Bananas! June 17, 2026June 17, 2026 But first . . . Remember how Stacey Abrams did the impossible, organizing Georgia to elect Reverend Warnock and John Ossoff to the United States Senate? She had help, of course; but she was the driving force. Now she’s launching 10 Steps to Freedom & Power. The 10 Steps to Autocracy and Authoritarianism These steps don’t happen in order—they occur simultaneously to overwhelm and confuse opposition. Recognize them. Resist them. Reverse them . . . Which are followed directly by . . . The 10 Steps to Freedom and Power Defeating authoritarianism isn’t a cinematic moment – it’s thousands of individual, community and institutional actions that are stronger and more consistent than those who would oppress us. You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need permission. You just need to start. Start where you are. With what you have. Among those you know. Together, we can build something stronger than fear. We build a better democracy. We build freedom. We build power . . . You’ll be one of the first to explore this site and the resources it offers to help you engage. Knowing, Stacey, you’ll soon have a lot of company. Also . . . JOBS & DEBT Democrats create them. Republicans . . . not so much (2 minutes worth sharing). Where modern Republicans have excelled is in creating debt by cutting taxes on the ultra-wealthy. When Nixon/Ford left office, the National Debt was equal to 34.6% of GDP. Jimmy Carter had cut it to 31.7% by the time he handed the reins to Ronald Reagan and Bush 41, who had ballooned it to 63.4% by the time they handed it to Bill Clinton, who lowered it to 54.5% . . . . . . only to see Bush 43 pump it up to 82.2% and hand Obama a potential depression that required massive fiscal stimulus to avert, raising the ratio to 103.9% . . . though, of note, it was shrinking by the time he handed Trump a booming economy that required no stimulus. Trump nonetheless ballooned the ratio to 127.9% and handed Biden COVID. COVID notwithstanding, Biden shrank it to 122.9% before handing Trump an economy that was the envy of the world — and thus, again, in no need of stimulus. Yet less than two years in, Trump 47 already has it up past 130% and growing fast. Executive summary: If you want a lot of job, vote blue. If you want a huge National Debt, vote red. And now . . . BANANAS This isn’t about SPCX and its preposterous $2.5 trillion valuation — though that, too. It’s Mark P.‘s reaction to Monday’s Freezing Bananas. Mark writes: Speaking of bananas: I invented a banana recipe years ago and named it after my daughter: Bananas Gabrielle. Several chefs I have shared it with were blown away “Take an EXCEEDINGLY ripe banana, peel it, cut into one-inch sections, microwave on high for two minutes, and serve” – that’s it. Microwaving boils all the water out of it and caramelizes the sugar. You can serve it over vanilla ice cream as “Bananas Foster” — but it requires NO sugar or butter. Same classic New Orleans dessert with 10 per cent of the calories. Try it! And let me know what you think. Oh, and wait! EPSTEIN 38,000 mentions . . . why all the redactions if there’s nothing to hide? Any news?