Intro
Welcome to The Cameron Journal Newsletter. Each week, Cameron Lee Cowan wraps up the headlines with commentary, helping you navigate today’s media narratives, how they are affecting our Culture, Lifestyle, and Society.
The World is Hard, This is Not
If you’re new here, my name is Cameron Lee Cowan M.A. MFA, and I’m the Creative Director here at The Cameron Journal. You can learn more about me on the about page. I do research and commentary on politics, culture, and the world around us. Each week I send out the latest news narratives, the latest videos from The Cameron Journal and commentary about the week’s events.
Remember, The World is Hard, This is Not.
Update from Cameron
Today it is snowing here in Connecticut. New England winters roll hard and while we didn’t really see snow until just after Christmas, today, it was pouring down. Unfortunately for me, I had to go out and run some errands in the cold, wet, and muck. Then I came home and treated myself with a heart potato soup. Today was a day to stay in bed and be cozy under blankets. And so I had no motivation to get to the computer and write this newsletter. I had a whole plan to catch up on things and work stuff and such, and the day just fell off the rails. I’m going to finish writing this and tuck back into bed and watch the snow fall in the darkness outside in the frozen landscape. Driving in the snow reminded me of so many frosty Denver mornings and how I haven’t really lived in a snowy place since 2015. In Seattle, I had to drive to the snow and in Delaware/Mid-Atlantic snow is a once-a-winter dusting most of the time. But it is rather romantic to see the world blanketed in white.
This week I interviewed Zolal Habibi, an Iranian activist, who updated us on the situation in Iran. I ran it live and uploaded it, and you can watch it below. It was fascinating. I didn’t say much, but I learned a great deal and I know you will too. And if you’re wondering where new interviews are, don’t worry, they just got edited (I got a new video editor)
Anyway, let’s dive right into those headlines.
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The News Narratives of the Week
Don’t forget to join me on Monday for The Cameron Journal Newshour!
Papers Please!
This week, Homeland Security advised the nation that they should be prepared to be stopped and asked for proof of citizenship at any time.
Let’s take a moment and sit with that for a moment.
When I was a kid, my Dad, being a navy man and a Cold Warrior, always told me that it would be the end of the country if we, as others in other countries, have to present our papers for inspection to government officials. For him, it is a remnant of the Soviet Union or Communist China. I always dismissed it, and I never really took it seriously.
But now my mind has jumped back to him talking about that. Since the election, I have kept my passport in my handbag at all times. I have been fortunate to not be an area with ICE presence (so far) but I have still kept it close by me in case I need to present my papers.
Last week I wrote about state power. I mentioned it on the Newshour as well, but when it comes to what powers the state has and which powers it does not have, it is easy for government to consolidate power around themselves (either as people or institutions) and for basic rights to be slowly eroded. I remember back in the Bush years when they passed the Patriot Act, and we lived through the resulting domestic spy scandals, it was called a slippery slope, and it appears we have fallen down it.
Regardless of whether you agree with what ICE is doing (I don’t), I would draw attention to the real concern: should the state be doing this? President Obama managed to removed 21 million people from the country without shooting people in the road. It was not popular at the time and there were extensive protests and actions against it. But no one felt like their citizenship was in danger. Normal people weren’t getting shot or taken away. Immigrants going to courts were not being deported during their immigration hearings.
I understand the need to crackdown on immigration, but it is obvious that what is happening has very little to do with immigration and has much more to do with an expansion of state power. I am glad that 600,000 immigrants have decided to self-deport. There is data that it is nominally lowering housing costs in certain markets. However, this is a dangerous expansion of state power, and that should be what concerns us all. If the government can shoot anyone for exercising their constitutional right to protest, seek redress of grievances, or observe the actions of government officials, then we no longer have a republic.
I know for some people reading this, the desperation of trying to change society is such that they may be willing to give up anything to fix our problems. Don’t give up your rights to have safety; otherwise you will have neither.
ICE, Protests and Minneapolis
As I had recently talked about on The Cameron Journal Newshour, ICE is hiring anyone with a pulse, and we do mean anyone. And that means that some ICE agents are not trained well and often have criminal backgrounds or other personal problems that would ordinarily exclude them from serving in ICE. The situation has become quite difficult but shows no sign of ending any time soon.
Protests against ICE actions have broken out nationwide and while they have been going on for months, it has mostly escaped news coverage (except in LA because of government action). Now, the media is paying attention. The Chief of Police in Philadelphia basically told ICE and the administration to come try her, and local police have mentioned that they will arrest ICE agents. In Minneapolis, a brief showdown between local police and ICE resulted in protestors hugging cops and thanking them for protecting them from ICE. One cop said it was, “the world turned upside down.”
