Fourth & Democracy | Fallout from Alaska, Weaponized Distractions in D.C. & Affordable Housing for Whom?

Welcome to another week of Fourth & Democracy: Where the playbook meets the public square. Trump embarrassed us on the world stage as he rolled out the red carpet for a war criminal, we still aren’t addressing the housing crisis in a meaningful way, and we’re seeing a new weaponized distraction every day.

The chaos has been constant lately, but we are up for the fight. We have a lot to get to and some great ways for young people to get involved in the fight for democracy.

Let’s get into it.

1st & 10: Corporate Housing

Heading into the New York City mayoral election and the midterms next year, housing affordability is at the top of mind for young voters. Rent prices are at an all-time high, and the dream of homeownership feels further out of reach for Millennials and Gen Z than ever before. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has styled himself as a champion of affordable housing — regularly posting about his plans on social media — but the reality in his state doesn’t match the rhetoric.

The average studio apartment in Colorado now costs $1,423 a month, and as of 2021, 20% of single-family homes in Denver were owned by private equity firms. That’s not affordability — that’s Wall Street buying up people’s futures. Politicians’ promises to “just build more housing” dodge the core issue: Corporate landlords and gentrifier-box apartments popping up in cities nationwide. Working-class families, especially communities of color, are being priced out of their neighborhoods, forced into unsafe rentals, or pushed to the brink of homelessness.

Some Democrats are taking this fight seriously. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has been outspoken on ending Wall Street’s grip on housing. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has backed tenant protections in his state. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has pushed for a national Homes Guarantee. And New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani — now the Democratic nominee for NYC Mayor — has led the charge locally for rent stabilization and against predatory landlords. Together, they’re pointing toward the only solution that matters: breaking the private equity stranglehold on America’s homes. Which makes winning these upcoming elections not just important — but essential.

2nd Down: Putin Peacocks in the Last Frontier

The “secretive” Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin was sold by corporate media as a geopolitical turning point — but it played more like a sideshow. No deal, no breakthrough, no answers. Instead of substance, the press obsessed over Putin’s English and Trump’s tone while the real story slipped under the red carpet Trump laid out for a war criminal: A desperate attempt to distract from Epstein, rising arrests by troops Trump has dispatched to D.C., and his own ties to child-trafficking.

Every time the Epstein files resurface, Trump hits the same playbook: Flood the zone with chaos. ICE raids. National Guard deployments. “Historic” photo-ops with war criminals. Prison transfers in the middle of the night. He’ll burn through every lever of executive power just to keep the spotlight off his predation.

Meanwhile, Marco Rubio is out on the Sunday shows doing his usual routine — twisting himself into knots to defend his Orange Daddy and reversing years of anti-Russia hawkishness. But the summit itself was hollow. Putin wants to grind Ukraine into submission while posturing as a diplomat. Trump wants to smother the news cycle with distraction, deflection, and projection. Two authoritarians staging theater, neither delivering for the people they claim to lead.

3rd & Long: Are ICE Operations Sustainable?

As Stephen Miller pushes the rhetoric further and further, ICE operations grind on — checkpoints pop up, arrests rise, and masked agents sweep through neighborhoods in near anonymity. Protests in D.C. echo the tensions with the public already seen in Los Angeles. But the bigger question is whether Trump’s blitz — driven by muscle, not strategy — can actually be sustained.

Trump’s “Big Bullshit Bill” stuffed ICE with $76.5 billion in enforcement funding, aiming to recruit 10,000 new staff and support 1 million deportations a year. The recruitment pitch includes bonuses of up to $50,000, student-loan forgiveness, pension retention, and extra pay for overtime. But expansion is already hitting walls. Training centers are overloaded, and recruitment in Democratic-led cities is sluggish. Even with big incentives, insiders admit it will take years — not weeks — to build the kind of force Trump is demanding.

Inside ICE offices, the cracks are starting to show. Morale is collapsing as agents describe the atmosphere as “miserable” and the job as “mission impossible.” Under Stephen Miller’s relentless quota of 3,000 arrests a day, seasoned officers have been pushed from pursuing serious criminal cases to rounding up asylum seekers, gardeners, and the homeless population. Many are openly questioning what, exactly, they’ve signed up to enforce.

At the same time, resistance in the nation’s capital is boiling over. Checkpoints have sprung up across D.C., sparking daily clashes between masked ICE agents, police, and residents who refuse to stand by silently. Arrest numbers are climbing, traffic stops are turning into confrontations, and entire neighborhoods are on edge as military-style raids play out in the shadow of the Capitol. Community groups are mobilizing to track ICE movements in real time, and local leaders are being forced to answer for the chaos spilling into the streets.

