Carl's Mind Chimes Magazine Podcasts

America No Longer Feels Governed

“Americans increasingly sound less like citizens than survivors.” “I know that like me, a lot of people are f- politically exhausted But beneath this fatigue, something volatile is forming. I think that, we’re in the middle of arguing, what happened, when in fact, we need to pay attention because we’re ready to fall into a constitutional crisis where Donny Boy ends up taking another term, literally taking another term.” “All the young voters, at the time were highly aware, and the progressive, voters were really aware of the genocide that took- is taking place in Palestine. And and that, that is at one point was a, was an area in the Middle East and a large area, in fact, in case you wanna look back pre-Balfour history books.” Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe [https://mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Indigenous People Sacred Land

The following is a transcript of the audio podcast. Hey guys, welcome to my mind chimes, or welcome back. This is where I’m going to try to strain the American propaganda through the truth serum of common sense. So if you’re sick of huffing on the pipe of political manipulation, stick with me. Thanks for tuning in. So the first story I have today is how our boy Donnie is bailing on Taiwan. Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. After 50 years of building a hedge against communism, Trump decided to quit. What do we get in exchange? Taiwan is the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer in the world. 97% of all chips are made there. So giving away Taiwan to China gives China all access to most of America’s tech infrastructure. From cars to computers to military defense, China will have access to all of the software since Trump wants to turn Taiwan over to China. This is worse than the oil deal and the energy infrastructure and the food debacle that he created in Iran. I mean, giving everything away to China is ridiculous. In news of the strange, thousands of people, and I’m going to add this, thousands of people gathered at the National Mall to pray for lower prices and cheap fuel in order to drive to church. These folks believe the founders of America were Christians, which is pretty funny. They were able, they were table knockers and spiritualists. Ben Franklin was a notorious table knocker. They believed religion was poison. Trump did a video of himself reading scripture like he wrote the Bible himself and the sadly misguided cultists, it made them feel good. Speaking of zealots, Pete give me a drink Hegseth held a prayer vigil demanding show no mercy on those who he deems an enemy. Unbelievable. Let every round find, and I’m quoting him here, let every round find its mark against the enemies of the righteousness and our great nation. Hegseth prayed during the live stream service, give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. I’m sorry, using the Bible to kill, that’s your religion. Count me the f**k out. There’s a historian, Ron Stahl, from the University of Berkeley said, “In a nation with no [00:03:00] establishment of religion, per the Constitution, what does it mean to have a leader bring not just broadly religious views or religious in a pluralistic sense, but religion is a very, in a very particular sense? May their God have mercy on both these men’s souls.” Uh, couldn’t have said it better. Now let’s move south and let’s... This is a story that mainstream media is not gonna be covering, and that’s the border. Trump promised to build that wall, and sure enough, it’s, not gonna happen. But I think it could happen because he likes to waste our taxpayers’ money. But, US-Mexico wall, border wall construction is, unbeknownst to anybody in the mainstream media, desecrating sacred sites. There’s 170 indigenous sites all along the border, and these things have been, split between Mexico and the United States and considered sacred land for these people, for the indigenous people. And all I can say is haven’t we done enough to those who own the land we wrongly call our own? It’s only a cultural site, I suppose, if it’s painted in gold and has Trump’s fat dollar bill ass on it. The Trump administration’s program to check voter e- eligibility has been on a roll. It’s just the same old thing. When you can’t, win the vote outright and fairly, you change the rules and move the goalpost. This is what cheaters do, and Trump is a cheater and exploiter. I think this might blow up in Don’s face. At least 67 million registrations have been sorted through, in Republican-controlled states. They’ve gone through beefed-up veri- verifications in order to disqualify tens of thousands of