Watch now   We Cannot Accept This As our New Normal We cannot stop fighting for the truth to come out Aaron Parnas Aug 14 The past few weeks have felt like a political hurricane — the kind of relentless storm you can’t simply wait out. And that’s no accident. The Trump administration, drawing directly from Steve Bannon’s playbook, is using a strategy known as “flood the zone”. The formula is simple: overwhelm you, exhaust you, distract you. Make the news cycle spin so fast that no one can keep track. Yesterday’s scandal is buried under today’s scandal, and tomorrow’s will bury that one, too. The constant churn isn’t just noise — it’s a weapon. This isn’t just a moment. This is our new normal. We are living in an era where chaos is the point, not the byproduct. Where political strategy is built on exhaustion. Where truth itself is made harder to find — not because it’s disappeared, but because it’s deliberately drowned under a tidal wave of headlines. If you find value in what I’m doing here—if you believe in the power of independent journalism to inform, challenge, and connect—please consider subscribing. Your support makes it possible for me to keep delivering real-time coverage, exclusive interviews, and honest analysis you won’t find anywhere else. This is how “flood the zone” works: You see so much wrongdoing, you stop being shocked. You’re so overwhelmed by scandal, you lose track of the details. You get so tired of keeping up, you decide to tune out entirely. That’s the endgame. They don’t need you to agree with them — they just need you too exhausted to resist. I won’t sugarcoat it: this can feel scary. I feel it too. But here’s what I want you to hear from me, clearly and without hesitation — I’m here with you in this fight. This community is proof that the strategy of chaos doesn’t work on everyone. In the middle of this storm, we’ve built one of the most engaged, independent news platforms in the world. In just the last month, here on Substack alone, we’ve had over 30 million views. On TikTok? 50 million views — in just one week. Those aren’t just numbers; they’re evidence that people still crave truth, clarity, and honest conversation. And here’s the thing: this isn’t the product of a giant newsroom with endless resources. It’s just me and one part-time employee. Yet somehow, we’re consistently outperforming the engagement of major networks like CBS, MSNBC, ABC, and nearly every political influencer in the game. Why? Because this is different. Because you show up. Because we refuse to be drowned out. I’ve always believed in working harder when the stakes are higher. It’s why I started college at 14. It’s why I began law school at 18. It’s why I post 15–20 times every single day and why I haven’t had a real day off in years. I won’t lie — it comes with sacrifices. Missing time with friends. Working through weekends. Being “on” every hour of the day. But those sacrifices feel worth it when I see the impact we’re having together. When I get messages from readers who say, “This is the only place I feel like I’m getting the truth without the spin,” I know the cost is worth paying. I won’t pretend I’m not tired. The pace is relentless. The noise is constant. But I’m not burnt out. Not even close. The truth is, I draw energy from this work. From knowing that while the “flood the zone” strategy tries to blur the truth into nothingness, we are sharpening the focus. We are keeping the facts straight. We are refusing to give in. I’m with you in this — not above you, not ahead of you, but right here in the thick of it, holding the line. The months ahead will be even more chaotic. That’s not speculation — it’s the design. The political machine will keep throwing scandal after scandal into the headlines, hoping we won’t notice the freedoms and truths quietly slipping away underneath. But here’s what I know: they can flood the zone all they want. They can exhaust the public, overwhelm the feeds, and try to bury the truth under a mountain of noise — and we will still be here, together, cutting through it. I’m working on new projects right now that will make this platform stronger than ever. Yes, we face resistance. Trump’s political allies and MAGA influencers have tried to discredit us, drown us out, even shut us down. But they can’t erase a movement when millions are paying attention. This is not just about journalism. It’s about building a space that stays independent when others fold to corporate or political influence. It’s about creating a community that refuses to be manipulated into silence. We’re proving that even in the middle of chaos, truth still has a fighting chance — and that when enough of us stand together, no amount of noise can drown us out. I’m here. I’m with you. And we are just getting started. So I’m asking—if you believe in what we’re building, if you’ve found value here, if you want to help sustain this work—please consider subscribing today. You’re currently a free subscriber to the Parnas Perspective. For the full experience, more content, and to support Aaron, upgrade your subscription.

Question. How does a man like this get elected?

