The fact remains: that “revenue” the dictator speaks of is taxes paid by the American people. Yet his delusional cult members, even though they are paying record prices at the grocery store, obediently believe and parrot what they are told, despite experiencing evidence to the contrary with their own eyes and pocketbooks.

When the president announces tariffs, the stock market takes a drop. That’s when wealthy elites purchase massive amounts of stock. Then, after the president rolls back the tariffs, the stock market rebounds. As a result, the rich become even richer.

The “yo-yo” tariff game is already hurting our nation’s farmers. Canada is the number one consumer of the crops grown in the "Golden Belt." As our neighbors to the north slow down the purchase of American grain, it’s only a matter of time before our farmers won’t be able to afford to grow their crops anymore. That's when a member of the wealthy elite will purchase the farmer’s land and sell it to a foreign government at a ridiculously expensive price. It’s already happening across red states that were complicit in Trump’s return to power.

The Vice President stands to benefit should the economic backbone of the Golden Belt lose its collective shirt. In 2020, JD Vance created Narya Capital to fund tech startups. In 2022, Narya provided funding for AcreTrader, an app which describes itself as a "farmland real estate investment company offering low minimum, passive farm investments."

AcreTrader purchases land from farmers and transfers ownership to private limited liability companies, including numerous foreign investors. The remaining shares in the properties are then sold to the public. In many cases the former landowners continue working the farm, becoming minimal shareholders instead of owners. There are no indications that Vance has given up his interest in AcreTrader.

Vance was mentored by tech-bro Peter Thiel, one of the second generation of masterminds to join Murdoch, the Koch Brothers, and the wealthy white “others” intent on dismantling democracy and installing an American Oligarchy.

The Mango Messiah foretells of a new “Golden Age” in America, and his followers consume the lies like communion wine, inebriating themselves on absolute bullshit.

The only people who will enjoy a “Golden Age” are the masterminds who bamboozled the ignorant masses into re-electing a charlatan.

I cannot emphasize this enough: The notion that America’s “golden age” was a time of economic prosperity for all people is frankly nonsense. In fact, it was an era that gave way to the realization that the American dream of a land of opportunity for all people was a myth. It was a time of gross inequality: in wealth, in race, in religion, and in gender.

Billionaires in the U.S. now hold a record $7 trillion in wealth, a $4.1 trillion increase since Trump’s first “tax break.” As political economist Robert Reich noted, “The 35 richest Republican members of Congress have a collective net worth of $2.5 billion. They stand to gain from the GOP budget's tax cuts that disproportionately help the rich. Meanwhile, they're cutting Medicaid and food assistance for millions of their constituents.”

Largely reversing much of FDR’s “New Deal,” Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law on July 4th, 2025, inflicts harm on the 1 in 5 children who rely on SNAP for daily meals and the 35.5% of children who rely on Medicaid for health insurance. Furthermore, it sells off federal land to the highest bidder, forces rural hospitals to close, fully implements Project 2025 – and that’s just the beginning. The Republican-controlled Congress passed a deplorable piece of legislation that punishes “the least of these,” while providing $1.1 trillion in tax breaks to the top 1% of wealthy Americans.

As hurricane season commences and millions of Americans find themselves potentially in harm’s way, $300 million in FEMA funds have been reallocated for Donald Trump to play golf. The Department of Homeland Security, which is already $1 billion over budget, diverted FEMA disaster relief funds to build the “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp at record speed. The GOP’s new Homeland Security funding bill includes a draconian, dehumanizing invasion of privacy requiring “all non-detained migrants” to wear GPS tracking devices as an “alternative to detention." The bill likewise includes an additional $4.4 billion for ICE custody operations and seeks to eliminate FEMA entirely.

Cutting FEMA’s funding was deliberate. When a natural disaster strikes, a property owner's insurance doesn't always provide enough reimbursement to cover the losses. As a result, the displaced property owner is forced to sell. That’s when a member of the wealthy elite can once again swoop in and purchase the property for pennies on the dollar, then resell it for a higher price. Permitting 280 million acres of federal public forests to be chopped down is part of the same game. The Chinese are the largest purchasers of American timber. With our national woodlands approved for sale, the uber wealthy can purchase the land and sell it to a foreign logging company at a higher price.

