I. Need. Your. Help!

9 min · 11. Juni 2026

Beschreibung

If you can help out with a sponsorship, it makes all the difference. I realize everyone is up against the wall economically. But the larger this newsletter becomes, the more we can influence who wields power in this country. Anything you can offer is much appreciated: Discount tiers. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] Even now, the American public has not fully awakened to the crisis we’re facing. The conservative members of the Supreme court have transformed the body into the court of white supremacy. They’ve gutted the voting rights act. They’ve already robbed women of their bodily autonomy. Even so, there are still politicians who insist they should be “reaching across the aisle.” At this point it should be clear that the only reason you should reach across the aisle is to put a Republican in handcuffs. A big part of the problem is that the media is little more than a propaganda mechanism. They suppress the truth. They suppress the weaknesses of the regime. They tell only lies. Even many independent creators are acting as the abusive “flying monkeys” of a malignant narcissist. Many of them do it without a full awareness of their complicity. The problem is that they’ve been programmed by a white supremacy enabling status quo. On an unconscious level, they know the limits of the pressure they can apply. They come up against these barriers and they stop. They confuse decorum for truth and they allow abusers to avoid pressure again and again. We’ll often see our big name creators interview politicians like Hakeem Jeffries. The dance is always the same. They’ll exchange pleasantries. Then, at some point, the interviewer will bring up AIPAC. They’ll bring it up as if embarrassed. They’ll give a little nod and a wink to Hakeem as if to say, “I know this is uncomfortable but my readers expect this of me.” Then Hakeem will deflect and deny and even get a little angry. The message is clear. He’s not going to answer the question, and frankly he’s disappointed that the interviewer will even ask. At no point does Hakeem say he’ll stop taking that money. Then the interview ends, and the interviewer thanks Hakeem for being there, and Hakeem smiles and says it’s always a pleasure and he’ll be happy to return any time. It’s all a song and dance. It’s all a joke. Unfortunately, the readers watch that and think, “Wow, this creator really applied some pressure! He really hates AIPAC!” But the fact is, Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t feel any pressure from that. He expressed some performance frustration, but he’s never really pushed to back down from what he feels is his entitlement as an enabler of authoritarianism. Our representatives think they’re untouchable. They think that once they’ve earned a seat of power, it’s theirs forever. That’s the problem. We have to remind them that they have their power by the consent of the governed. This idea that they would get haughty on a show when they’re asked reasonable questions is a problem. That our creators abide by the false and artificial boundaries that enable authoritarianism is also a problem. It’s time that we shook off our submissive thinking and grabbed back control of our country. The simple fact is that creators don’t apply any pressure to our Democratic representatives by tossing them a few softball questions and then enduring their performative outrage. Get this through your head: Our current crop of Democrats is never going to stop taking AIPAC money just because we ask them. We have to pressure them. Again, we don’t pressure our representatives by inviting them to interviews. We DO apply significant pressure when we platform their progressive challengers who have already declared that they will not take AIPAC money. That’s where the pressure is! The problem is that our existing media mechanism has been built to undermine the primaries. Democrats don’t want primaries because they rightfully see a legitimate political debate as a threat to their power. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] Primaries are a performance review. Our representatives should have to sit for that just like anyone else. Any creator that wants to effectively apply pressure to our seated representatives can do so by providing a platform to their challengers. I’ve been interviewing progressive challengers for months. I know that I’ve been overwhelming the inboxes of my subscribers with these interviews. I know it’s probably frustrating to get so many emails from me. In fact, I’ve probably lost subscribers because I’m doing this. But I’m going to keep doing it. