This week's guest in the catio is Jack Inicker, founder of FUBAR PAC.
Their mission: political messaging & community outreach with no permission, no focus groups, no deference - just effectiveness.

The Core Problems:

• Democratic politics stuck in outdated strategies.
• Repetition of the same mistakes despite clear evidence they don’t work.
• Grassroots energy is often co-opted or sidelined.
• And also, they're not as funny as Jack.

His short videos explainer series including "Hello" and headline summary series "This SH*T Actually Happened" don't scream at our current political insanity and gaslighting, but instead calmly recount exactly what is said and done so it can stand in sharp relief to our normal mundane lives. Without all the background noise, the ridiculousness clearly and easily reveals itself as the insanity it is.

The FUBAR Approach:
- Operate outside traditional party structures.
- Use attention as a weapon: bold stunts, aggressive digital content, simple messaging.
- Focus on outcomes, not approval.

OH, and go heavy on the eyeliner if you're playing the role of JD Vance. (And YES we do have a make up lesson at the end)

This week on the podcast, Blaire sits down with Reverend Stephen Tillett, Democratic candidate for Maryland State Senate in District 32, pastor, Air Force veteran, former NAACP leader, and possibly the only politician willing to discuss public policy, Star Trek, and cottage homes in the same conversation.

Pastor T talks about growing up in Washington, DC, serving congregations across Maryland for decades, and why he says this political moment calls for people focused on service, not climbing the career ladder in Annapolis. The conversation dives into skyrocketing utility bills, housing affordability, tiny homes, healthcare access, corporate influence in politics, and why “policy is a choice.”

Blaire and Pastor T also get into Maryland redistricting fights, political courage (or the noticeable lack of it), ICE and immigration policy, environmental concerns around data centers, the criminal legal system, and why poverty in America can feel like “quicksand.” There’s also an unexpectedly passionate discussion about shower niches, luxury apartments nobody can afford, and the fact that poor people are often working harder than everybody else.

The episode closes with Pastor T’s call to “resist, rebel, and rebuild,” plus the now sacred Cat Ladies for America tradition: “Claws out. Meow.” And yes, he actually did the meow.

Find Pastor T’s campaign at FriendsOfStephenTillett.com.

Links to activism resources, representatives, and ways to get involved are in our bio.

This week's guest is TAJ SMITH, the president of the Washington County Maryland NAACP Chapter. https://www.instagram.com/washconaacp7030b/

On March 17, 2026, Taj was kicked out of the Washington County Board of County Commissioners' legally required public comment meeting because she had the nerve to mention the infrastructure impact and lack of tax revenue caused by ICE/DHS buying an enormous warehouse to use as a detention center is going to have ripple effects across the budget of the community. Click for audio and video from that day: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV_uuq...

In February the same BOCC passed a unanimous "we think ICE and detention centers rock!" statement, after weeks earlier it was discovered that the country had made a glide path for DHS/ICE to buy the detention center despite a lack of legally required impact tests on local water, sewage, roadway and other infrastructure and more. The community does not share the enthusiasm of the BOCC for ICE, which may be why they've been quite secretive about how this deal came to pass, their role in facilitating it, why certain laws weren't abiding by and more.

Taj is now running as an Independent candidate for the Washington County Board of County Commissioners to bring more transparency and focus on the citizens to her home. https://washco4tajsmith.com/meet-taj-smith

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