At this very moment in America, brown-skinned people are being kidnapped off the streets and taken to a concentration camp in Florida to be terrorized by alligators, pythons, and cowardly bigots wearing masks. The Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City, a legal citizen, is being threatened with arrest and deportation because of his religious beliefs and skin color. Women, whose reproductive choices and healthcare should be their private business, are controlled, shamed, and restricted thanks to a bunch of pharisaical activists who are nothing more than pro-BIRTH hypocrites.

This is how an oligarchy works.

On Saturday June 7th, 2025, ICE agents conducted raids in Los Angeles, California. While protestors remained mostly peaceful, some riots broke out, leading to isolated incidents of violence. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described the demonstrations in Los Angeles as an “insurrection.”

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino took to social media to announce that the bureau was investigating alleged instances of demonstrators obstructing immigration enforcement operations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued tweets asserting the regime’s unstoppable power. In response to the protests, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles. In a long, largely unhinged social media diatribe, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that active-duty marines at Camp Pendleton would be mobilized.

The language used by the Trump regime, specifically the use of the words: "insurrection," "invasion," "obstructing," and "abdicated," combined with the overall tone and approach toward the situation, were by no means coincidental. Rather, they suggested the regime was laying out the groundwork to justify and declare martial law, if necessary, to retain their authoritarian grip on American democracy. The synchronized legal language and well-orchestrated response suggested the GOP was almost certainly being coached by the very constitutional lawyers who were the architects of Project 2025, the instruction manual for installing an American Oligarchy.

There was just one problem: Americans were catching wise to the plan. The rush for Martial Law was too quick and too obvious.

Not since The Wizard of Oz made its theatrical debut have Americans witnessed such a bizarre cyclone of uncertain chaos, and few US presidents have been so beholden to “that man behind the curtain” as Donald Trump to the masterminds who control him. Apart from Harry Houdini, no one man has seemingly relied so heavily on smoke and mirrors.

Up until the ICE fiasco in California, most of Trump’s stunts were easily cleaned up through public relations campaigns waged on Murdoch’s Fox News. The executive orders were either self-serving or just plain weird. His statements, including his ambitions to invade Greenland and making Canada the 51st state, were little more than extemporaneous drivel aimed at both shocking and appeasing an audience obsessed with reality television.

However, the military invasion of Los Angeles and the unprovoked strike on Iran that occurred just days later were a bridge too far for even Trump’s most loyal cult members. It was at that point the masterminds who created Trump and were instrumental in his return to power realized something: He was becoming too erratic.

The masterminds knew Trump was unpredictable. He ran as the chaos candidate. His base ate it up. What the puppet masters failed to anticipate was that he would surround himself with fiercely loyal minions this time. During his first reign of terror, the masterminds were able to control the strings through their hand-picked cabinet appointees. This time, that wasn’t the case; in less than six months, they saw their decades-long plan, which was close to fruition, going sour and imploding under an unhinged sociopath. They knew they had to regain control of the situation at any cost.

The Jeffrey Epstein debacle would prove to be yet another shoot-from-the-hip stunt by the regime that would end up imploding. As the fiasco divided his base, Trump went from being cavalier to unhinged, and back to cavalier again, all within a few social media posts. Despite the fact that Americans have the attention span of a rat terrier, they weren’t growing bored with news about the Epstein drama. In fact, they seemed to crave it. Real Housewives of the Potomac had nothing on the scandal embroiling the Trump regime, and reality show-loving Americans wanted more.

Rupert Murdoch saw the public’s thirst for more Epstein news as the perfect opportunity to begin the process of regaining control over the White House. For the masterminds, the time was fast approaching to employ their contingency plan. That plan came in the form of an ace they had up their sleeve for precisely such a moment -- a spineless patsy named JD Vance.