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. The American voting public needs to be awakened to their power. I get that everyone is the focal point of economic terrorism. Things are so desperate that we don’t have time to reflect on how unfair the whole system is. Unfortunately, the big creators out there leverage that for their own gain. They’re contentedly pulling in millions of dollars a year conducting worthless, easy interviews with our representatives. Then our representatives are emboldened to go out and do absolutely nothing for us. How do we change that? We change that by elevating candidates who declare that they are willing to FIGHT! That’s the kind of pressure we need to see. I’ve already heard of it happening in some of the races I’ve been covering. Incumbents hear that their challengers are gaining steam. When that happens, the Incumbent takes the cucumber slices off his eyes, and changes from a bathrobe to a suit. Then they take to the streets to actually start talking to people. When they feel the pressure they are roused. When they feel the pressure they start to act. We need action NOW! But even if they do start to work for us, we need to vote them out anyway. The problem is that our ability to apply pressure has been muted by the fact that our large platform creators refuse to recognize the existence of primary challengers. The simple fact is that these creators are cowards. They are so desperate to maintain their access to power, that they’ve forgotten they already have the power! Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] The media has the power to determine which candidates represent us. But I look around our media, even our independent media, and I see “journalists” who have abdicated their responsibility in exchange for ease. They have huge followings, so they don’t want to rock the boat. But what they fail to recognize is that the boat they’re floating along in is a slave ship. They’ve insulated themselves in a luxury cabin, but they’re indifferent to the suffering that’s happening all around. That makes them enablers. We need to shake off this attitude that the media should never make our representatives feel uncomfortable. By “discomfort” I don’t mean asking them one or two hard edged questions in an ocean of trivial banter. I mean actively working for candidates of integrity who are campaigning to take the do-nothing incumbent’s job! Is that aggressive? Hell yeah it is! But look around! Children are getting raped in concentration camps. It’s not our responsibility to ensure our representatives feel comfortable. I believe our representatives should feel as uncomfortable as the people they’ve betrayed. So I’m asking for everyone to shake off their apathy and be more discerning in how you consume the media. If a creator or a politician is willing to interview a right-wing extremist, but not a person of achievement, you have to recognize that the creator is just as much an enemy as the extremist views they’re normalizing. As readers, we can apply pressure! The best way to apply pressure is to withdraw your support. Tell the creators with huge platforms that if they’re going to interview Hakeem Jeffries, they should also interview his challenger Vance Bostic [https://www.vancebforny8.com/] (I’ve reached out to Vance and he hasn’t gotten back to me yet). It’s not the media’s job to determine which challengers are “serious.” If people have filed the paperwork, if they’ve gotten the signatures, then they deserve the same media attention as the incumbents. We have to stop allowing our media to put their finger on the scales and deprive the American people of their voting power. Currently we allow our creators to sleepwalk through their performative activism. They do a few “fire and brimstone” clips that don’t accomplish anything. Do you want to accomplish something? Then use the primaries to replace this generation of do-nothing Democrats with a new generation of fighters. We need people with new ideas, not dinosaurs who have grown complacent because they’ve been in office since before the 8-track was invented. I have a great group of collaborators that’s working hard to elevate primary challengers. Friends, this is working! Some of the sitting incumbents are feeling the pressure. Unfortunately, we’re short on time and my platform isn’t large enough to land the knock-out blow we need. Please go out and recruit. Get more people on this newsletter. Spread the word. Most importantly, share each individual interview I’ve collected here [https://walterrhein.substack.com/p/check-out-this-list-of-amazing-political]. If you have the means to sponsor me, that also helps to keep my work from being suppressed. There are a lot of creators out there who claim they are against politicians taking AIPAC money. However, if those creators aren’t actively working to promote primary challengers, then those creators are just going through the motions of performative activism. Creators with large platforms actually have the power to pressure our representatives to not be corrupt. They are failing in their obligation. Go and look at the creators you support. If you withdraw your support, you can pressure them to do better. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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Why Do Writers Refuse to Recognize the Corruption of the Publishing Industry?

