Author | Lightnews

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 4d

🎙️In this week’s Civics Unhinged, I sit down with History itself for one last conversation — wry, weary, and uncomfortably honest about how democracies die in applause lines.

Listen now → paragraph.com/@civicsunhinged#CivicsUnhingede#MrDunneaginSpeaksk#HistorysExitInterviewe#PerformanceStatete

https://paragraph.com/@civicsunhinged

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 6d

Trump’s economy isn’t a recovery — it’s a bonfire. The administration torches the middle class while calling it patriotism. The fire isn’t out of control; the arsonist is still holding the match.

Read here: tinyurl.com/2v6ybrk4

Civics Unhinged

A chronicle of American absurdity, written with a straight face and a sharp pen. Civics Unhinged — satire for those who still give a damn.

paragraph.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 7d

Kristi Noem isn’t “securing” anything — she’s signaling rank.
The jets aren’t transport. They’re tribute.

A court is already forming around Trump, and the price of entry is fealty disguised as security theater.

The Court of Homeland Security →
paragraph.com/@civicsunhin...

Civics Unhinged

A chronicle of American absurdity, written with a straight face and a sharp pen. Civics Unhinged — satire for those who still give a damn.

paragraph.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 8d

In presumptive monarchies, power descends from above.
And aboard her two new Gulfstreams, Kristi Noem is skipping straight to the altitude of borrowed royalty.

New essay → The Court of Homeland Security
paragraph.com/@civicsunhin...

Civics Unhinged

A chronicle of American absurdity, written with a straight face and a sharp pen. Civics Unhinged — satire for those who still give a damn.

paragraph.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 21d

🎪 Civics Unhinged has officially moved!
Essays, satire, and podcasts now live at paragraph.com/@civicsunhinged.
Come join us at the new Big Top—same ringmaster, sharper knives.
#CivicsUnhinged #PoliticalSatire #TrumpEra #OpenEra

Civics Unhinged

A chronicle of American absurdity, written with a straight face and a sharp pen. Civics Unhinged — satire for those who still give a damn.

paragraph.com

1

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 27d

The circus keeps moving, but I’m folding the tent—at least on one platform. A short goodbye, a nod to endurance over engagement, and a reminder of why I still write.
🎩
paragraph.com/@civicsunhin...

I Came, I Wrote, It Didn’t Matter

After nearly three hundred essays and dozens of podcast episodes, I’ve reached a simple conclusion: I’m done writing on a schedule, and I’m done writing for platforms that confuse noise with vitality....

paragraph.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · 27d

When the house is burning, the arsonists blame the firefighters — and the press wonders why the hose isn’t longer. My latest essay & podcast: The Arsonists and the Firefighters.
🔗 tinyurl.com/4ccknmcy
#CivicsUnhinged #MrDunneaginSpeaks #GOPArsonists

⸻

The Arsonists and the Firefighters: Who Really Owns the Crisis of American Governance?

Media Frames and Burning Houses

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Oct 1

As a former soldier, I can assure you: yesterday's Quantico spectacle was not routine. Trump calling 800 generals home was a rehearsal for domestic militarization. New essay up now.

👉 tinyurl.com/436v4njv

Quantico and the Department of War: Trump’s Dress Rehearsal for Domestic Militarization

[Writer’s Note: As a former soldier, having been assigned to the Pentagon, in the office of the Secretary of the Army, I assure you that this is not satire.

tinyurl.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 30

Trump’s “invisible hand” feels more like a pickpocket’s trick. Episode #4 of Civics Unhinged: The Invisible Hand.
🎧 Listen here → tinyurl.com/3ss365b4

The Invisible Hand Meets the Tiny Fist: Trump’s Business School of Hard Knocks

The Businessman President Who Can’t Do Business

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 20

Ezra Klein frets about liberal despair. Fair enough. But the GOP has rebranded wreckage as nostalgia, and only one side gets framed as a crisis. That’s not analysis — it’s a séance for the dead center.

👉 via NYT: tinyurl.com/38fvtshd
#EzraKleinification

tinyurl.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 18

ICYMI: Season 2 of Civics Unhinged is live —
Ep. 1: Trump’s Law of Mirrors 🪞
Ep. 2: The Strategic Muddle 🎪
Both are free to all

🎧 dunneagin.substack.com

#Satire #Trump #CivicsUnhinged

~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ | F.P. Dunneagin | Substack

Civics Unhinged stands as a lighthouse in the fogbank of Trump-era political delusion. Click to read ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~, by F.P. Dunneagin, a Substack publication. Launche...

dunneagin.substack.com

1

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 17

Brazil gave us democracy with teeth. America gave us democracy with dentures. Bolsonaro got 27 years; Trump got four more.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...

#Bolsonaro #Trump #Democracy #Satire #MrDunneaginSpeaks

www.nytimes.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 12

Trump boasts of prosperity; the math says otherwise. Tariffs hit consumers, debt balloons, and “MAGA math” collapses under its own weight. "The Numbers Don’t Lie But Trump Does" lays it bare.
👉 Read it here: tinyurl.com/txjdx7sk
#CivicsUnhinged #DunneaginSpeaks #TrumpEconomics #PoliticalSatire

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The Numbers Don’t Lie, But Trump Will

When Donald Trump fired the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, he wasn’t pruning dead wood — he was firing the weatherman for reporting rain.

