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Master List: Authoritarian and Anti-Constitutional Actions by Donald Trump (2025)
The last update to this was on May 24, 2025. Let me know if I forget to add to it. This post is a rolling chronicle of executive orders, proclamations, federal memoranda, and allied state-level initiatives that legal scholars, journalists, and watchdog groups have flagged as authoritarian, unconstitutional, or corrosive to democratic norms since President…
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It’s OK Jeff Fusco Got A DUI Driving a City Car
Since 1986 Jeff Fusco has worked for the city of Akron. That’s 33 years he has made a GREAT living off of Akron tax payers. eight years as ward 10 council representative three-and-a-half years as at-large council representative Deputy Service Director for 10 years And now 9 years again as at-large council representative He also…
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Mayor Horrigan: What’s your plan to protect your homeless citizens this winter?
[wufoo username=”sagerock” formhash=”qjg3psz1f9orim” autoresize=”true” height=”618″ header=”show” ssl=”true”] This is the first winter we don’t have our tent village OR our day center. If you aren’t regularly working with homeless people living on the street, let me tell you what is happening. Mayor Horrigan just closed a major camp last week which has made many people…
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My mom said no
I had a brief encounter with a young girl yesterday. She was probably 6 years old. She was everything you’d expect from a 6 year old. She started a conversation with me. She was smiley. She was curious. She read the words on my t-shirt: “Keep your coins. I want change.” It’s a screen printed…
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Signs of Grief
I have a friend, Holly White, who has a PhD in spiritual matters. (I’m sorry I can’t recall your exact area of study, Holly. I just don’t have the energy right now to ask anybody.) She and my wife, Rocky, were talking about how I seem to be experiencing symptoms of grief. Holly is well…
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Joker is my guy
The new Joker movie came out this weekend. It pushes the outer edge of superhero movies into a new darker world that has never been seen or experienced before. Instead of seeing Gotham through Batman’s eyes, we now get to see Gotham through Joker’s eyes. And it all begins to make sense. (I’m going to…
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The Governor of Texas Hates Homeless People
Let me set the stage: The mayor of Austin Texas Steve Adler and Austin city council voted, fair and square, to allow homeless people to camp on city land in Austin. Homeless people aren’t allowed to camp in parks or in front of city hall. But everywhere else is fair game. Well, the governor of…
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The Negative Behavior Police
There is a very important statement made by a high up leader in homeless services here in Akron Ohio. It’s stated in this article in the Akron Beacon Journal made by Keith Stahl Director of Operations and Residential Services at Community Support Services. He states: There is a philosophical debate at the heart of this,…
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What it’s actually like living with Sage Lewis
Can you imagine the conversations at the King house after they were fire bombed? The Montgomery bus boycott started December 1, 1955. On January 30, 1956 segregationists fire bombed Martin Luther King Jr.’s house with his wife and 10 week old baby living in it. I think about what those family “talks” must have been…
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#13 – Finally looking forward
[buzzsprout episode=’2360561′ player=’true’] Check out more podcasts here: Sage Against The Machine Podcast Archives
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Do you remember that time the entire Summit County Continuum of Care came out against us? I do.
It was an opinion piece signed by Mar-Quetta Boddie, Rebecca Callahan, Keith Stahl and Fred Berry AND “the view of 11 other members of the Continuum of Care for the Homeless” It was entitled “Second Chance Village is not a solution to homelessness” and was written on July 11, 2018. I often focus on Mayor…
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American Untouchables
The extreme suffering the street brings is a constant hum. Hunger, isolation, hatred, beatings, rape, torture. And then death. It’s constant. A constant hum of grinding suffering. It doesn’t have to be this way. But it is because our society has put up invisible walls of classism. Make no mistake, America has untouchables. People like…
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Sage Lewis the activist
In 2014 Arnold Abbot, a 90 year old man, was charged with feeding the homeless in public in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Those “do not feed laws” in Fort Lauderdale still exist. Mayor Jack Seiler told WPLG, “Just because of media attention we don’t stop enforcing the law. We enforce the laws here in Fort Lauderdale.”…
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Why We’re Selling 15 Broad Street in Akron Ohio
Rocky and I bought 15 Broad Street at the height of the great recession. We closed on the building on February 25, 2010. Nearly everyone said I was insane for doing this. There were only two people that thought it was a good idea: my wife and my banker. Everybody else told me not to…
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#12 – Are Bathroom Stall Doors A Right?
