I’m Not Sick Anymore!
If you haven’t listened to Cardi B’s album: Am I the Drama?, the subheading is almost a bar from her song Magnet Baby. I really do enjoy the project as something to get up and dance to so I encourage you to listen to her and Bia’s new project when you get a chance.
Nevertheless, Cardi’s shout out to the classic alphabet song got me to thinking. Politics is so fucking complicated and convoluted. Every day its:
“Whose fault is this…?”
“Who are you endorsing?”
“AIPAC this”
“MTG that”
MY GAWD people, you and your acronyms must not want me to know anything! Which makes sense, because if I do not know anything, I cant push back on it. With that said, you know I am all for a little pushback; hence, why I thought I would give basic definitions to the buzz words used during our favorite newscasts and TikTok videos to help decipher the political jargon you hear every day.
Authoritarianism - A type of political system that grants power to a single person or small group, and only small economic and social freedoms are allowed. Dictatorship is an EXTREME form or authoritarianism because dictatorships have no checks on their authority and the power is literally given to one person who is not held accountable for ANYTHING.
I wanted to give an example akin to The Wire here, the greatest television show ever made via HBO. But I am struggling. Marlo’s reign gave dictator, play with him and you could find yourself in one of those abandoned warehouses, whereas I felt like the Avon/Stringerbell run was more authoritarianism….but more on that later.
AIPAC - A bipartisan lobbying organization that advocates for legislation and policies aimed at creating a strong, enduring, and mutually beneficial relationship between the U.S. and Israel.
Bureaucracy - A management system that typically uses some form of chain of command and procedures to carry out an organization’s work.
We deal with bureaucracy every day at work. And when you would hear your parents grumble about not wanting to play “the game” every week, this is what they were talking about.
Oftentimes the real meaning of bureaucracy is displayed in the way that we move behind the scenes to get to the position we want to get to. It is the paperwork that we know will slow down a decision or the pushing back of a bill’s execution date to take place when your opponent is in office so that the true ramifications look like the fault of another party. It is rampant throughout politics of course and we are all frustrated with it because it takes away from the work that we really need done to make our lives easier. But it is not inherently good or bad. It’s just slow as hell.
Capitalist - Someone who believes in private wealth (someone having a lot of money or assets) and the free market (little to no government regulations or oversight) and encourages the ability to use that wealth in accordance with their own interests. It can also be someone who advocates for capitalism. I know a lot of broke people who are capitalists technically, but hey…whatever keeps the dream alive, I guess.
Furlough - A furlough is a temporary, unpaid leave that happens for non-disciplinary reasons.
BIG POINT HERE: in U.S. government context, “excepted employees” keep working without pay during shutdowns.
Socialist - Someone who believes in the shared ownership of resources and central planning of distribution of those goods, and would encourage the formation of social and welfare programs.
What did you think of that little glossary? Was it helpful? If so I would love it if you shared this newsletter with a friend.
Substacks don’t grow on their own, and because I am not trying to charge anyone for content it would be great if we could get this free community poppin with some more people so that we could engage in more conversation.
The First Amendment - Kinda
Freedom of Speech is the right to speak, write, and share ideas and opinions without facing punishment from the government.
We still have that here in the U.S. as of 10.14.2025
We can speak against the government, whether the party in power or not, and express ourselves freely without government consequence unless the speech we use or perform falls into one of a few narrow exceptions:
Obscenity — speech that’s sexually explicit and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Child pornography — not protected under any circumstance.
Defamation — making false statements about people that harm their reputation.
Incitement — speech intended and likely to cause people to break the law immediately.
Fighting words — direct, face-to-face insults meant to provoke an immediate violent reaction.
These few types of speech are not protected under the law.
You know what is protected under the law? Hate speech.
Contrary to popular belief, including sometimes by public officials (PAM BONDI) you can use hate speech all day, and it’s still protected.
The courts have said that when the government tries to regulate speech based on its content, meaning what you’re saying specifically, as long as it doesn’t fall into one of those unprotected categories, the government cannot criminalize it. The court will review any such law under strict scrutiny, which is the highest level of review.
If the U.S. government tries to limit your speech just because it’s deplorable, rude, or directed at someone in government, as long as you’re not threatening anyone, the courts will almost always strike that restriction down. Strict scrutiny will, for the most part, still protect and uphold your right to speak, even if it’s hate speech, as long as it doesn’t cross into those unprotected categories (obscenity, defamation, incitement, or fighting words).
Name 5 Gov. Agencies Gun Pointed to Ya Head.
BOW! Ya dead.
Okay no more Cardi references. I promise!
A lot of people are currently being impacted by the government shutdown. Some whom you know and some whom you don’t. I challenge you to focus on the people behind the agencies as what a lot of you don’t know is that while the news is pounding into our heads that a lot of these government agencies are “furloughed,” as defined above the people who we think are furloughed are actually working with out pay because the work flow does not stop.
Check out an example of how the government does that little work around in this furlough notification here. To a lot of government workers during a government shutdown, furloughed means that they are working without pay, and will receive backpay….maybe.
The creator of Project 2025 (I am going to reference him as that because similar to Voldemort, we will not be saying his name around here!) was talking real spicy over the past few weeks saying that furloughed workers would not be paid back pay. A deviation for what Trump advocated for in 2019 via The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 that was signed into law by Trump on January 16, 2019. The act guarantees back pay for federal employees affected by a lapse in government appropriations, such as a government shutdown.
This means that people who have been working for the government agencies like these may or may not be getting paid when the Senate decides to turn the light on.
GSA - General Services Administration
GSA constructs, manages, and leases federal buildings, acts as the government’s acquisition arm to buy products and services, and develops policies for these functions.
2. NSF - National Science Foundation
Funds science research and education.
SSA - Social Security Admin
Manages social programs like retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. It also issues Social Security numbers, manages the program’s finances, and enrolls people in Medicare.
VA - Veterans Affairs
Provides a range of benefits and services to military veterans and their families, including health care, disability compensation, education and career counseling, and burial benefits.
Last Thoughts…
I feel like I’ve rambled enough, but before I get outta here, here’s what I’m focusing on today:
RIP D’Angelo! I want to run up his streams because I feel like his music is the soundtrack for Black Girl Magic.
Angel Reese is an angel on earth and if she’s in it, I will be watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show!
Native Land Pod added Bakari Sellers and the chemistry is palpable. It’s giving older cousins smoke ciphers at the cook-out vibes.
Ashley Allison bought The Root & I am here for Black owned media companies doing the damn thing!