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

Stop Looking At The Lemon

Beyond the Lemon: Trump, Crisis Control, and the Missing Future Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Carl’s Mind Chimes. I’m Carl, and today I’m about to break through some propaganda and talk about the future of politics in the United States. Thanks for joining me. Be sure to like and share this podcast with everyone you know. Hopefully, soon I’ll be having guests on to talk about different ideas inside politics, so stay tuned for that. I hope everyone’s doing well. Welcome to summer. Let’s enjoy as much of it as we can. So, how about what’s going on right now? When we talk about Trump, on and on and on, at this point there’s little left to debate about Donald Trump himself. He’s a lemon. Americans know who he is. Supporters see a fighter. Critics see a con man. Historians may eventually describe him as a symptom of deeper fractures in American life. Whatever one’s view, the central question facing the country is no longer who Donald Trump is. The question is: What do we intend to do about the conditions that made him possible? For nearly a decade, Trump has dominated American political life like a giant flashing billboard on the side of a national highway, next to a porn shop and a gun shop. Every scandal. Every indictment. Every outrage. Every social media eruption. Everything becomes the story. The result is a peculiar form of political paralysis. We spend so much time examining the lemon that we forget to ask why the orchard keeps producing them. Looking Beyond Trump I recently heard something different at the opening events surrounding the Obama Presidential Center and Library. There, beneath the celebration and reflection, was at least a hint of what has largely been missing from our public conversation. There was talk of caution, planning, and an acknowledgment that democracies survive not by defeating a single politician, but by strengthening institutions capable of outlasting him. But beyond isolated moments like that, I hear remarkably little discussion about a future beyond Trump. Instead, I hear endless analysis of his personality, his tactics, his grievances, and his latest controversies. The media ecosystem remains trapped in a cycle of Trump consumption. The coverage often resembles weather reporting during a hurricane: minute-by-minute updates about the storm while offering little discussion about rebuilding the town. The Trump Book Industry This is why the recent flood of Trump books makes me uneasy. Consider the latest work by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. The reporting is detailed, richly sourced, and filled with behind-the-scenes revelations. But one cannot help noticing a familiar pattern. We are once again invited into Trump’s world—his calculations, his reactions, his frustrations, his political instincts. The focus remains on the man at the center of the spectacle. The problem is not the reporting itself. Haberman’s access has been extraordinary for years, even decades. But extraordinary access always raises questions. Access is currency. It is rarely granted without expectation. Politicians understand that visibility itself is a form of power. Every anecdote, every exclusive detail, every insider account reinforces the idea that Trump remains the indispensable figure around American politics. Revelation or Crisis Control? From a crisis-management perspective, this should sound familiar. When corporations face catastrophe, experienced consultants often advise rapid disclosure and controlled transparency. Reveal enough information to satisfy public curiosity while maintaining control of the larger narrative. The public feels informed. The institution survives. Viewed through this lens, the endless stream of Trump revelations begins to look less like accountability and more like crisis containment. We are given the play-by-play. We are rarely encouraged to step back and examine the game itself. Meanwhile, the deeper questions remain largely unanswered. Why has economic inequality continued to widen? Why do millions of Americans feel abandoned by the institutions that once provided stability? Why has public trust collapsed across government, media, education, and business? Why do so many citizens feel that democracy no longer delivers for ordinary people? These are not Trump questions. They are American questions. The Missing Conversation Politics focused entirely on one man becomes a form of national sleepwalking. It encourages citizens to believe that removing a single individual will somehow resolve structural problems decades in the making. History suggests otherwise. Demagogues rarely create the conditions that elevate them. They inherit them. The challenge before this country is not simply defeating Trumpism at the ballot box. It’s constructing a vision of civic life capable of outliving it. That requires discussing public institutions, economic fairness, education, media accountability, and democratic reform. It requires talking about what comes next. The lemon has been thoroughly inspected. Every bruise. Every blemish. Every rotten spot. All documented in exhaustive detail. The question now is whether we intend to plant something better. My Concern About the Haberman-Swan Book The other big question is whether we’re going to accept Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s book as revelation or crisis control. The details involved in this book reek of crisis control. If any organization faces a crisis, every crisis consultant advises the same thing: come out with all of it, all of the truth, and the public will soon forget. And it appears that this is what has taken place. Maggie Haberman’s access—even an interview with Trump himself appears in the book—raises questions for me. Unfortunately, Trump’s crisis is being controlled. We’ve swept away the Epstein files. We’ve swept away the Iran war. Instead, we’re focused on the latest debacles and personal controversies. We’re concerned about his name on buildings. We’re debating the clowns around the circus. We’re focused on the circus master. We’re focused on all of his little issues while rarely looking to the future. And now we’re being asked to digest it all through the lens of yet another insider account. Believe me, the circus master himself is a lemon. But the bigger issue is whether the release of all this information functions as a form of crisis control. We Need Plans, Not Promises Now, the notion of a plan rubs politicians the wrong way because they know things change. No one wants to be held to a promise. But we’re not looking for promises. We’re looking for framing. We’re looking for direction. We’re looking for at least an inkling of a plan. We don’t need detailed blueprints. We need a destination. The spirit of the plan is what matters. We all know plans change. Reality is messy. Mistakes happen. Circumstances evolve. If someone wants universal healthcare, for example, they don’t achieve it overnight. They start somewhere. They build. They improve. That’s how planning works. But when government is constantly looking at the lemon, and the media is constantly looking at the lemon, and politicians across the spectrum are busy defending or attacking the lemon, we’re missing the bigger point. The future isn’t being discussed. And that’s dangerous. Final Thoughts Anyway, that’s my take on Maggie Haberman’s new book. I hope you’ll consider it as one possibility among many as you think through these issues. I’m Carl. This has been Carl’s Mind Chimes. Thanks for listening. Thanks for sharing. Consider reading history. Consider expanding your knowledge base. Stop following only the play-by-play. Start looking deeper into the future. Look for leaders who think about planning, institution-building, and where we want to go as a country. Keep up the good fight. I’m going to be here for a good while, and hopefully you are too. Please like and share this with everyone you know. Open some minds. And I’ll be back sooner or later with more political rants. 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. Let make it move further. Democracy depends on your actions. 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]

The Madness of Empire in an Age of Collapse

War has always been expensive. But in the twenty-first century, it has become something even more dangerous: a distraction from extinction-level risks. 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]

Graham Platner is Unqualified.

Graham platner is unqualified let's look at the story and find out why or why not 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]

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]