Sustainability isn’t the point. Funding limits, a clogged pipeline, and collapsing morale already have Trump’s deportation machine grinding down. But the strategy was never about sustaining mass operations, it’s about spectacle. The chaos itself is the weapon by flooding D.C. with fear and disorder to bury his scandals and smother the headlines.

4th & Democracy: Weaponized Distractions

Since the Epstein files began dominating the headlines and it became clear the man inhabiting the White House, Donald Trump, is a child predator and trafficker — he has unleashed a relentless wave of distraction tactics — each more shameless than the last. If you want to track the chaos:

• “Historic” Alaska Summit with Putin — A headline-stealing, optics driven meeting that delivered no policy wins but sure as hell buried the Epstein noise.

• Sending in Federal Troops — Deployments across D.C. and L.A., complete with militarized checkpoints and street theatrics. A visual overload meant for corporate media to latch onto and drown out White House stories.

• Melania’s Lawsuit Threats — A $1 billion defamation letter over commentary hiding her citizenship and marriage to Epstein trafficking. Mob tactics and sideshow drama.

• Congress Sent Home Early — GOP Speaker Mike Johnson abruptly adjourned as demand for the Epstein files escalated from Democrats — and some Republicans.

• Weed Declassification Push — Dropped into the mix of Epstein coverage, it was reported that Trump was considering the legislative trick to shift the conversation for his base.

• Chronic Venous Insufficiency Announcement — The White House, for probably the first time, revealed Trump was having health problems. After photos of noticeably swollen ankles emerged, the press office used it as a distraction in the early days of the Epstein scandal.

• Cane-Sugar Coca-Cola — the snack addict in chief even went so far as to promise that Coke would include cane sugar in the U.S. now — like we couldn’t already buy Mexican Coke at Costco?

• AI Deepfakes — Trump went on a Truth Social shit posting spree that included AI generated videos of Obama in handcuffs and fake mugshots.

• Obama Conspiracy Accusations — Baseless claims that Obama and Clinton orchestrated domestic coups in the 2016 election.

• Commanders Stadium Threat — Trump threatened to block the new Commanders stadium deal unless the team reverted back to its offensive prior name.

All of which begs the question:

What in God’s name is in those files?

What To Watch

• Jackson Hole Economic Showdown — The economy is on everyone’s mind as prices and inflation continue to rise. President Trump has been in a long battle with Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell over rates. Well, this week Powell heads to the prestigious Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, and everyone’s eyes are on him. Will he cute rates or shrug off Trump’s demands? Keep an eye on this, the decisions in Wyoming will affect us all.

• Alien: Earth — Dropped on August 12th on Hulu and FX, the Alien franchise is back. The xenomorph prequel will have sci-fi fans geeked and there’s still time to catch up before the series gets too deep.

What To Read

Celebrities Bail from the Resistance under the Second Trump Regime — Kristoffer Ealy

Have you wondered where all those righteous celebrity voices are to support Democratic causes these days? Where has George Clooney been since he tried to run President Biden out of office in shame? Lincoln Square contributor Kristoffer Ealy has the answers for you.

America, Humiliated — Rick Wilson

Our fearless leader Rick Wilson accurately summed up the feelings we all experienced after the shit show of a “summit” held in Alaska. One where it felt like our “leader” came out still wearing kneepads from fellating a dictator.

America, Humiliated

How to Get Involved

There is movement in the fight against fascism in the United States because people like yourself demand more out of our elected leaders every day. You believe in this country and want to fight for it but we don’t always know exactly how to get involved. There are so many ways you can use your voice, your time, and any extra effort you have to fight back against what MAGA is doing to our democracy.

Young men and women across the country are leaning on creativity in times of crisis. Try out short videos on TikTok promoting causes or issues you care about to start — maybe it’ll turn into a leading voice and a following. Substack is an outstanding place for those who want to use many different forms of media to fight back — whether you write, host discussions, or want to put out your thoughts to the world — it’s a great platform to start speaking out.

Joining a group or organization that you believe in is also a good way to get involved:

• NextGen America is the largest youth-voter mobilization org in the country

• Run for Something helps young progressives run for office at the local and state level

• Color of Change is the largest online racial justice organization, with campaigns against corporate abuse and political corruption.

You can also support independent journalism you want to see succeed and be out in the forefront of this movement. Lincoln Square has an incredible lineup of independent voices speaking out for Democracy and the working class. However you choose to use your voice or your time, take the first step this week. Get out there and be a part of saving this country while we still can.

Stay loud. Stay grounded. Stay up.

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