I don't think we left the field uncontested. I think that we are crime victims, that the elections have been stolen and corruption exists at numerous levels.
We may/may not be missing an opportunity. I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Real life effects are landing on Republican doorsteps. The food assistance loss, insurance rates, and tariff related food prices are HERE. Crooked, gold obsessed, crazy-ass TRump does not know how to shut-up and steal at the same time.
We are going to get these old f-ers or the grim-reaper will. Then we deal with the technocracy crowd. The solutions you gave are the answers, and it's happening.
Ethnic Hungarians make-up over 90% of the population. Screw that, AOC just shouted diversity, equity, and inclusion to 10,000 people and they screamed for more. See you in the streets.
Like it or not, the plan is for a 21st century version of feudalism. That lasted for what, a thousand years in Europe. They know when people are poor, hungry and sick, they are hard pressed to push back.
Peasant revolts in medieval Europe were fairly common. The best known were the English Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the French Jacquerie of 1358. The Peasants' Revolt. It was the basis for William Morris's A Dream of John Ball (a good read) where he presented some of his positions on Socialism, a thread of which he saw running through the revolt. Themes we would associate with socialism today were fairly common in the revolts of the time.
The major drivers for these revolts were an increasing gap between rich and poor, and inflation and taxation. Driving much of this was the desire to live more and more extravagant lifestyles. Sounds familiar...
Alis,good post. Just watched an interview on CNBC( a Major Trump Supporter) with Alex Karp CEO Palantir and Jensen Huang(Nvidia)( both of whom contributed major funds to destroy the East Wing) and are Trump sycophants. They are planning with AI to destroy the American workforce. They are not bashful about making those claims. Are our pols going to wake up soon,are we going to wake up soon to realize in as little as 3 yrs.everyone posting on this substack will know hundreds or thousands of people who are unemployed. Are we just going to let this happen and not push back. Tech is not our friend,they are power hungry and think technocrats should run the Gov't so they can eliminate anyone they feel should not be alive. Can we wake up soon.
The big companies announced their lay-offs within days. It's a message and it is collusion. Seeing them sitting around a dinner table sucking-up to TRump was too.
“We need leadership and institutions capable of organizing, strategizing, and executing on multiple fronts: precincts, courts, local elections, media ecosystems, and state regulatory agencies.” Yes, yes we do. To be clear, that would demand removal of establishment defenders of a deeply flawed status quo.
I'm afraid this generation is so deafened and alienated by the oversaturated media bombardment that they will focus on the myriad distractions while the yokes are ever so mercifully locked in place around their necks. They'll come to when the chafing becomes too noticeable to ignore, but by then it will be much too late to do anything about it.
The story of mankind.My son,now 64, and a department head in a college, missed the hippie era, the drugs, the LSD, but was nostalgic, for it and for a spell tried to be one even dropping acid. Smoked pot in front of me, hoping to get a rise. Didn't work though. I never cared about that shit, and he was 26, his own man (my wife smokes pot and eats gummies, helps with her pain and sleep, I don't shit made me dizzy and tha was it.
The point is that present generations don't have an inkling of what past generations went through to get here.
I fell through the floor when I learned that much of the black and Hispanic male vote went for Trump. Yegads don't they know that the Republican part is the home of the most diehard racists? The answer is no, apparently.
My great great chldren and grandchildren are going to grow up, with the Vietnam war some kind of ancient, irrelevant, history, just like for me the civil war, and WWI were irrelevant history, though my great grandmother who was 12 when Lee surrendered to Grant, bounced me on her knee and rocked me to sleep.
I was a child during WWII, yet the only recollection I have of that era, was playing with my friends. picking blackberries., running from a goat, life in backwoods Arkansas, and being in a hospital after a tonsilectomy when I was two, in other words events that had some emotional tag. I didn't know jack about the War until I read about it in Time Life books and the library in my pre teens.
Today's generation are going to have to pay tomorrow for the mistakes and inattention they make today, me: I just muddle through best I can, and hope that I die softy, painlessly and in peace.
The bookThe Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny t argues that U.S. history is cyclical, with each cycle lasting approximately 80 to 100 years and composed of four 20-year periods called "turnings".
Thom Hartmann first brought it to my atttention on his TV/Radio program.
Evidently Charlie Kirk read it too, as his organization is Turning Point..
It's happening all over the world, the rise of fascism a and social control. the loss of freedom and social control, and religion struggling and apparently succeeding to gain or regain control of the social millieu, and the imposition of real communism or communitarianism if you think communism is about economic and ownership, what is about is an ant colony, where there is social homogenity, and everyone has their place and role, and any deviance from the dictated norms is punished.