people who have been flagged as potential non-citizens or people who have died. Some states allow only a month for people to prove their eligibility once they’ve been disqualified, and others suspend it immediately. These things, these news stories, they’re messed up, and they make absolutely no sense to me. But, as we move through all of these times, November can’t get here fast enough, and we shall see exactly what Don does. Who knows? He’s unpredictable. He’s turning 80. Life expectancy in the United States is 79. He’s one year past his expiration date. Whether he makes it to November, who knows? His birthday, ironically, is on Flag Day. Let’s just hope that the last shreds of democracy can hold on and we can start rebuilding. It’s really not gonna happen until the presidential election and we go through the Senate and House again and reelect a, a Democratic majority. In this country, all of the things that we have, funding of universities, research, all of the things that are, what made this country really great, that was all started with FDR and for 50 years, the Democratic Party held Congress. And then, Wayne Newton, No, Newt Gingrich. Yeah, not Wayne Newton, Newt Gingrich, same guy. Newt Gingrich came along and he and Bill Clinton, kinda modulated the, social safety net that was there and started to sell the government to private enterprise. And today we have a corporatocracy run by oligarchs, and that’s where we are today. Now, how do we get it back? There are tons and tons of young, really keen politicians that are being, put forth by the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party, Chuck Schumer wants to hold on in his dotage. A lot of the old guys wanna hang around, but it’s time to pass the baton, time to pass on to the youth because these people are- claim themselves to be Democratic socialists. [00:07:00] Now, let’s not go giving, letting the media and propagandists just take that word and put it on the heap of culture junk pile, the cultural junk pile of liberalism and progressivism and socialism. Good God, for a country that’s never experienced any of those things, to think that they’re bad or think that there’s something wrong with them is,, a sure sign of indoctrination and brainwashing. I made a couple of interesting posts this week, and I’m just gonna review them really quick. One of the posts that, seemed to be, hit, really well was that, I pointed out the fact that, the Trump administration has spent $45 billion on incarcerating people who have not had their day in court. $45 billion to build and refurbish shopping malls and warehouses and turn them into prisons to hold, people who have never, ever been tried in a court of law. Just rounded up and stuffed into these buildings in- Pretty much inhumane conditions. And $45 billion gets you a lot of square footage, so don’t be surprised if it doesn’t lap over into other areas beyond immigrants. And the post I posted was the fact that instead of spending $45 billion on prisons, Barack Obama, during his presidency, he became the first pre- sitting president ever to visit with incarcerated men who were in federal prison for life. That’s an incredible act of understanding and compassion, and highlighting not just the fact that we incarcerate people at an, a inhumane rate pre-Trump, just highlighting the fact that there needs to be an, a better understanding of what led these men, to end up in federal prison for life. And President Obama shined a light on those very issues by going and visiting these men in prison. I thought it was, I thought it was the highlight of his presidency, to be honest with you. I thought that was so bold. S- such courage. ‘Cause,, a lot of people believe that there are no second chances in life, and these, these men, really, Some of the crimes are heinous, and certainly, there may not be room for a second chance. But we have to be able to find out w- how they got there, what went wrong with our society, and how people end up incarcerated. , I thought that was a pretty good post, and it really did hit for a lot of people, which I was really happy with. , Also, just thinking about other things that kind of pop up, popped up into my mind, just seeing how, we’re so busy worried about Trump when we should be worried about congressional elections , in the House of Representatives in November, and we should be picking up and picking out the best candidates. And now one of the things, too, is you have to vote smart. Most people, they’re all or nothing voters, which is kinda the thing that killed the Democratic Party. One, perfect pet issue for you is gonna make you not vote for the well-being of the country, and that kinda is dumb, as the Republicans have