[buzzsprout episode=’2360552′ player=’true’] Check out more podcasts here: Sage Against The Machine Podcast Archives
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“The Answer is Love” by Elon Musk
I don’t put a lot of weight in the incredibly nice things people say about me. I am just a regular guy who grew a conscience in his midlife. That’s all. But one trait I will agree with and feel, unfortunately, is sorely missing in a lot of people is PASSION. I’m passionate. About a…
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The 3 Stages of Faith
I can’t overstate how influential girls and women have been in my life. If I’m honest with myself, it was probably MaryBeth Glasgow that had as much influence over my abilities as a cellist as any teacher I ever had (and I had some amazing teachers). I just REALLY liked MaryBeth and she was a…
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The Black Market
You can buy nearly anything on the black market. Food. Phones. Laptops. Clothes. Tools. Video game consoles. The prices for those kinds of things are unbelievably low. I’ve seen a Nintendo Switch that retails for $300 sell for $40. A Craftsman breaker bar that retails for $35 sell of $5. High end cell phones in…
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Scumbag Activists
There have been a couple local activists getting some heat recently for being less than ethical in their social giving. This, I think, is shocking to the person in the cross hairs of these accusations. It also throws a wet blanket on the good feelings of supporters. Martin Luther King was often accused of incredible…
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#11 – Anger and Resolve
[buzzsprout episode=’2360543′ player=’true’] Check out more podcasts here: Sage Against The Machine Podcast Archives
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Of Course I Still Love You
I sometimes have to remind myself that there is a cherry red Tesla convertible hurdling RIGHT NOW into the distant asteroid belt of our solar system. It will likely fly through space for millions of years. Elon Musk did that with the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket. “With 27 engines, the Falcon Heavy is capable of…
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A Fiduciary Responsibility
This week I got word that “the church” across the street from where we have our dumpster located wants us to move it. It’s not on their land. It’s across the street from them. But having to look at it apparently is too much for their sensibilities. The problem with the dumpster is that people…
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Magic Housing Unicorn
There’s a high profile homelessness “expert” who is against these tiny houses that are popping up all over the country for homeless people. Barbara Poppe, who coordinated federal homelessness policy for most of Barack Obamas presidency, said she believes the development of slums is a real risk and that some of the ramshackle camps used…
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What the hell just happened?
I can make no promises as to what is about to be vomited on this page or if I’ll have the energy to clean it up afterwards. I guess shock is a good word. I’m still in shock. Last week, I and many incredibly hard working homeless people dismantled everything we created over the last…
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My “Big Heart”
I always cringe a little when people tell me I have a “big heart.” It’s something I hear fairly regularly. But it’s definitely not how I see myself. When they say it I imagine Forest Gump. A well meaning mentally challenged individual. It is also always followed by advice on how I need to counteract…
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#10 – Today we die
[buzzsprout episode=’2360531′ player=’true’] Check out more podcasts here: Sage Against The Machine Podcast Archives
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God who raises the dead
It’s hard to compete with the writings of a guy like Paul. Hell, it’s hard to compete with any of the great leaders of humanity. I feel like a tool when I compare my writings and thoughts to someone like Martin Luther King Jr. His understanding of philosophy and religion crush my own. And then…
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Standing Up To Bullies
I went to bed with this message ringing in my head last night: I suspect this person didn’t care for my piece on where I stood with drug dealers. This message amuses me because it was a rather big deal for me to take the public stand I did in that post. I told these…
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Fighting 21st Century Homelessness with 19th Century Tools
If you haven’t checked it out, I HIGHLY recommend Dan Carlin’s podcast, “Hardcore History.” You can pick any of them. They are all great. When I think of how society treats homelessness today it reminds me very much of how much of the world went into fighting World War I. Blueprint for Armageddon I is…
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Drug Dealers: We need to talk
I think there is a good chance I would have been a drug dealer if I had been born into a different situation. Drug dealers are ambitious, driven and like the action. That’s me. And honestly, that’s the American culture. Get money at any cost. We had slaves because it made more money. We have…
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The Conundrum of the Drowning at the Rio Grande
I’ve gotten to hear two sermons recently. This Sunday and last. That’s novel for me, considering I haven’t listened to a sermon in many months. Our friend, Holly, took us to her church during our trip to Boston: Old Cambridge Baptist Church. And I just watched the live stream of the Medina United Church of…
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