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 11

David Graham’s take on Kirk leans into the same reflex I flagged in The Grey Lady’s Triptych: magnify Democratic doubt, flatten Republican extremism. It’s the “Perhaps Doctrine” in action — and it’s dragging us deeper into the rabbit hole.
Read it here: dunneagin.substack.com/p/the-grey-l...

The Grey Lady’s Triptych: How to Make a Coup Look Like a Calendar Item

Three panels, one distortion: why the Times magnifies Democratic hesitation and normalizes Republican demolition

dunneagin.substack.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 9

Season 2 opens today. Trump’s Law of Mirrors — essay + podcast, free to all. Trump fires truth-tellers, worships reflections, and cracks democracy’s glass.
👉 dunneagin.substack.com

#Satire #Trump #Democracy #Authoritarianism #Politics #Podcast #Substack

~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ | F.P. Dunneagin | Substack

Civics Unhinged stands as a lighthouse in the fogbank of Trump-era political delusion. Click to read ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~, by F.P. Dunneagin, a Substack publication. Launche...

dunneagin.substack.com

1

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 5

New essay: Mt. Rushless ⛰️
Trump doesn’t need granite—he’s carving his own monument out of grift. A pantheon of sycophants and dealmakers, etched into the rubble of democracy.

Read it on Substack → dunneagin.substack.com

~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ | F.P. Dunneagin | Substack

Civics Unhinged stands as a lighthouse in the fogbank of Trump-era political delusion. Click to read ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~, by F.P. Dunneagin, a Substack publication. Launche...

dunneagin.substack.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚨 New front door to Civics Unhinged: Mr. Dunneagin Speaks, Vol. 2 now pinned. Satire sharpened for Trump’s America. 📚 Support the work — get 3 free eBooks (Big Top, Liar’s Guide, Vol. 2). 👉 dunneagin.substack.com

~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ | F.P. Dunneagin | Substack

Civics Unhinged stands as a lighthouse in the fogbank of Trump-era political delusion. Click to read ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~, by F.P. Dunneagin, a Substack publication. Launche...

dunneagin.substack.com

1

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 29

This Summer at the Big Top
From the Producer Who Brought You "Trump's Nuclear Moon"...
comes the rooftop reboot nobody asked for: 👉
Bad ideas don't just launch into space - sometimes, they climb to the roof.
👉 "From the Roof with Love" tinyurl.com/ysjaapzb

From the Roof with Love: Trump’s Latest Altitude Problem

The American presidency has long been a role defined by gravitas, diplomacy, and, when necessary, the ability to project power without teetering on the edge of a building.

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 26

The final installment of The Liar’s Guide to Autocracy drops tomorrow (Paid). Survival scenarios, collapse denial, and autocratic “exit strategies.” How do you stay on top when the bottom falls out? Find out here: tinyurl.com/ycxk9ehw

The Final Installment of "The Liar's Chronicle": A Final Interlude & Chapter 6

A Final Interlude: Autocrat Survival Scenarios

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 25

New on Substack (Paid): Wilson with a Spray Tan — Trump revives Wilson’s racist script for a new century. History doesn’t repeat; it reboots. Will America ever leave the theater?
👉 Read here: tinyurl.com/yck4j2cc

Wilson with a Spray Tan: Trump’s Racism Revival Show

Imagine an America where history doesn’t repeat; it reboots.

tinyurl.com

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F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 23

Now this is a piece I wish I had written: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

MAGA World Is So Close to Getting It

Gavin Newsom’s parodies are riling people up—and they don’t quite seem to understand why.

www.theatlantic.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 22

Chapter 5 of The Liar’s Guide to Autocracy (Gaslighting 101: Convincing Them It’s All Fine) was meant to hit Wednesday; it's now out. Thanks for your patience; The Liar’s Guide will be back on schedule next week.” (dunneagin.substack.com)

~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ | F.P. Dunneagin | Substack

Civics Unhinged stands as a lighthouse in the fogbank of Trump-era political delusion. Click to read ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~, by F.P. Dunneagin, a Substack publication. Launche...

dunneagin.substack.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 15

🚨 Trumpistan Special Dispatch
Meet Trump the Sheriff — a lawman from a lawless timeline.
A Kennedy Center gala, Olympic “riot drills,” and a Cabinet that could only exist in the Trumpverse.
Paid subs get it today. Everyone else waits.
🔗 tinyurl.com/2t3b3fhk
#PoliticalSatire #Trumpverse #LawAndOrder

Trump the Sheriff: Law and Order from a Lawless Timeline ditor’s Note – Trumpverse Special Dispatch

Editor’s Note – Trumpverse Special Dispatch

tinyurl.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 13

Chapter 4 dropped today: “Turning Elections into Coronations.”

In autocracy, a win isn’t enough unless it’s staged to look like a mandate. We show you how to win elections you lose...

Read it (if you don’t mind the mirrors):
dunneagin.substack.com/p/chapter-4-...

#TheLiarsGuide #PoliticalSatire

Chapter 4: Turning Elections into Coronations

Elections.

dunneagin.substack.com

F.P. Dunneagin @dunneagin.bsky.social · Aug 7

🧵 Bluesky Note (FR & DE editions)
🎪 Final act of the season.
🧾 6 months of Trump, one long MAGAgeddon.
🐘 Tariffs. DOGE. Donor graft. Court complicity.
Read & listen:
🔻 The circus ends here (for now):
dunneagin.substack.com/p/magageddon

#MAGAGeddon #TrumpSecondTerm #PoliticalSatire #PeterPrinciple

dunneagin.substack.com