 

Sisters and brothers -

These are crazy times. These are dangerous times.

It appears that every day we’re dealing with one crisis or another, outrageous decisions and statements from the White House, and the continued undermining of the Constitution by Trump.

One day he's calling on Greg Abbott and other Republican governors to redistrict their states mid-decade because he knows his agenda will lose him the House.

The next day he's deploying the National Guard on the streets of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

One day he's taking health care away from millions of people.

The next day he's picking undocumented workers off the streets in front of Home Depots.

One day it's tariffs or the Epstein files.

The next day he's hanging huge banners of himself off federal buildings and forcing the military to hold a parade for him on his birthday.

Crazy stuff. Every day. And on and on and on it goes.

Question. How does a man like this get elected? Why do millions of people — including working people, young people, and people of color vote for him?

Answer. The current political and economic systems are broken and failing ordinary Americans. As our major institutions collapse, the Democratic leadership offers nothing more than tinkering around the edges and defending the status quo.

Pathetically, despite his horrific anti-worker policies, Donald Trump has become the agent of “change.”

Take a hard look at the world you’re living in. In the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, we are not even providing the basic necessities of life for working families.

Wages have been stagnant for decades. Some 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Millions work for starvation wages. We have the highest rates of childhood and senior poverty of almost any major country on earth.

Millions can't find affordable housing. Some 800,000 Americans are homeless and 20 million households spend at least 50% of their incomes on shelter. All across the country, people are terrified that their landlords will raise their rent and drive them out of their homes.

Our health care system, despite being wildly expensive, is on the verge of collapse. 85 million are uninsured or under-insured and there are not enough doctors, nurses, dentists, or psychologists. We pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, and some 60,000 Americans die each year because they don’t get to a doctor on time.

Our educational systems — from childcare to college to trade schools — are inadequate and far too expensive. We used to be the best educated country in the world. Not any more. Millions of young people leave school deeply in debt.

Our food system, dominated by agribusiness and the food industry, is making our kids sick. They supply children with addictive ultra-processed food which leads to obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses. Buying healthy food is unaffordable for most families.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all that, one person owns more wealth than the bottom 52% of households, Trump and Congress provide massive tax breaks to billionaires and politicians maintain a corrupt campaign finance system that allows the very rich to buy elections.

So where do we go from here?

In my view, we need to make it clear to the American people that now is not the time to think small. Given the major crises that we face, we need to think big.

We need to make it clear that, with all of the advances in worker productivity that exploding new technologies like AI and robotics will provide, we now have the opportunity to create the kind of society that has only been dreamed of in the past — a nation in which every man, woman and child has a decent standard of living. This is not utopian thinking. This is doable and exactly what we should be fighting for.

But how?

We must defend and expand our democracy: Working people need democracy and a responsive government which can advance their interests and put checks on the greed of the Oligarchs.

We must make the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes: We need a fair and progressive tax system that demands that the wealthiest people in our country finally start paying their fair share of taxes so that we can fund the needs of the working class. No one should possess more than a billion dollars in wealth.

We must cut military spending: We can make significant cuts in military spending, retain the strong defense that we need and transfer tens of billions into social needs.

We must make certain that the working class benefits from new technology: AI and robotics cannot simply be a means by which the rich become richer while working class people lose out.

We must guarantee basic human needs: Yes. In the United States, we can afford to provide quality health care, education, nutrition, housing, and retirement security to all as a human right.

We must enact Medicare for All: The function of a rational health care system is not to make insurance companies and drug companies tens of billions a year in profits. It’s to provide quality care for all and focus on disease prevention.

We must provide quality education for all: Today our childcare system is broken, public education is under siege and higher education is extremely expensive. That has got to change. We must guarantee that every family in America can send their kids to high quality childcare, regardless of income.

We must make housing affordable: We must expand the National Housing Trust Fund to build at least 4 million more units of low-income and affordable housing, cap the price of rent, end the gentrification of neighborhoods, and stop Wall Street speculators from ripping off tenants and flipping homes.

We must improve the wages and benefits for the American people, pass the PRO Act to make it easier for people to form a union, raise the minimum wage to a living wage, $17 an hour, guarantee paid family and medical leave, expand Social Security, and bring back defined benefit pensions.