laughingly proved. I know we all have certain pet issues, but, we were running a secret, truth test among our Democratic politicians saying, “If you’re not this and this and this and this and this, then I can’t vote for you, or I’m just gonna vote for someone else.” And it seriously cost the Democratic Party and this country, and I think it’s about to cost us our democracy and our rights to vote. And we’re certainly tipping into an authoritarian oligarchy, and there’s plenty of Trump heirs ready to grab the wheel once Don leaves office. It’s important to make sure that you vote Democratic. Certainly, you are not going to get the perfect Dem- perfect Democratic candidate, but you have to be able to make sure that you’re getting a Democratic candidate. Done. Simple. Get the Democrats elected so that at least they can run the committees and control the money that comes through Congress. And then in two more years after the midterms, we can bum rush the, White House with a Democratic candidate too. But, I think a lot of people... One, one little side bit here, a story. I went back to my homeland in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and normally when I drive through there, the place is plastered with, Trump signs. And coming up on local elections and primaries here, they have their local candidates who are Trump candidates, and then they have Trump signs everywhere. But interestingly enough, the place had been vanquished of all Trump support signs. And I’m not kidding you, it was zero. None. Normally, there’d be one every 15 feet. But something’s tipped in Trump land, and I don’t know if it’s, Trump and his foreign policy or what, but, yeah, he has kinda, kinda messed up here. But, hopefully that all sticks. The handful of, Tea Party people who were down there praying at the Mall, on Sunday, I don’t think that’s enough to quite get him elected. And then certainly most of the Catholics I know, they won’t be voting for a guy who bashes the Holy Father. But anyway, I saved my pancreatic, cancer update for last, ‘cause I don’t even wanna draw people in on that. Because I think it’s kind of weird, but, it’s coming along. I’m coming up on my third chemo treatment on Wednesday. Got my routine down. I’m feeling great. I’m going golfing tomorrow. 90 day- 90-degree heat though, so I’m gonna have to wear some sunblock and keep my head covered, ‘cause apparently the platinum that they’re pumping through me, it makes me highly allergic to the sun. Now, if I could say I was gonna get a really great suntan, I would probably go for it, but apparently you can burn and you can get really messed up by it. Plus, I don’t want my oncologist to mistake, me having a nice suntan for turning jaundice. I don’t wanna be jaundice and have him say, “Oh, my God, what’s wrong with you?” I’ll cover up out there in the sun and hopefully play well, and I really am thankful that my friends have kept supporting me as I golf with them. My group is very supportive and, they haven’t said, “ we don’t know if you’re gonna be there for another round, so we’re gonna move on.” They haven’t done that. So they kept me in the loop and kept me golfing, which is so nice, very thoughtful. I’m... I suck at golf, by the way. I really do. Sometimes I’ll hit a good shot, and that’s enough for me. And I’m super non-competitive, so yeah, that’s where I am on my pancreatic journey. Hey, truthfully, thank you all for listening and watching the videos. I’m just gonna do videos from now on because I’m getting a little more comfortable speaking in front of the camera and also, taking little bits and pieces from, an outline on the teleprompter if I can. Hopefully it’s not too stiff, and hopefully I don’t appear to be, reading, verbatim from a script. But, yeah, I think it’s important. And I think it’s very important that everybody uses their voice. You gotta get out there, use your voice, whether it’s posting on Facebook, liking my videos, sharing my videos even. That’s a lot. You’re doing a lot just by doing that. You’re doing your share. If you wanna stop Trump, save democracy, you gotta get the word out. And ordinary people, like myself, have to get out there and really shake it up because people are in a coma. These cultists don’t know, and a lot of people who will see this video will be upset because I dare say the good Lord Trump’s name in vain. I come out against pretty much 100% what he stands for. And you can go back, watch the video again, try to make a little more sense of what I’ve said. And also, too, use your own discerning- thoughts. Explore what I’ve said. Go into it a little bit deeper. Find out what you can learn about some of the subjects that I brought up on your own because the