Every Time You Cast a Vote, The Flames of Torment Are Turned Up on An Authoritarian in Hell

What's the Vulcan Neck Pinch Daddy?

Please support me if you can! 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 got my kids to sit down to watch the new ‘Star Trek’ movies. We’d been watching ‘Sherlock’ with Bennedict Cumberbatch, so that was the gateway. “Oh, that guy,” they said. Familiarity is how you provide motivation to try something new. Imagine referring to Star Trek as something new. It was new for them. “Why are they wearing red, blue and yellow?” “Science, engineering, and command.” My wife tried to remember the name of the Captain of the Enterprise. She got it wrong in a way that was almost perfectly right. “Chris Pine?” my eldest said with some skepticism. “Yeah, he’s Captain Dick,” my wife said. “Really? His name is Captain Dick?” “Kirk,” I replied. Then I thought for a moment. “But it might as well be Captain Dick.” “Who’s that guy with the big ears?” “That’s Cock,” said my wife. “Spock!” I replied. “I don’t understand old shows,” my youngest said. The movie played on. Kirk did his thing. Every time a young woman walked by, he turned around and smiled. “Come to think of it, Captain Dick would have been better,” I said. “Right?” At the end of the film, Spock screams, “Khaaan!” Then he gets energized down to the planet for a desperate footrace. Nobody asks why they didn’t just beam him directly to where he needed to go. Even in space you need a footrace. During the climactic scene, Spock and Khan engage in a fist fight on some sort of floating barge. There’s a moment when Spock grabs Khan’s shoulder and Khan grimaces in pain. I looked over at my children and they didn’t register any reaction. I realized, they knew nothing about the Vulcan neck pinch. They didn’t know that Vulcans are stronger than humans, that’s why Spock was a fair match for Khan. All this lore had been assumed by the film, but without it, the scene played as kind of ridiculous. I tried to explain the Vulcan neck pinch later on. “Yeah, Vulcans have some cool powers like the mind meld and the neck pinch.” “Uh-huh,” my teenage daughters replied. “It wasn’t that effective against Khan.” “Well, that just shows that Khan is tough, not that Vulcans are weak.” “Okay. Well what normally happens?” “If Spock does it to a human, he collapses unconscious.” “Wow.” I left it at that. The next day we watched the first Star Trek film. In the first few minutes, we get to meet Kirk’s father played by Chris Hemsworth.” “Wait a minute,” my eldest said, “they could have had Chris Hemsworth and they went with Chris Pine?” “Yeah...” “That’s a downgrade.” Later in the film, Spock grabs Kirk by the neck, rendering him unconscious. I looked over at my daughter, who gave me a delighted smirk. “Vulcan neck pinch!” she cried with triumph. It was the most ridiculous and glorious thing in the world. Later on a red shirt fell out a hole in the hull. He screamed and my daughter cried out, “Wilhelm!” They know the Wilhelm scream, they know the Vulcan neck pinch, they know his name is Kirk and not Dick. They know what it means when somebody screams, “Khaaaaaan!” I showed them the version from the 1982 film on YouTube. My daughter laughed when I typed in a line of 20 A’s and got the exact result I wanted. It popped right up. Shatner is epic. My kids are exploring new worlds and new civilizations. They’re still skeptical about the neck pinch, but they’ve learned to boldly go where no one has gone before. Or, in this case, where many have gone before. What else is there for a father to teach? That’s parenting done right. “Khaaaaaaan!” Please support me if you can! 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]

Meeting the Moment With Congressional Candidate Melissa Chaudhry

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The Founding Fathers Were Tyrants

Pay what you can: 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]

