Inland Empire Progressive

Donald Trump’s most recent blunder cultural blunder? His outrage at the selection of  Bad Bunny  to headline the 2026 Super Bowl LX halftime show and admitting he’s never heard of the artist, is a staggering display of how out of touch the Trump administration is with the 21st century culture. This isn’t simply one old man shaking his fist at cultural norms, it’s part of a broader pattern. The Trump administration has made deliberate incursions into cultural institutions: from attempting to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to orchestrating sweeping reviews of museums to whitewash the contribution of Black Americans, the message is clear: art, music, performance are for the people Trump chooses to approve. So, when the cultural moment of the halftime show meets Trump’s cultural gatekeeping, it’s no surprise he seems out of touch with modern times. Bad Bunny is one of the world’s most-streamed artists, and the first primarily Spanish-language s...

It’s sad that we as Progressives have allowed the populist, working-class terrain of country music become the soundtrack of conservatives. While artists like  Zach Bryan  are teasing songs like “the fading of the red, white and blue” that jab at immigration enforcement and decry the American dream as being battered. Progressives remain absent from this cultural space. Country music is hardly apolitical. Its roots lie in the rural working class, in economic despair, labor protests, in voices that howl against injustice. Yet today the genre has been corralled into a chorus of right-leaning tropes: patriotism, guns, small-town nostalgia. An article in  The New Yorker  notes a new cohort of “outlaw songwriters” challenging Nashville’s conservative lock-in—but too many left-leaning voices remain mute.  I feel that if Progressives don’t move into this space, they hand the cultural microphone to the conservatives and allow them to shape the narrative. The Trump admini...

The Super Bowl halftime show is an American tradition where millions gather to witness the pinnacle of musical artistry and cultural diversity. But leave it to conservatives to ruin the party.  Turning Point USA , the self-proclaimed guardians of American values, have decided that the halftime show is the perfect battleground for their latest culture war. According to their brilliant plan, the halftime show should feature only "All-American" music because nothing says freedom like a state-sponsored playlist from Dear Leader Trump. Forget about the rich tapestry of musical genres that reflect the diverse fabric of American society; apparently, the only acceptable tunes are those that fit neatly into a narrow, nostalgic box of what they deem "patriotic." Turning Point USA is also calling for a ban on any halftime performances that don't align with their vision of American values. That means no hip-hop, no Banda, no Reggaeton, and especially no pop stars pushing bo...

Columbus Day the annual celebration where conservatives engage in revisionist histrionics to celebrate the villain of the story. It's a day when historical revisionism reaches its peak, and the inconvenient truths about Christopher Columbus are conveniently swept under the rug. Currently, 30 states and three U.S. territories recognize Columbus Day in some form and only 20 states and grant state workers a paid day off for the holiday. Yet, conservatives continue to champion this day, ignoring the fact that Columbus's voyages led to the colonization and decimation of Indigenous populations across the Americas. But why let pesky details like genocide and cultural erasure get in the way of a good celebration? After all, Columbus was Italian American, and what better way to honor Italian heritage than by celebrating a man who paved the way for centuries of oppression? States need to take a more enlightened approach like New Mexico that have replaced their paid Columbus Day holidays...

Stop and Frisk: You would think that after the Manhattan Federal Court ruled that Stop and Frisk was unconstitutional, Mayor Bloomberg et al., would humbly concede. However, that was not the case. Instead, Bloomberg et al., have taken on an aggressive campaign to continue to defend New York City's racist policy. For years now individuals like Bloomberg have been unable to give any reasonable explanations for the disproportionate stop and frisk, arrest and sentencing of minority males. However, the one thing they have all been sure of is that, it is irrefutably not racially motivated. Well thank you Mayor Bloomberg, because of the careful stats that your PD took, it is in fact irrefutably racially motivated and unconstitutional. Honestly when you think about it, there is no defending it without defining yourself either as racist, egomaniac, arrogant, or all of the above. The stats speak for themselves. Now, I'm wondering what's up with the true motive behind Blo...