internet is great. You can use AI, type in, find out. AI is a little bit too neutral on things, but if you do some research, find some decent, theses out there that you can read about the subject matters that I brought up in this vlog, it, I would recommend that highly because this will either strengthen my point of view or, prove me wrong. But you can comment on this video. It’s on Substack. Just search Carl’s Mind Chimes on Substack and you can watch the video, enjoy my, , banter and fun things. I wish I, I don’t really have a story from the immediate past, other than the golf stuff, which I mentioned. Anyway, so thanks for watching. Share this to all your friends and, yeah. That’s it for today. Hopefully we’ll see you soon. Probably not tomorrow. Wednesday is a chemo, so maybe Thursday, maybe Friday. But yeah, definitely by Monday next week I’ll be back. But, , regardless, you can like and share and subscribe wherever you get your videos and podcasts and information. Ordinary people have to rise up, so let’s do it. Hey, that’s my new sign off. Let’s do it. I’m gonna do that every time. Let’s do it. Okay, cool. Thanks for watching. Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe [https://mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Pancreatic Cancer, Golf, and a Gate to the Dali Lama's Home

May 5, 2026 — The Second Round, The Quiet Gate Yesterday, I walked nine holes under a forgiving sky and, for a few hours, felt wholly like myself again. Four pars. Clean strikes. A body that remembered its old language. Western Pennsylvania, freshly rinsed by a real winter for the first time in decades, carried a kind of renewal in the air—groundwater restored, greens alive, the land breathing deeper than it has in years. You take those signs where you can find them. Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Today, I stand on the threshold of round two. Tomorrow brings the long chair, the slow drip, the clinical ritual that now defines the rhythm of my weeks. Before that, the numbers—blood panels measuring the unseen war: red cells, white cells, and the quiet oracle of the CA 19-9 test, whispering whether the tumor has retreated or held its ground. So far, the fight remains contained—confined to the pancreas, not yet a traveler. That matters. That matters more than anything. There’s always a shadow thought—what if the treatment stirs something loose? But yesterday on the course, you wouldn’t have known such thoughts existed. That’s the paradox of this experience: the body can host both fear and freedom at once. Physically, after the first round, I give myself a B+. I’ve held up. There’s dehydration to manage, the subtle erosion—skin thinning, hair drying, the body asking for reinforcement. I’ve turned to collagen, hydration, small acts of maintenance that feel almost symbolic, like shoring up a house in a storm. Coconut oil may soon join the rotation. You learn to listen differently now—to every signal, every shift. The pattern is becoming clear: a few hard days after treatment, then a slow return. A rebound. A gathering of strength before the next wave. It is, in every sense, a fight for time—and within that, a fight for life. And somewhere in that space between the clinical and the existential, a memory returned to me. Years ago, I found myself in Dharamsala, India, sitting face-to-face with Tenzin Gyatso—a man whose presence has outlasted empires, whose leadership has endured exile, whose calm feels less like performance and more like atmosphere. I had gone there as a filmmaker, chasing a story about Tibet and China—politics dressed in the delicate clothing of religion. Before we began, I apologized to him. The questions I carried were not gentle ones. But he met them with openness, even generosity, expanding beyond what was asked, offering not just answers but perspective. The interview itself was remarkable. But the moment that stayed with me happened outside the frame. — Continue reading on Substack — Behind the monastery, near his residence—once a military fort, now something quieter—there’s a tree-lined stretch of land. A small park, simple and still. I remember standing near the gate and saying aloud, almost involuntarily, “It’s so calm here.” A monk beside me smiled and said, “His Holiness is just inside. That is what you’re feeling.” I dismissed it at the time. Attributed it to scenery, to altitude, to suggestion. But the next day, a member of my crew—someone untouched by that earlier conversation—walked up to the same gate and said, unprompted, “There’s something incredibly peaceful about this place.” No cue. No context. Just recognition. And I remember standing there, a little stunned, wondering whether peace can, in fact, radiate. Whether presence—true presence—has a field, like gravity. Tomorrow, I return to a very different kind of chamber. Fluorescent lights instead of Himalayan sun. Machines instead of monks. But I carry something with me from that gate—a reminder that not everything measurable is everything real. If the body is a battleground, the mind remains a sanctuary. