Hello and happy Tuesday, 132 days until the election, and today we’re going to be talking about some scary topics, starting with the George Orwellian “Ministry of Life.”

You've probably heard a lot of Project 2025The Heritage Foundation plans to remake America into some kind of ultra-conservative paradise/hell if Trump is re-elected.

Over the weekend, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, A frightening interview with MSNBC We discuss what that means, including renaming the Department of Health and Human Services as the Department of Life, because fascism is best served by an enjoyable bureaucracy.

The DOL (not to be confused with the Department of Labor, which will no longer exist anyway) has identified vulnerable Americans as “From conception to natural deathIt is overseen by a Secretary of State who proudly states that “men and women are biological realities, that married men and women are the ideal and natural family structure, because every child has the right to be raised by the man and woman who conceived him or her.”

Somehow, that appealing vision for the Department of Labor also includes eliminating Head Start, the universal daycare and early education program, withdrawing $200 million in Medicaid funding from California, and essentially repealing all LGBTQ+ protections and women's rights.

You guys, when they publicize their strategies to oppress future generations and make them so uneducated that they can’t debate, you’d better believe they mean it.

That's why Thursday's debate between Old Man 1 and Old Man 2 is so important, and so chilling.

Can Biden do that?

Biden and Trump are 81 and 78 years old, respectively, just three years apart, and whoever wins will be the oldest president in history at the end of their terms. They are older than Velcro, Frisbees and bikinis.

seriously, Bikinis didn't exist when these people were born.

So it's ridiculous for Trump to accuse Biden of being “too old for the job.” They're both too old.

But here's the reality. The real difference is that Biden is the president and Trump wants his job back, which means Biden has everything to lose and Trump has everything to gain in this debate. Mr. President, please don't screw this up.

I'll give you a cheat sheet about what they'll probably say, but the hard truth is this: Trump has created a brilliant communal narcissism around his own bad behavior, and there's a kind of jubilation in supporting him no matter what.

Even for undecided voters, the argument for Trump is that he himself doesn't matter: his beliefs, his hate-mongering, even his overt racism.

Voting for him is legitimate because it is a purely selfish act aimed at benefiting that voter economically or socially, and it probably doesn't hurt him if he spends the debate drooling on the podium.

So when people say the stakes are high for Trump, I don't believe it.

But with Biden, it's a different story: One argument or physical contact with Joe means nothing else matters.

“It's going to be used for everything from fundraising to late-night comedy,” said Justin Guest, a professor of policy and government at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government, who conducted the recent poll. Undecided Battleground State Voters From The Washington Post.

He reminded me that this election comes down to six battleground states, and within those six battleground states, it comes down to a slim number of voters who have yet to make a decision. The debate, scheduled for early summer, is meant to grab their attention. But they won't be there on Thursday night, because they don't watch prime-time CNN television. They were born after the bikini was invented.

It all comes down to whether a 10-second video will go viral on TikTok, a popular platform for critical and apathetic voters.

“I'm definitely keeping an eye on what goes viral,” Guest said.

90 minutes of anxiety

But they have 90 minutes to fill, so here are some anticipated conversation points and suggested phrases for drinking games.

• Abortion, of course. This will be Trump's weak spot, and not just because he appointed radical Supreme Court members who have eviscerated basic reproductive rights. His vague “states' rights” answer isn't sitting well with undecided voters either.There are clearly plenty of states that want nothing to do with rights except as it pertains to unborn children, so we should expect a strong attack from Biden, especially since Monday marked the second anniversary of the dark alley robbery that took place under Roe v. Wade.
  • Quotes on the shot: “That would be great,” “The state will decide.”

• Immigration. We have moved so far to the right on this issue that Trump will not hesitate to spew his hatred here. Because Even Democrats are unhappy with Biden's policies. President Trump will repeatedly highlight isolated cases of crime committed by illegal immigrants, including recent tragic cases. Maryland mother Rachel Morin murderedA Salvadoran immigrant, Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, 23, was arrested in connection with the crime.

  Biden is likely to focus on a combination of recent executive orders aimed at cracking down on border crossings and creating a path to legal status for the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

  • Shot quotes: “This is an invasion,” “Destroying our country,” “Rapists and murderers.”

• The economy. No one wants to admit it yet, but this is the only issue that really matters. Trump is following in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan with the single question that swayed voters. “Are you happier now than you were four years ago?”

  Whether that's the case or not, most of us don't feel like things have gotten better. Prices of everything are rising, but wages are not keeping up, so Trump has an instinct to point this out, regardless of the reality or the reason, and he's taking advantage of it.

  Expect to hear him insist on his latest promise Abolish the tax on tipsHe previewed this idea in Nevada, a battleground state with a large population of service workers (many of whom are traditionally union Democrats), and I think we'll be hearing a lot more about it because it's a good idea.

  It's a “populist economic policy that any American, tipped worker or not, can easily understand,” Guest said. “I think President Biden wishes he'd thought of it himself.”

  • Quote about shots: “There's no tax on tips.”

What else to read

Must Read: Records show law enforcement spying on thousands of Americans' mail
Trump's World: They came to see Trump, and the first thing they heard was a sales pitch to buy gold and silver.
LA Times Special: Violence outside Los Angeles synagogue strains LAPD, draws criticism from Biden, Newsom, Bass

Stay golden,
Anita Chhabria

PS How do I receive an invitation?

If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to read my colleague Sam Farmer's excellent article about a little-known speakeasy inside Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers fans inside the speakeasy.

(Wally Scalisi/Los Angeles Times)

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