The American Dumpster Fire Almanac Volume One: A Field Guide to the Flaming Trash Heap Formerly Known as Democracy

America didn't suddenly burst into flames in 2025—but wow, did someone start splashing gasoline. What you hold here is a blow-by-blow chronicle of those months when the country slipped from "strange times" into full-blown absurdity, delivered with the fury, clarity, and dark humor of a man channeling George Carlin at 2 a.m. with a newsfeed he can't escape. The American Dumpster Fire Almanac: Volume 1 collects the first wave of Adam Gaffen's Carlinesque rants—written between March and November 2025—during the moment when writers stopped traveling, public voices went quiet, and fear began seeping into the cracks of everyday life. As marginalized authors found themselves singled out, detained, or intimidated at airports and events, Gaffen did what privilege demands: he got louder. These essays are equal parts satire, political commentary, gallows humor, and "holy hell, this actually happened." From authoritarian buffoonery to bureaucratic cruelty, from the erosion of civil liberties to the daily freak show of national politics, Gaffen skewers it all with the precision of a comedian and the exhaustion of a citizen who's watched enough to know better. This isn't a history. It's not a think piece. It's a field guide to living inside a country that's trying very hard to redefine the word normal. If you're looking for a release valve for the chaos—or a deeply cathartic laugh—this volume delivers. And it's only the beginning. With thousands of words waiting in the wings, future installments will track America's ongoing transformation into something between a cautionary tale and a cosmic joke. Come for the humor. Stay for the honesty. The fire's already burning. Might as well get comfortable at the edge of the dumpster.