These are not pie-in-the-sky ideas. They are not radical. They are not fringe. They are not ideas to be afraid of.

These are all ideas widely accepted and supported by the majority of the American people. And I am not talking just about Democrats in so-called "blue states." I am talking about the working people coming out to our rallies in droves in places like West Virginia and Texas.

And I am talking about many of the working people who have fled the Democratic Party for Trump because he promised to bring about massive change.

In this difficult moment in American history, we must have the courage to stand together and fight back against corporate greed.

We must have the courage to fight back against massive income and wealth inequality.

We must have the courage to fight back against a corrupt political system and to listen to the needs of working families, and not just corporate CEOs.

It's not just good policy, but it is good politics.

And if we do that, we'll not only win elections everywhere, but we can finally create an economy and a government that works for all, not just the 1 percent.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

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Watch now   MeidasTouch and V from Under the Desk News GO LIVE!!! Ben and I spoke with with V from Under the Desk News in an inspiring Substack live today, reminding us all that we’re not alone, even when the news feels overwhelming. MeidasTouch Network, V Spehar, Ben Meiselas, and Brett Meiselas Aug 14 By Brett Meiselas I had the absolute pleasure of joining V from Under the Desk News for a Substack Live that felt more like a conversation with an old friend than a formal livestream. V and I talked about something that gets lost in the 24/7 chaos, and that’s the power of real communities. Not the hate-fueled echo chambers MAGA thrives in, but genuine, supportive spaces that look out for each other while fighting for democracy. As Ben hopped in, we dove straight into the heart of why MeidasTouch exists — because traditional media too often sanitizes Trump’s unhinged behavior into bite-sized “both sides” fluff. We don’t need another 20-second clip of Trump mumbling “Make America Great Again” while ignoring that the same speech was a three-hour fever dream about Hannibal Lecter, locking up political opponents, and defending Russian hackers. That’s propaganda by omission, and it’s dangerous. We called out Trump’s latest insanity (and there was a whole of it). From his bizarre Kennedy Center stunt to his shameless willingness to give away Alaska’s rare earth minerals to Putin as part of a scheme to turn Ukraine into a Gaza-style occupation, we can not let these actions be normalized. If Biden or Harris even joked about such things, the political world would implode. But Trump does it, the media shrugs, and he walks away with a headline that helps him. That’s exactly why we fight back. And why voices like V and her Under the Desk News platform are so vital. V asked about the breakneck pace of MeidasTouch, our daily 4 a.m. videos, our wide-net strategy across YouTube, Substack, TikTok, and more, and why we refuse to put all our eggs in one basket in case a platform caves to right-wing pressure. We’ve been mass-reported, hit with bogus “fact checks” from far-right outlets to limit our reach, and almost banned outright. But the support we get from you — messages, DMs, people stopping us in grocery stores — far outweighs the hate. This is a generational fight and a pivotal moment. Trump is the face of a decades-long project to dismantle civil rights, empower oligarchs, and normalize authoritarianism. If we do our jobs, this moment could mark the breaking point where truth, empathy, and unity finally crush the cycle. Until then, it’s game on. Let’s stay in the trenches together. I hope you enjoy our conversation in the video above. And after you watch, come join us for a special LIVE episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast tonight at 8p ET/5p PT on YouTube. Just click here to watch, or see the video player below. Warning: we are FIRED UP right now!!! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A guest post by V Spehar “GenZ’s Walter Cronkite” - NYTimes Time100 Most Influential Creator '25 Harvard Shorenstein Fellow '25 Webby Special Achievement Winner Hello@underthedesknews.com