Every body goes to church or mosque (if in a Muslim country), everyone pays their tithe, rebellious teenagers are punished, even executed, LGBT are executed if revealed, Breaking the ten commandments is a capital punishment, perps are stoned. Social classes are stratified and rigidly enforced. No more entrepreneurs to challenge the Zuckerbergs, Bezos, Musks, Dimons, Thiels.
That class will fight among themselves, and use the resources of the nations they control
Europe will become Muslim or expel all Muslims, While Christians convert to Islam, Muslims do not convert to Christianity.
What Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, failed ot achieve in 732 at the battle of Tours, aka Battle of Poitier and subsequently Sultan I at the gates of Vienna in 1682, will be achieved, not by armed invasion, but gradually by emigration, by boat loads of refugees, until the Muslim population exceeds the critical mass of 17%
The world is headed towards homogenity and spheres of domination and influence, either conform or perish.
Now look at South America and Trumps war on Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and you might update it to Argentina.
Thankfully I won't have to live in that world, ny descendants will though.
I was born in a world not of my making, but somehow managed to plow my way through, they will have to do the same. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams, none of them could have envisioned the world that they would create.
This hit hard. The part about democracy being hollowed out while we’re still casting ballots feels painfully true. People keep waiting for the “moment” when it all breaks, not realizing the breaking already happened quietly in the courts, the media, and the rules.
Blessed be the ones who still believe participation is sacred work, not a spectator sport.
I attended a Dem Women meeting yesterday and people are fired up! Speaking loudly about Stephen Miller and Vought’s Project 2025 evilness.
The ugliness more revealed every hour of every day…I say vote and speak up to each other! Social media and independent media are at risk too of censorship, whitewashing and disappearing with American democracy.
Thanks Thom. I've been writing much the same since Trump took office, alas I've been charged with obedience in advance, and lethargic negativity; Not so.
There is recent article by Michael Sellers, about federal poll watching, that is a thing, 10,000 poll watchers are being trained, and don't be surprised if many show up armed, especially in black districts, as voter suppression. Redistricting, MAGA election commissions, Voter ID laws, voter suppression laws, voter caging (thanks to Greg Palast for info on that) It does look like managed elections are the future.
I don't like the term competitive authoritarianism, because there is no real competition, in Hungary, Turkey, Russia. It is a sham of a competition, Like me stepping into the ring with Chuck Norris. Only worse, because both parties, slop at the same trough, and try to elbow each other out of the way.
One party fights bare knuckles, no rules, the other wears gloves and follows rules. That seems to be changing, a day late and a dollar short though.
We need a survival strategy, and a warfare strategy. I heard on TV yesterday, the idea of a national uprising and general strike, waiting on congress to shift into defiance mode, among the Republicans is like Waiting for Godet. I doubt that it will happen, as Trump and the malignant billionaires, have a headlock on the Republican party. We can hope, but I see it as a forlorn hope.
Nobody is going to rescue us, we are going to have to rescue ourselves, just like the founders did in 1775
We shouldn't let the Republicans claim the tea party and MAGA as their own, a real populist uprising, not right wing hate populism is what is going to save us.
He hasn't given up on Greenland or Canada, and now he is using drug cartels as an excuse to invade South America, he has bought Argentina, plans to invade Venezuela and Colombia, Panama can be knocked out by the 173rd Airborne Brigade and JSOC. The rest will fold. Even Lula of Brazil is bending the knee.
We better move before it is too late, or maybe it is. The NSA has a data center at Bluffdale, UT that sniffs all electronic traffic, and with AI, it can instantaneously identify any traffic that is perceived to be a threat, and we don't know how to analog communicate anymore
I already read an argument, coming from the "left" for Democrats to capitulate to the Republicans in Congress. When people are sick and hungry and lack resources it becomes harder and harder for them to maintain their will to resist. My gosh, you need to eat. Yes, I believe the agreement is that Trump gets the western hemisphere. One thing, though, you can count on is that dictators only cooperate with one another when it suits them. They are all "transactional." When they complete the predicted 3-way split of the world between Trump, Putin and Xi, they will surely turn on one another for a bigger piece.
Nobody goes hungry in America. There are food banks (I contribute to the local) soup kitchens, even Meals on Wheels for Seniors
The problem is that there are many on the so called left, who have no guts, or propensity for inconvenience or pain.
And not just the left. Only 3% of British America supported the revolution and that 3% were Boston and Philadelphia merchants and Virginia planters
The rest of the country, especially in virginia had to be coerced into supporting the revolution.
Here is what they did in Virginia. Tor start with the planters, the tidewater aristocracy, saw in the revolution the chance to become the nobility in a new country.
The planter class had relatives in London and the surrounding counties, as they were descended from the cavaliers, the royalists, that fled England with the victory of Cromwells Roundheads (Parliamentarians)
It became a thing among the tidewater aristocrcy to show their wealth and status, by making an aliyah to London, the more that they made, the higher their social status.