Even before the shooting of Renee Good, The New Republic reported that Donald Trump’s immigration nightmare was already here. The reality is that while we are paying attention to Minneapolis, we already lived through a lockdown in Los Angeles and the court system making ICE leave. We’ve already been here. This is the latest chapter in a frightening picture.
On top of the ICE action, the state is under the specter of investigation due to the ongoing scandal around Somali immigrants taking advantage of the state’s generous social welfare system with fake companies getting contracts to transport people to medical appointments, run day cares, and home health aid services. Although it has only now gotten national attention, the scandal has been going on since 2023, but the latest videos from independent journalist Nick Shirley have brought a whole new light to the on-going bilking of the system. The problem extends throughout the state, and his latest video is just as scathing as the one that started it all. Although there is already pushback on his reporting from, of all places, CBS. Regardless of the facts, the narrative that Blue states are dens of democrat corruption has been set and the median voter is going to look favorably on it, even if they don’t think ICE should be shooting people in the street.
The Current Thing and The Economic Status Quo
This week all of our stories are somewhat linked. A couple of weeks ago on The Cameron Journal Newshour, I mentioned a story about the “jobless” recovery that might be coming in 2026. The economy has been tough since the pandemic. At times, it feels like we have not recovered from the Pandemic. I would say we never recovered from 2008 either. What will it take to get the economy working again? Everyone hopes that it is AI but, quite frankly, I doubt that is the situation.
The bigger story is that we are living at the end of a major economic cycle that started 50 years ago and has seen our public services privatized and more of our lives become investment fodder for the asset classes. And while those who own assets have grown wealthy beyond all measure, it has slowly but surely sucked all the financial life out of everyone else. When people ask where did all the money and wages go, I simply point to about 5 people worth more than 100 billion dollars. Their pockets are where all the money went. And it’s not even in their pockets per se, it is in their assets.
One of the reasons people are frustrated with government is that government seems powerless to solve the problems of people, and the reason for that is simple: it is bad for big business. Take IRS free file for taxes. The Biden administration managed to force that through, only for it to be discarded under Trump thanks to clever lobbyists from Intuit (the parent company of Turbo Tax). The Devil works hard, but the lobbyists from Intuit and Kris Jenner work harder.
Unfortunately, this great stagnation, which has been great for business and lousy for anyone else, has brought us to a place where people are so desperate for change they are willing to give up their rights as citizens in a free society in order for things to change. People figure if we can just “stop the corruption” or “stop the lying” or “get the immigrants out” or “stop the welfare queens” or….or…..or. And while all of those are laudable (to a point), they aren’t the real problem. The real concern is that people are underpaid and have been for decades. Big Business has too much power and continues to consolidate it at the expense of decent living, the environment, and the economies on which these companies depend. It is extraction.
A few years ago, I had mentioned that the wealthy of the world has done a good job of extracting wealthy from the developing world, and now they were going to suck it out of the last place: the developed world. This started being apparent during the Greek debt crisis. The story is always the same, public goods sold off, wages stagnate, and the government goes into austerity spending leaving people to sort out their needs on their own. If they can afford to get the healthcare or other services that they need, it isn’t noticeable but once the cost goes too high, the jobs go away or life changes, and they can’t afford something then people realize that the society that they once trusted to take care of them in hard times doesn’t exist anymore. Many people don’t realize that the cost of this extraction is paid by the poor first but that everyone will eventually pay for it.
People want change, and they want their government to make changes, and Big Business is dead set against anything that will threaten their profit margins or their projections. For Business, government is a line item in a spreadsheet that ensures future profits will flow in. For people, government is their best, and last, defense against a cold, cruel world. The system is fundamentally in conflict with itself. And it is bursting out in ways that are, to be frank, deadly.
President Trump’s regressive polices are a symptom of a system that is desperate for a society that benefits everyone. That fundamental need runs against wealth and power that wants only the wealth with none of the responsibility. It is Nobeless without the Oblige.
I don’t know what course of action to take at this juncture. I feel like we are locked in to come to a disastrous moment. Will it be war with Europe? Will it be Iran? Will be it China? That I cannot answer, but it is coming. We must try to survive. Our time is a terrible burden to bear, but our ancestors have done it before, we have to try to show up to the moment like they did.
America’s Lost Generation is Out Now! Get Your Copy!
I’m excited to announce that America’s Lost Generation is out now! It’s available everywhere books are sold or through The Cameron Journal directly. You’ve been hearing me talk about this book for a long time, and you’ve read the Millennials collection on The Cameron Journal. Looking to Japan for guidance (and a cautionary tale), I told the story of Millennials through their voices.
Articles of Interest
Below are 3 reflections I had on a recent interview I had with Joe Atman. I know one of them was sent out (rather by mistake) but I got wonderful feedback on the piece. Here’s the whole short series I posted this week:
Keep up with The Cameron Journal Podcast and The Living Joke
The Interview:
The Cameron Journal Newshour:
The Living Joke:
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