Dear Stephen: Maybe yes, maybe no.

Time will judge.

Yes, Stephen Colbert was cancelled. And Jon Stewart and The Daily Show will likely be next.

It is censorship everyone can see, feel and taste.

It’s odd that they gave Stephen time… time to go scorched Earth. Was that on purpose? Or, was it just someone that was tone deaf to war? In an age where contracts have become meaningless, they’re taking a risk adhering to the law.

Who is the “they” here? FYI follow the money in the purchase of CBS/Paramount from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, our current president’s “friend” (quote) and heavy donor, who installed his son as CEO.

But I digress.

My first Substack was titled Maybe yes, maybe no. It is the organizing concept of what I write. Dualities of reality, in that we don’t know how the Universe chooses to intercede, other than by looking back in time.

The parable goes like this:

An old farmer in ancient China lived with his grandson, an older teenager who helped him work on the farm.

One day a horse left the barn at night. When the townspeople found out, they said “Oh, such a terrible tragedy. You have so little anyway. A horse has so much value.”

The old farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The next day the horse returned, and brought five horses with her. The villagers declared, “Such a blessing! A herd of fine horses! Your luck has turned!”

The old farmer replied, “Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The horses were wild, and quite unruly. The son tried to ride one and was thrown, breaking his leg.

“Another terrible tragedy! You must be cursed!”

“Maybe yes, maybe no.”

The country was at war. A general came to the village to take young men to be soldiers. The farmer’s son could not be taken, as he had a broken leg and was unable to fight.

Often, a organization needs an “event” to take stock, to plan, to evolve into something stronger, more relevant. This is one of the principles in a seminal business book of our time, Good to Great. Unless an organization is committed to strategic planning and commensurate action, which most are not, it takes an unexpected event, also called a black swan, to make change happen.

Comedians have been leading the journalistic charge on U.S. governance since Agent Orange (my preferred name for Voldemort, or he who cannot be uttered aloud) first headed down the elevator. There has been a constant supply of fodder. At first the preposterousness of him stood on its own. I remember posting how I wanted a channel devoted to just him talking for the farce of it all.

All of the biggies – Colbert, John Oliver, The Daily Show, Bill Maher – have since developed significant research staffs. Their coverage and reactions have been both immediate and rooted in history, domestic and international relations, and cause/effect of policy. They’re all way smarter than politicians.

Comedians have always been geniuses. Now they’re geniuses with staff geniuses. They’ve had time to structure.

And now the collective geniuses are really pissed. The armies, from comics to major creators to the Writers Guild, are assembling.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

War is not good. It is chaos, with foot soldiers often having to figure things out on their own. Armies are fueled by attitude. If you’re thinking you’re winning or losing, you’re right. It is strategy and leadership that win wars.

November is coming.

The Republicans have built secret structure and have people in place, which is their strength. Project 2025 is over half completed, like the Death Star in Andor. But the Republican weakness is their cabinet-level people. They suck at what they do. Those are vanity positions, with people who have personal footprints of narcissism. These people are vulnerable. Strategically, what Agent Orange thinks is a strength, because he controls them, is actually a weakness.

Plus he’s got cankles. There are many contenders for heir apparent.

The Art of War by Sun Tsu, which is a pretty good piece of writing even though it’s over a couple thousand years old, gives us a framework to help the resistance armies that are assembling.

Sun Tsu: To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

Like it or not, the resistance must take the side of the rudderless Democrats, and there is no leader, no coordinating strategist. Armies of allies are assembling anew. I will make believe I’m Eisenhower, five star general and Supreme Commander of the Allies in Europe. It’s my job to coordinate with other countries and their big personality generals.

It’s good that fantasy is the foundation of reality. A girl can hope.

My generals are Stephen Colbert and all the comics. Pete Buttigieg, Katie Porter, Stacy Abrams and Al Franken, none of them who currently hold office. They have nothing to lose. Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé and any and all musicians with balls. And Mr. Beast.

They each have assignments.

Sun Tsu: In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams.

Like the sun and moon, they end but begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more.

Stephen and the comics: Attack the cabinet members. They are all weak and incompetent and they know it. They all have the look of fear on their faces. They are worried about going to prison for insider trading. They will crack in front of the world.

Pete and the people who should have won their elections: Attack the individuals in Congress. The crazies (with bleach blonde, bad-built, butch bodies), the gaslighting liars (coming after you, Ron Johnson), the lazy vacationers (Ted Cruz, “your wife is ugly,” remember?) and the old zombie class (Lindsay Graham what have you done lately, or ever?).

Bruce, Taylor and the musicians: Attack the oligarchy. Write songs like Woody Guthrie. Sing them on all the late night shows, the morning shows, the afternoon shows. Oh, Lionel Richie, how about another We Are the World spinoff, We Are the Americans, with proceeds going to moveon.org? Great documentary on Netflix, BTW.

Mr. Beast: You do you. If you’d like to discuss ideas, please DM me. I know lots of ways you can spend your money before you jump the shark. Warning! It happens to the best of them.

The individuals we are talking about attacking, are themselves attackers. Their content is full of misinformation, ignorance, slander and conduct unbecoming a public figure. You are attacking people who have preyed on regular folk with fear, telling them that the rest of us are trying to take their money, their guns, and their way of life. These evil people have given the ignorant an enemy to hate. They’ve told them it’s anyone of color, because only good Americans are white.

Old song, different arrangement.

Sun Tsu: When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.

Because I am a product of advertising, and a strategist by day, I’m going to suggest an organizing concept for this effort in the form of a tagline. The effort would be targeted to Republicans who are having a revelation, independents and people who didn’t vote. The tagline works because:

• It is an imperative call-to-action, based on an outlet to escape certain death.

• It implies dirt, but it doesn’t define dirt. Dirt is much more powerful in the imagination.

• It rivals the many effective, culture changing Agent Orange taglines through the years (game knows game).

• It brands everyone and anyone who adopts the tagline as a person of integrity, especially when it’s time to negotiate a plea deal.

• It invades like a virus, dismantling people from inside the circle of trust and their enablers.

The organizing concept, or as we say in the business, the one thing:

Come clean.

Sun Tsu: Such is the art of warfare.

Now you know what to do. Hashtag the fuck out of this.