Why the Center Is Joining the Right to Falsely Accuse the Left of Antisemitism

The aftershocks of the New York primary are continuing to be felt. Corporate democrats who only show any loyalty to their big money donors are angry. The democratic party is showing once again that “blue no matter who” was always a lie. Statements by consultants such as James Carville [https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/james-carville-says-mamdani-backed-015503732.html] encouraging the party to reject primary winners are further proof of what we already knew. The establishment democrats don’t work for us. They don’t want to protect us. It’s been my mantra since 2024. In 2020, we gave the establishment all the power they needed to stop the rise of authoritarianism and instead, they turned over the keys of our country to a convicted felon insurrectionist. A lot of people have died because of their failure. A lot of innocent children have been tortured and killed. We need a massive change in this country. We need new representatives. It makes no sense to think that we can put the same democrats into power in 2026 and get a different result that we got in 2020. We’ve seen representatives like Schumer and Jefferies who are more interested in their AIPAC money than in serving the American people. 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] Naturally, the corporate democrats are not going to take these criticisms lying down. They’re rattled right now by the fact that the voters have spoken. They’ve been angry since Mamdani won his primary, and they tried to defeat him then by running Cuomo. This demonstrates a blatant disrespect for the will of the people. It’s become clear that the center is just as corrupt as the right. Now that they’re being pushed, the center is responding with some truly deplorable tactics. Lately I’ve been seeing an AIPAC funded smear campaign that attempts to accuse the left of antisemitism. We need to be clear about something. The political right is the ideology of genocide. The political right contains the nazis. The political right is currently engaged in building concentration camps, rounding up children, and protecting rich pedophiles. Our enemy is on the political right. All the left is doing is saying that we want the wars to end. We want the war to end in Iran, we want the war to end in Palestine, we also want to end the aggressions against Venezuela and Cuba. For the center to join with the right to say that the left is therefore showing signs of “antisemitism” is completely fraudulent. The worst part is the way they’ve been doing it. By now we know that our corporate media and even a large percentage of our independent media has been captured by nefarious forces. Our media is a propaganda mechanism. I’ve suspected this for a long time, but my suspicions were confirmed in the last year when I saw how reluctant publications are to promote progressive candidates. We have to be clear about something. Even many of the publications that claim to be anti-AIPAC, are actually working in the interests of that organization. Those publications waste time engaging in debates with white supremacists, or they write endless distraction articles about things like the reflecting pool, but they never use their power to elevate alternative candidates. The publications that keep you in a perpetual spin cycle are not your friends. They are distracting you to steal your power. These same publications are not taking on the debate of whether the left has shown signs of antisemitism (it hasn’t). Instead, they’re referring to it as if it’s already decided. I saw an article the other day with the title, “The Left Has an Antisemitism Problem” and I immediately blocked the author. It’s a lie. All the left wants is to spend public funds on the public good. We want to stop war. We want freedom of religion. We’re quite happy to allow people to practice whatever religion they want, we just don’t want that religion imposed on anyone who doesn’t want to listen. Right now, AIPAC is a cornered animal. I personally believe AIPAC had a lot to do with sabotaging the campaign of Kamala Harris. In the last two years, we’ve seen the extent of the corruption in the American political mechanism. It’s become more clear than ever before how critical it is to get money out of politics. We can’t have representatives who are only interested in using taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves. The people are seeing it, and they’re voting for change. But we can’t expect the corrupt figures in the center or on the right to accept the will of the people. Honor is not a characteristic of the right, and they’re going to lie, cheat, and steal to maintain their power. Many of my creator friends are Jewish and I’ve seen them express the importance of distinguishing AIPAC from Judaism. AIPAC isn’t a religion, it’s a corporate organization. A criticism of AIPAC is a criticism of corruption. Naturally dishonest and corrupt people would attempt to protect their position of power by accusing their opponents of antisemitism. This kind of mudslinging is exactly why we need to replace these corrupt incumbents with people of integrity. Antisemitism remains a scourge on humanity. The United States has been shamefully irresponsible in allowing antisemitic organizations to act with impunity within our borders. There are multiple neo-nazi groups that are never held to any standard of accountability. I would be among the first to go out and arrest the members of these hate groups. We have to obliterate antisemitism along with the toxic mind virus of white supremacy. In order to do that, we have to understand that these ideologies are rooted in the extreme right. For corrupt entities to attempt to retain their power by making false accusations against groups who demonstrate a commitment to decency is just the kind of underhanded tactic you’d expect from liars and crooks. Our corrupt media is equally complicit when they publish stories acting as if this is an established fact rather than a illicitly funded smear campaign. There is a growing movement in the United States to demand equality and prosperity for all. This is the opposite of antisemitism. The corrupt representatives that have allowed the rise of fascism are the first to point the finger and accuse their opposition of wrongdoing. But this, as has so often been the case, is yet another example of a confession disguised as an accusation. Malicious forces are being drawn out into the light like weeds being pulled from a garden. We’re discovering that when you yank the stem of white supremacy, you find centrists at the root. The centrists are exposing themselves now by attempting to expel democratically selected members from their own party. Democrats have always claimed they have a “big tent,” but while they’re quick to allow “former” klansmen and conservatives through the doors, they balk at permitting the passage of progressives. The center is as corrupt as the right. They do not respect democracy. When high ranking members of our party besmirch the characters of the candidates who win primaries, it causes division. It threatens our ability to win elections. It’s sabotage. Division has always been the primary tool of authoritarian movements. They want us infighting. They want us defending ourselves against fraudulent and malicious attacks. The media is complicit in this objective. In times like these, it’s important to take a deep, calming breath and make a clear declaration of what we stand for. We want public funds used for public good. We want prosperity for all. We want to defend the right of everyone to practice whatever religion they choose. We want to stop the senseless murder of innocent people. That’s what the left stands for. The right stands for lying, child rape, oligarchy, and genocide. The left stands for life. Make sure to denounce any writer, politician, or publication that says otherwise. They are not our friends. 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]

Estrangement Is Always On Your Mind

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful conversation. When I first met Andra I could instinctively tell that we had parallel experiences. This was a delightful conversation where we just unapologetically told the truth. Imagine if we lived in a society that embraced these values. Working on it! You can follow Andra here. I suggest you do! Also, here’s her author web page [https://andrawatkins.com/]. Thanks for listening! Thank you Margaret Williams, MS, ACC [https://substack.com/profile/12044824-margaret-williams-ms-acc], Chris Resists [https://substack.com/profile/315050911-chris-resists], LeftieProf [https://substack.com/profile/116079548-leftieprof], Wendy E [https://substack.com/profile/152347120-wendy-e], Michael Catlett [https://substack.com/profile/250986525-michael-catlett], and many others for tuning into my live video with Andra Watkins [https://substack.com/profile/101595169-andra-watkins]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Pay what you can: 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]