They Can Say All They Want I AM NOT STOPPING MeidasTouch Network and Ben Meiselas Aug 14 By Ben Meiselas I am feeling fired up this morning, so apologies in advance if this comes off strong. I’m about to get into it. Let me start at the top by asking if you can subscribe to this Substack now. We are beating Fox News still, but they are catching up. Your subscriptions have been so helpful in our expansion… Let me get back to my post. This is more than just politics. Fundamentally, this is good versus evil. This is health versus death. This is fact versus lies. And this is love versus hate. I think why corporate news hates us and wants to destroy us is because we don’t play by their rules. We don’t cover politics like it’s a game. We cover it based on the existential issues you face. Trump wants most Americans dead. If he could get away with it, I truly believe he would kill most of us. He hates working people with a passion. He likes rich people because he wants their money. What I just said above isn’t stuff you hear on corporate news. Even most podcasts try to show off how smart they are by getting into weird debates on hypotheticals that are so detached from what people are experiencing. Bernie Sanders told me something I will never forget. He said, “Ben, I want you to always remember that the most important issues people face and think about are often the issues that are least discussed on the news.” He was so right. Do you ever hear corporate news spend meaningful time discussing issues of affordability, healthcare, or education? When they do discuss it, they frame making things affordable and getting free healthcare and free education as being bad. Do you ever hear the media meaningfully discuss housing? When they talk about housing, it’s always in some story idolizing the mansions of the rich and famous. The state of corporate news is a symptom of the sickness of a dying democracy. It is not dead yet, but it’s on life support. Like bloodthirsty zombies, they want to suck the life out of the energy of positivity and love we all create and spread. They don’t like our coverage. They don’t like what we say or how we say it. They want us to be in the mud with them, rolling in Trump’s pile of crap. We aren’t going there. We are finding greener pastures and not that turd-filled MAGA filth. They can hate us. Attack us. Threaten us. Sue us. Hack us. They’ve already tried it. They failed. They will fail again. This people-powered movement is bigger than me or my brothers. There are millions of Meidas Mighty across the world who spread this message each day. This isn’t just a network—it’s a movement. A movement that will defeat Trumpism. Before you go, I have one favor to ask. Please subscribe now if you can. We’ve had good momentum these past few days. We keep beating Fox News and all cable news. We’ve beat Rogan by three times the monthly downloads. But corporate news is spending billions to try to sink us. They’ve got all the resources in the world. We have this Substack, and that is working! So please help the MeidasTouch Network continue its mission and subscribe today to this Substack—or you can gift subscriptions to people you Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

COMMENTS:

You know what’s wild? We’re living in a country where one man’s got an audience bigger than Fox News… and he can say whatever the hell he wants. No sponsors pulling strings. No billionaire donors whispering in his ear. No corporate lawyer standing over his shoulder with a red pen. That’s not just rare ya’ll it’s dangerous. Dangerous to the people who’ve been running this game so long they forgot they could lose.

And here’s the thing. You’ve seen what happens when someone with that reach speaks truth without ducking behind “both sides” bullshit. It’s like tossing a lit match in a room full of gas fumes. You can feel the shift. People start looking at each other like, Wait… we can say that shit out loud?

I’m telling you, that’s why the suits hate it. You can buy ads, you can buy airtime, but you can’t buy that kind of freedom. And when you’ve got millions hearing it unfiltered? That’s a sledgehammer to the glass walls they’ve built around the conversation.

Now, I’m not Ben but I get it. I’m building my own little corner over at www.xplisset.com, where I don’t have to kiss any rings to say what needs saying. Maybe I don’t have the Fox-beating numbers yet but every new subscriber is one more brick in a wall they can’t knock down.

So if you’re feeling that energy when Ben lights it up, understand this: the movement’s not just him. It’s you. It’s me. It’s anyone willing to speak and back up those who do. And if that scares the people in charge? Good. Means we’re doing it right.

Ben is a great modern day explainer and teacher of the Modern Oral Tradition.

It helps keep more and more people based and grounded, aware and prepared. Baring Witness and making the difficult connections.

It's like so many people have their own "Meta Narratives" which they are emotionally and reactionary reflexively defensive. Good faith, honest, passionate, empathetic, and through Journalism and analysis could form the base of a National Narrative of Resistance.

I completely agree with your comment, Ben has takenthe derelict Fourth Estate down multiple pegs.

https://trm243.blogspot.com/2025/08/blog-post_44.html

That was brilliant writing and the truth is all over it. Thank you! You have an incredible way with words and beyond words it rings loud and clear with truth. For we are in trying times but if history tells us anything, it tells us that we must remain diligent, committed, and strong as hell to overtake the evil who's rank breath is breathing down our necks. We must never give up and never give in. Those who won our democracy, who took back our freedoms, were those who never gave up no matter the cost. How sad that we are here. Soldiers in a war within our own country. I have faith and hope that we will be victorious just like they were in the Battle of Yorktown where we secured our American independence!