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you find a way to keep that gate open. I’ll be in the chair from noon to five. Watching, waiting, letting the medicine do its work. Perhaps I’ll write from there—send a dispatch from the middle of it. Until then, thank you—for reading, for sharing, for the quiet current of support that travels farther than we ever quite understand. —Carl If this piece moved you, stay with me on this road. Subscribe, share, and pass it forward. There’s more to come. Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe [https://mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

My Pancreatic Cancer Journal 5/3/2026 (Free Documentary)

Hey everybody—welcome back. (see my 10 Minute Doc at the bottom) It’s May 3rd, 2026. I’m three days out from my second chemo treatment… and today, I feel really good. But I’ll be honest with you—when that reminder popped up on my phone, I felt it. A little dread. Because I remember those first couple days after round one. Not unbearable—but not pleasant either. Like a long, punishing hangover that doesn’t quite know when to leave. And then, slowly… it did. By day five, I was back. Myself again. So now I know the terrain. Drink water. Eat. Keep the weight on. Stay moving. Stay in the game. That’s the philosophy from my team—my oncologist, my surgeon—and they’re not guessing. They’re preparing me. Because in a few weeks, when that scan comes, they want to see someone strong enough to operate on. And I plan on being that guy. Today helped. I was over at the local course—built on an old steel-era slate dump, a little resurrection story baked right into the land. Two and a half miles from my house. Blue sky. Spring air. The kind of day that reminds you the world is still working, even when parts of you are under repair. I made a tee time for tomorrow. Going solo—for now. My crew’s still in Florida. But if you’re listening and you’re nearby—come walk a few holes with me. I’ve got room. Now… let me take you somewhere else. About 25 years ago, I watched Bill Moyers sit down with Joseph Campbell on PBS. They were talking about Tibetan monks… about meaning, about discipline, about something deeper than the noise of daily life. And something in me lit up. That curiosity led me to the teachings of Tenzin Gyatso—and not long after, to an unexpected opportunity. The Pittsburgh Friends of Tibet brought His Holiness to town. At the time, I had a small video production studio—scrappy, early days, figuring it out as I went. But I saw an opening. So I created a job. I showed up with cameras. I volunteered. I documented. And that one decision opened a door that stretched halfway across the world. India. Tibet. China. Questions turned into journeys. Journeys turned into films. And along the way, I met people who changed me—including a young monk named Zewang Dorje. He came to my home with a group of Drikung Kagyu monks—dancers, teachers, spiritual athletes in a sense. We sat in my living room with a Rinpoche—imagine that—a kind of Tibetan bishop, right there among us. No stage. No ceremony. Just presence. Zewang Dorje became our connection—our man on the ground when we traveled abroad. Steady. Kind. Grounded in a way that makes you rethink what “strength” actually looks like. And today, I’m sharing a short documentary about him. Ten minutes. Free for everyone. Because right now, in this moment of my life, his spirit feels relevant again. So that’s where I am. Three days out. Feeling good. Thinking clearly. Walking forward. If you’re on this road too—keep going. Don’t let the weight of it take you under. There’s more strength in you than you think. And if you’re not—just know I’m doing fine. No doom and gloom. we’re going to make it. Watch the film.Share it if it moves you.Tell a friend. And tomorrow… maybe I’ll see you on the course. —Carl Enjoy the doc! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe [https://mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

April 30, 2026 — The Pancreatic Journal/James Comey/And the Juice Jockey