The self-proclaimed “hillbilly,” turned Silicon Valley venture capitalist, turned milquetoast senator, was anointed by the oligarchs as the successor long before he was even on Donald Trump's radar. Vance’s close relationship with Peter Thiel was pivotal. Through clever manipulation by the masterminds, Vance, a man who once referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler,” cozied up to Donald Trump Jr. and, in a style rivaling that of both Judas Iscariot and Marcus Junius Brutus, became one of Junior’s best friends.

When the time came to select a running mate, the Senator from Ohio had ingratiated himself into the inner circle so perfectly that the Trumps thought they had come up with the idea of Vance as Veep on their own.

As the Epstein saga maintained a rolling boil, Murdoch's Wall Street Journal ran a story alleging that Trump sent a lewd birthday card to the predator that included an obscene, albeit sophomoric sketch. While the President was coming completely unhinged over the report, the Vice President was away from Washington on an unscheduled trip to Montana for a private meeting with none other than Murdoch himself. Trump was left in the dark and caught off guard by the meeting.

A little over a week later, the President fled the country bound for Scotland, where he would spend five days playing golf and creating social media posts aimed at distracting his base. Most of those posts were intended to appeal to his cult’s racism, attacking former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Beyonce Knowles, and Oprah Winfrey.

It doesn't take a political scientist or a longtime D.C. “insider” to read the writing on the wall. History shows what happens to the American President when their Vice President sneaks off for private meetings with powerful people.

As far as the masterminds behind the American Oligarchy are concerned, Trump has not only served his purpose; he shit where he ate by disrespecting them. As far as they are concerned, it’s time for the monster they created to take his leave.

Trump took Murdoch's Fox News audience and formed them into a cult that will continue to elect "larger-than-life" personalities like himself and Reagan as leaders. Those larger-than-life personalities have sufficiently brainwashed the gullible masses to an Orwellian level of dystopian delusion. Sufficiently filled with bread and circuses, the cult will likely never wake up from their delirium and realize they were complicit in the downfall of democracy. As former pastor John Pavlovitz observed, "Trump voters will usher in fascism to avoid socialism because they don't know the definition of either term."

As far as the masterminds are concerned, it's time for Vance to step in and complete their decades long mission. Hence, it's only a matter of time before Trump is removed, Vance is installed, the remainder of Project 2025 is enacted, and the masterminds at long last achieve absolute power.

Unlike Trump, Vance can be more easily controlled. He has proven throughout his career to be a shameless opportunist who will say or do anything provided it gives him a stage. Vance, the backup Pinocchio, has no desire to be a real boy. If the puppet masters are to complete their mission, that's precisely the type of person they need in the White House.

Attention-craving MAGA lieutenants, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steve Bannon, are reading the writing on the wall. Consequently, they are beginning to create cracks in Trump's shell, sowing seeds of division in what was once seen as an impenetrable base. Greene knows the masterminds control Washington. As a former legislator myself I've attended some of the very same propaganda meetings she now attends. I know the rhetoric they employ. I know their master plan. A decade ago, I tried to issue a warning. Nobody listened, but several people went to great lengths to silence me. A number of individuals of various political persuasions simply said I was crazy.

All indications suggest the joke is on them.

Over the last year, I have written political commentaries weekly. Thus far, every prediction I’ve made, including Trump’s return to power, has come to pass with 100% accuracy. When the mainstream media was listening to Allan Lichtman, a university history professor known as the “Nostradamus of Elections,” I said he was wrong, and as usual, I was ignored.

Nevertheless, I’ll make another prediction: Donald's days are numbered.

The means by which he falls from power, I cannot say. However, as somebody who dedicated a decade of his life to investigating religious and political extremist movements, I have a fairly good idea from both research and history as to how situations like this typically end. One thing is almost certain: Trump’s fall from power won't come because of some "radical left lunatic." His career will end through the actions of the same people who created his political persona.