I’ll never get a big 3 publishing contract because our literary community is just a propaganda empire owned by oligarchs. But YOU allow me to keep writing! THANK YOU! Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] There are none so blind as those that will not see and writers are among the very worst. When scholars look back on this era, I expect they will lament the complete lack of support for any sort of creative movement. I’ve been a writer all my life. It’s not a choice, it’s a calling. When I started off, I honestly believed that if I wrote something good and meaningful, it would find an audience. Today, I’m fifty years old. I’ve written articles that have been shared hundreds of thousands of times. I’ve developed huge followings on a number of platforms. There is an audience out there that hungers for a different narrative. But I never anticipated how much censorship and oppression I would encounter. This is supposed to be the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave.” It is neither. Instead, we live in a propaganda society that deliberately censors vitally important narratives. Our literary mechanism is run by powerful people who have no need of releasing quality products. They are of the class that prints their own money, and they’re part of an establishment that suppresses rather than elevates important voices. “Maybe your work is just terrible?” It’s astonishing to me how many writers are willing to believe the false narratives of our time. They fall for them hook, line, and sinker. It’s comical how many people who consider themselves “critical thinkers” are willing to repeat corporate narratives that passively justify oppression. Look around people! All you have to do is examine news stations, and movies, and public education and you see that white narratives are overrepresented at the expense of everyone else. When you are scanning the radio as you drive down the highway, you’ll hear thirty selections from today’s most overplayed pop stars, and not a single protest song. They are programming your mind into a passive state of obedience. Yet, when I talk about this, even with educated people, they tend to think that I’m the one at fault. They blame my work for not being good enough, rather than even entertain the possibility that there might be flaws in our system. These haughty comments come from people who themselves have not earned a major contract. How is it they can’t see that any insult they apply to me must also cast shade on them? Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] “Where’s your contract then?” I’ve been working in this industry long enough to know the difference between bot swarms and the ill-conceived comments of otherwise intelligent people. It doesn’t escape my notice when somebody reads my title and then scrolls to the comments without even attempting to absorb the argument. I can detect that in three words. Dishonest interactions give themselves away. Most of the time they reference arguments I’ve already dismantled in my text. I don’t care how accomplished you think you are, don’t leave a comment without doing me the courtesy of reading first. That’s disrespectful. But for the life of me I can’t comprehend how the academic community can be so intentionally obtuse. It’s as if they think their compliance with the false standard of major publishing virtually guarantees them a contract. We have accomplished scholars in positions of power who are willing to self-censor themselves throughout their entire lives because they don’t want to risk their chances of landing a six figure deal. How can people be so smart and miss something that’s so obvious? You aren’t a “temporarily inconvenienced billionaire.” You’re the same working class schmuck as the rest of us. Deal with reality for a change. Don’t patronize industries that don’t care about you It’s called a rat race for a reason. All we do is chase, chase, chase. Early on we do this because we’ve been deceived by false counselors who manipulate us for their own gain. I’m talking about abusive parents, abusive employers, and an abusive society. They always dangle the promise of reward. All you have to do is give a little more and work a little harder and wait a little longer, and all the riches will come. That’s what they say. But in reality, all you do is work hard all your life, give everything, and receive nothing in return. So many writers are so laser focused on a big three contract that they squander their own talent and time. These are individuals who point to other groups in our society and claim they’re “in a cult.” But they steadfastly refuse to recognize the ways they too have been trained to disregard the evidence of their own senses. It happens to writers all the time. In fact, I believe the proliferation of this unfortunate state of self-delusion is largely responsible for the rapid deterioration of our society. Intelligent people have learned not to say anything “too divisive” or “too ambitious” because they’ve been trained to think that will cut off their chances of some later reward. They’re afraid. Nobody who writes with fear instead of courage will ever write anything of significance. This is your time, don’t waste it I’ve been writing for fifty years not because it’s lucrative, but because I’m stubborn. I firmly believe that I know as much or more about writing than any editor or agent. A statement like that will have all the academics hoping for a big contract to gasp and clutch their pearls. It’s bizarre that otherwise intelligent people still believe that wealth equates to competence. We’ve had ample evidence to prove that’s not the case. Look around. The only thing the big publishers have is access to a distribution mechanism and virtually limitless funds. Yet their books continue to fail. The only absurdity is that capable people still delude themselves into thinking this system is legitimate. It’s time for our brilliant community of academics to recognize we are the victims of a oligarch owned propaganda mechanism. Any discerning look at what the big publishers offer will reveal an incomprehensible and unproductive knot of contradictions. Yet our best people blind themselves to this reality out of a sense of false and undeserved loyalty. We will never be free until we have a free press. That means we have to demand that works of merit are allowed to gather their rightful audiences rather than be censored and buried. The publishing industry chokes us with the language of ignorance and hate. Give yourself permission to recognize corruption. The path of truth is longer, but it’s the only one that offers any chance of success. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