April 30, 2026 — The Pancreatic Journal/James Comey/And the Juice Jockey Hey everybody—Back again with the daily dispatch from the front lines. If this journal does anything, I hope it makes the road a little less lonely for the next person who hears the same diagnosis. There’s power in sharing the map while you’re still walking it.I’ve been learning—a lot. Turns out when you mix curiosity, urgency, and modern tools, you can become a pretty decent student of your own condition. Not a doctor, not pretending to be one—but informed enough to ask better questions.One thing that’s come into focus: glucose matters.Cancer cells, from what I’ve gathered, have quite the sweet tooth. They thrive on glucose. So now I’m stepping into a new experiment—monitoring my blood sugar. My PCP set me up with a glucose monitor, which feels strange for someone who’s never been diabetic. But here we are.Back when the jaundice first hit, my glucose spiked to 140. Not catastrophic—but not my normal either. I’m used to steady numbers. Since chemo, I haven’t checked again yet, but that’s coming this Wednesday.So the plan:Protein forward.Sugar cautious.Glucose steady.Last night… well, science met temptation.I went to Meadows Ice Cream—yes, that one—and ordered a small chocolate cone. A small act of rebellion. A moment of sweetness in a season that doesn’t offer many.It was glorious.And then… it was 2 a.m.Wide awake. Wired. The chocolate—and its quiet caffeine—lit me up like Times Square. Lesson learned: even small indulgences echo louder now. The body keeps score, and lately, it reads the fine print.Another takeaway: watch caffeine. Watch sugar. Not obsessively—but intentionally.I also spent time digging through my cancer center’s app—an odd kind of treasure hunt. Information everywhere. Some of it reassuring, some of it… less so.Yes, there are cases where chemo doesn’t behave as cleanly as we’d like. There are risks. There are uncertainties. That’s part of the contract no one wants to sign but all of us are handed.Still—I’m here. Still standing. Still betting on the better outcome.A Brief Detour into PoliticsNow, I can’t help myself.There’s chatter swirling around James Comey again. And like most things in modern politics, it arrives wrapped in noise, spun into spectacle.Comey—the same man who prosecuted Martha Stewart, the same man whose late-stage announcement cast a long shadow over Hillary Clinton’s campaign. A figure who has shaped outcomes, intentionally or not.And now? The narrative shifts again.Across the political spectrum, you see a pattern: investigations that flare and fade, consequences that land unevenly, accountability that feels… selective.On one side, figures orbiting Trump—some investigated, some convicted, some pardoned. On the other, frustrations around how cases have been handled, delayed, negotiated.What does it all mean?Hard to say with certainty. But it does leave you wondering whether justice, in practice, moves with the steady hand we imagine—or with the currents of power we rarely see.No conclusions here. Just observations from a citizen who’s watching while also fighting a far more personal battle.Story Time — The Juice Jockey YearsLet’s end somewhere human. 1977. Seventeen years old. Second job.I was pumping gas at a Mobil station—what we used to call a “juice jockey.” Full service. Windshield wiped, oil checked, the whole Norman Rockwell routine.One night, near closing, I stepped into the restroom. When I came back out, time changed its pace.Two men.One shotgun. One pistol.The pistol found its way under my chin, pressing into my Adam’s apple.“Give me all your change.” Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Funny how the mind works in those moments—everything slows, sharpens. I had already locked the day’s earnings in a safe I couldn’t open. All I had was $75—my float for the next shift.I handed it over.They left.And just like that, I was still alive.The police came. Shrugged it off as routine. “Happens all the time,” they said. Comforting, in a grim sort of way.A few weeks later, I’m in a fast-food joint, working through an all-you-can-eat salad bar—because that’s what kings do at seventeen.And in walk the same two guys.Same energy. Same intent.Before anything could happen, the manager steps out and says, calm as a man ordering coffee:“Not here. Don’t even think about it.”And just like that—they left.I sat there thinking: You’ve got to be kidding me.The next morning, I called my boss.“I’m done.”He asked about two weeks’ notice.I laughed.Some jobs don’t deserve a goodbye tour.That’s where I’ll leave it today.Monitor your body. Guard your energy. Stay curious. Stay stubborn.And above all—stay here.Hope and prosper. Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine is a reader-supported publication. Dues are due by quiet a few we know who and so do you! Thanks for reading Carl’s Mind Chimes Magazine! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe [https://mindchimesmagazine.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]