The Trump children seem to notice that sharks are circling his sinking ship. Part of their contingency plan appears to include making business deals and forging lives for themselves in elite-friendly nations such as Costa Rica and Dubai. Melania likewise seems to know the ride is almost over, covering her eyes in most public appearances and largely avoiding 1600 Penn like the plague.

Though I don’t know how long it will take before America suffers a Vance presidency, I feel almost certain that while perhaps less obnoxious, he will be no less dangerous than Donald Trump. In fact, as a spineless puppet to the oligarchy, he will likely pose more of a threat to middle class Americans.

None of that really matters, though. What’s done is done. Political and economic experts have surmised that it will take the United States between 32 and 64 years to undo the chaos of the Trump regime and the damage inflicted on our nation by the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Democracy is an absurdly fragile experiment. "We the people" are learning this reality firsthand. There's no going back now. We had our chance. Regardless of what happens, how long it lasts, and who survives, we only have ourselves to blame.

Many concerned voters are holding out hope that midterm elections will usher in a so-called “Blue Wave.”

I fear such hope is in vain.

Democrats are struggling to find their footing, and with each week that goes by, the left sinks further into disapproval among voters. In late July, a Wall Street Journal poll found the party reaching its lowest favorability rating in more than three decades. The party is mired by a circular firing squad content on eating each other alive rather than uniting against a common enemy. While the Democrats are devoured by in-fighting, Republicans are up to the very tricks that ushered about their meteoric rise in power: harsh voting restrictions, gerrymandering, intimidation, gaslighting, and bullying. For their part, Democrats had better get their shit together -- now. In-fighting be damned, the clock is ticking.

One thing remains certain: Every elected official -- from a local school board to Congress -- reflects the voters they represent. The constituents have the power to extinguish these dumpster fires at any point. Failure to do so makes them complicit in chaos.

Partisan voter loyalty is a tired schtick. In many ways, it brought about the dark days of our present reality. Most elected officials aren't loyal to their constituents. Which begs the question: Why in the hell should voters be loyal to them based solely on partisan affiliation?

Voters won’t change a narcissistic showman. A zebra cannot shed its stripes, and a snake only sheds its skin to become a bigger snake.

Calling your elected representatives doesn’t amount to anything. Unless you've got an impressive title that scares them, or a large donation that entices them, they won't listen. Likewise, protesting is all well and good, but responsible voting would reduce the need for protests exponentially.

THE BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IS AT THE BALLOT BOX.

We need constituents to start holding their elected officials accountable. That begins by not taking them at their word but instead evaluating their actions and their votes. It continues when the time comes for a constituent to cast their vote. We're in this present mess because too many people are lazy when it comes to the democratic process.

Therefore, true patriots (not to be confused with “patriots” in the bastardized sense that’s synonymous with the MAGA cult) had better work their asses off ahead of the midterms (assuming we have them) to ensure that no amount of fraud or gerrymandering will prevent the people from prevailing over this present fascism. The time for lovers of democracy to picket, make phone calls, and issue “strongly worded letters” has come to an end. It’s time to fight for the soul of our nation.

As for voters who stayed home in 2024 because they “didn’t like either option?”

There is no shortage of information out there at this point. Turning a blind eye is a choice. Political views are more than opinions. They're a reflection of one's values, empathy, and the way they see humanity. It's no longer a difference in politics. It's a difference in morals. When and if the midterms come around, those inactive voters had better make damn sure they're at the polls this time.

Take it from me, a former Republican State Legislator (proudly registered Independent since August 2015): The GOP is not your friend, and it doesn't represent your best interests. Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the rest of the Republican party are the very swamp that MAGA claimed to be fighting against. They are employed by the oligarchs, literally on their payroll. They're puppets to the elite. If they remain in power, the masterminds will, at long last, have their “Golden Age.”

Meanwhile, the proletariat will be left to pick up the tab, both for the entertainment they leverage as coping mechanisms, and the problems created by the bourgeoisie. It’s a story that withstands the test of time; a lesson we could have learned and prevented if only we would stop banning books and instead read them.