23. Juni 20266 min

Corruption Everywhere You Look and What We Can Do to Expose It

Hello! I really enjoyed this talk with Kait Justice [https://substack.com/profile/393882529-kait-justice]! Her experience is so similar to my own. When I first messaged her, we started chatting about our various writing projects. Writing teaches you how to manufacture narratives, and when you study enough narratives you begin to perceive the influence of hostile forces on our reality. Malicious entities are good at hiding themselves, but they leave clues behind. Kait and I shared a common memory of sitting in a classroom asking questions about all the things that contradicted only to have the teacher become angry—yup, that pretty much sums up the modern world! Kait has been working on some truly astonishing articles. Everything I’ve read of hers contains so much information that you have to read it two or three times to absorb it all. Believe me, when you do, you become empowered. I hope you enjoy this talk as much as I did. You can follow Kait here: Thank you Cat: Poli-Psych [https://substack.com/profile/94117599-cat-poli-psych], Mary Cumens [https://substack.com/profile/427188505-mary-cumens], LeftieProf [https://substack.com/profile/116079548-leftieprof], Gina Stefanowicz [https://substack.com/profile/655712-gina-stefanowicz], Rose [https://substack.com/profile/77809180-rose], and many others for tuning into my live video with Kait Justice [https://substack.com/profile/393882529-kait-justice]! Join me for my next live video in the app. You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year [https://walterrhein.substack.com/bf8564a4]. Upgrade at 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] Upgrade at 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] Upgrade at 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] Upgrade at 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I’m so happy you’re here, and I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow. My CoSchedule referral link Here’s my referral link [http://coschedule.com/i/walter-rhein] to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this [http://coschedule.com/i/walter-rhein], it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you). I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Gestern1 h 1 min

Strategies to Achieve a More Humanitarian Future

Hello Everyone! It’s always my great pleasure to talk with Stephanie G Wilson, PhD [https://substack.com/profile/2800378-stephanie-g-wilson-phd], Robert Danna [https://substack.com/profile/198756983-robert-danna], and Laci Loew [https://substack.com/profile/164739658-laci-loew]. In this conversation, we tried to come up with a strategy for 2040 to match the corrupt industriousness of the right. However, even though that was our objective, I kept pulling the conversation back to the present (shame on me). Still, I feel that we covered a lot of ground and I felt hopeful after having this talk. I hope you will too! You can find out more about Bob’s plan on his page here: Thank you Beth Cruz [https://substack.com/profile/178744313-beth-cruz], Soso's World [https://substack.com/profile/309303179-sosos-world], Chris Resists [https://substack.com/profile/315050911-chris-resists], Bre Phillips [https://substack.com/profile/279700893-bre-phillips], Stuart Cohen [https://substack.com/profile/351205065-stuart-cohen], and many others for tuning into my live video with Stephanie G Wilson, PhD [https://substack.com/profile/2800378-stephanie-g-wilson-phd] and Robert Danna [https://substack.com/profile/198756983-robert-danna]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Gestern1 h 3 min

I Found My Limit Last Week

Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

21. Juni 20266 min

Meet Congressional Candidate Joseph Perez-Caputo

Every single one of the candidates I’ve talked to has been fantastic. I love primary challengers because the American public deserves to have a choice when it comes to elections. That means elections at every level. The people always deserve to know who is running, what they stand for, and what they stand to gain with an alternative. The simple fact is that politics as usual in the United States isn’t working. We need a new generation of leadership. We need people who are ready to talk to regular human beings and hear their concerns. I really enjoyed talking with SugarRhi~ [https://substack.com/profile/360031069-sugarrhi] and Joseph Perez-Caputo [https://substack.com/profile/326662357-joseph-perez-caputo]! He’s an engaging man, and his story about his motivation for obtaining universal healthcare is extremely relatable. Let’s do the hard work of getting him on the ballot so that our voice gets some representation on the debate stage. The fight is today everyone! Find him here: * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/theballadofjpc] * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/theballadofjpc.bsky.social] Thank you Cat: Poli-Psych [https://substack.com/profile/94117599-cat-poli-psych], Mandy Ohman [https://substack.com/profile/183065704-mandy-ohman], Donna Dupont [https://substack.com/profile/61210574-donna-dupont], Lynn [https://substack.com/profile/444604104-lynn], Kim Meldahl [https://substack.com/profile/112040339-kim-meldahl], and many others for tuning into my live video with Joseph Perez-Caputo [https://substack.com/profile/326662357-joseph-perez-caputo] and SugarRhi~ [https://substack.com/profile/360031069-sugarrhi]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

20. Juni 202653 min

I. Need. Your. Help!

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