Stuck millennials, YA cartoons, Mickey gets hip, a holiday from history at EPCOT, the Disney world stage, authentic Rapunzels, true Peter Pans & the art of being ruled within the empire of dreams.
Women & children first, targeted trauma, melody time, subverting wonder, those darn millennials, princess obsession & happiness hegemony. Yes, we are going places…
Every fantasy franchise has an unbearable portion of its fanbase. But this one takes the cake. Powerful conservatives are obsessed with “The Lord of the Rings.” We know this because they name their military technology companies, surveillance firms, and venture capital firms after Middle-earth objects. Billionaire Peter Thiel has named ten of his companies after “The Lord of the Rings” objects, including Palantir, the authoritarian surveillance company of choice for the Trump regime. J.D. Vance calls himself a “Lord of the Rings guy,” Elon Musk has sharp, anti-woke views on “The Rings of Power,” and Jeff Bezos helped create this series by buying the rights to the franchise through Amazon. Even the far right in Spain and Italy identifies with “The Lord of the Rings.”
They believe they are fighting dark forces and consider themselves the heroic men of Gondor or the elves of Rivendell. Yes, that’s right: The people who help ICE disappear mothers and fathers think they’re the good guys. Worse still, they believe Tolkien’s Catholicism shares their worldview that immigrants, feminists, and global cooperation are the enemy.
Francesca investigates “The Nerd Reich’s” misinterpretation of “The Lord of the Rings” and how they’ve learned the wrong lessons from history. She examines how their behavior and beliefs are more reminiscent of Saruman than saviors. But even more, they resemble just another creature in the swamps of Mordor…
Fairy tales, family fare, Uncle Walt, adaptation & absorption. All the good stuff… or is it?
In a scathing and deeply personal account, Karen Attiah—former global opinions editor at The Washington Post—lays bare a chilling truth: the American press isn’t just reporting on the rise of right-wing extremism; in many cases, it’s enabling it. Attiah’s abrupt firing from the Post isn’t just a professional setback—it’s a symptom of a media landscape increasingly reluctant to challenge the narratives of power, particularly those aligned with Donald Trump’s brand of populist authoritarianism.
Attiah’s essay is more than a reckoning with her own ouster; it’s a warning. She argues that outlets once seen as bulwarks of democratic accountability are now softening their criticism, avoiding confrontational language, and even echoing Trumpist talking points—not because of government censorship, but because of a creeping, self-imposed timidity. The fear of backlash, the chase for clicks, and the desire to avoid being labeled „biased“ have led to a dangerous normalization of extremism. When journalists hesitate to call out lies, when editors water down headlines, and when opinion sections platform fringe voices under the guise of „balance,“ the media becomes complicit in the erosion of truth itself.
This isn’t just about one newspaper or one editor. Attiah’s story reflects a broader pattern: as the GOP lurches further right, the press is struggling to keep up—not with investigative rigor, but with moral clarity. The result? A public discourse where conspiracy theories gain traction, where authoritarian rhetoric is treated as just another „perspective,“ and where the guardrails of democracy weaken by the day.
Attiah’s piece is a call to arms for readers and journalists alike. It asks: If the media won’t defend democracy, who will? And if the cost of speaking truth to power is a career, is it a price worth paying? Read her essay—not just for the inside story, but for the urgent questions it raises about the future of American journalism.
Naomi’s music distributor took her album down from Spotify “at my request” but… she never made that request. Between distributors and streaming platforms, musicians have very little control over how their music is published.
UPDATE: The Harp Corner is finally back up as of today!
Listen to it here ► https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/2nZZc3NK6VlcFpzI6iwapY
Charlie Kirk spent his life spreading fascism, and now the political machine is racing to turn him into a martyr.
The USA is currently collapsing completely. A sheriff sends a letter to a woman who has exercised her civil rights, threatening her with arrest.
Sir Sic says: “Yeah I really didn’t want to make this video, and I’m still not completely convinced (despite the evidence and the fact that it’s happening to others) that I’m not over reacting and it’s not all in my head (anxiety disorder ftw), but the fact is, if I am right and I do nothing, the channel dies and that’s just not worth being so self doubting to the point where I do nothing… ultimately I hope I’m wrong, and the fact is, even if I a, your help could send the channel to new heights and I can make the content even more gooder/funner than it already is, with better arguments and we all have a good time doing it. Thanks so much for all your support, and I’ll see you in the next (proper) video :)”
Enjoy the official Music Video to Ndlovu Youth Choir’s isiZulu version of Bohemian Rhapsody, originally performed by @Queen.