Problem is that when they arrived in London, they were treated like country bumpkins, because of their lack of courtly manners, etiquette and their Virginia Drawl.
The speechways of Virginia were influenced by the speechway of Surrey and Suffolk, the counties surrounding London, from whom the indentured servants and tradesmen were recruited
.
King William in 1700 had outlawed the accent, but it remained in Virginia, and it was interspersed with words and pronunciations of the Africans, Italians, Irish and even Polish who had migrated to Virginia.
The Irish had no so much as migrated but sold into slavery by Oliver Cromwell, after he subdued Ireland, he sold about 50,000 Irish to English Colonies, most in the Caribbean.
The planters saw the revolution as an opportunity to become the nobility in the new country, but the Virginians had no mind to replace English overlords with homegrown overlords, Therefore they settled in two plans.
First: they Created Committees of Public Safety,name chosen not to alarm the British overlords,. but the job was to keep track of the people and punish those that weren't patriots
The second was to buy pamphlets like Common Sense and Rights of Man, published in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin and the William Rittenhouse printing company.
The effort didn't reach to South Carolina which retained a very strong royalist base among the planters, until the Brits landed in Charleston and moved out commandering the plantations of the Royalists for the officers.
Perhaps you are right that no one goes hungry here, BUT….
By all reasonable rights, healthy Americans should be able to work a job with dignity, put a roof over their family’s heads and food on the table. The truth, however, today in America, is that many of the people, and I don’t know the percentages, who have to access food banks, and other ways to get food for their families are people who already have jobs and work. This absolutely should not be the case.
I agree. Here is something to mull over, We live in an increasingly automated world, Robots have taken over in the factory floor, and even McDonalds is going to or has, use robots for frying fish and potatoes.. AI is set to put millions out of work, and America has been greened, off shoring factory jobs.
The future is that the only jobs left will be menial labor and construction jobs, and even many of those will be taken over by AI driven robots.
Even plowing, sowing and harvesting grain crops and potatoes can and will be one by robots and AI.
As far as I can see, only picking fruit and tomatoes will require humans, lettuce and greens are already harvested by machines.
So what does the government or society do with millions of unemployed people?
We are designed to work, if not biologically,. then socially people find their identities in their work.
Ask an American "what do you do" and they will reply with a trade or occupation. Ask a Swiss what do you do"And they will reply with something like skiing, or down hill racing.
If an American doesn't have a job an occupation they feel worthless, unless they are retired and saying retired is a sign of social success
I've been retired since 1982, I have held jobs, but only to keep busy, not to support myself, and the extra money is gravy. If asked what I did, I would have replied, Retired, not law firm administrator, or non profit administrator.
We are conditioned to value and esteem ourselves by what other people think (we don't and can't know what they really think) and by how we earn our money, those that have to work for their money, are lower down on the social scale, than those that don't have to work
So what is to be done with all of the unemployed people in the future as robots and AI displace the work force?
"Nobody goes hungry in America." I personally was involved in school breakfast, milk programs. I understand they are no longer funded.
I was personally invoved in the Older Americans Act (OAA), which supports services such as nutrition, transportation, in-home care, and caregiver support and state and local Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) administer many OAA-funded services to meet community needs, like ours, which funded meals on wheels. No longer funded in most red states.
AI: Statistics on hunger and food insecurity
Total affected: Over 47 million people in the U.S. face hunger, including 13 million children.
Children affected: Roughly one in five children is affected by food insecurity.
Increase in numbers: The number of people affected by food insecurity has grown by 4.2 million since 2020.
Causes of hunger
Low wages: Many people who work full-time or multiple jobs still don't earn enough money to afford food.
High cost of living: The high cost of housing and other necessities leaves families with less money for food.
Economic factors: Inflation and the expiration of federal support programs like the enhanced Child Tax Credit have increased food insecurity.
Systemic discrimination: Racism and discrimination create barriers to employment and housing, disproportionately affecting communities of color.
Impact of hunger
Children's education: Hunger is linked to poor academic performance, lower test scores, and more frequent illness in students.
"Hidden hunger": Many low-income households experience "hidden hunger," where they may have enough calories but lack essential vitamins and minerals, leading to long-term health problems.
Government and community support
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Known as food stamps, this program provides low-income families with money to purchase groceries. Democratic AGs and governors sue USDA for suspending SNAP benefits. NPR. Updated October 28, 2025
That is not what I was saying Daniel. I grew up in a project with a single mother, who worked for $1 an hour to feed herself and three kids.
I never ate in the school lunch room because she didn't have the $.35 cents, and I lost a girl friend because she didn't have the $.25 for me to attend the dance at the YMCA across the street.
Lunch was PB&J Sandwiches alternated with bologna sandwiches. They didn't have SNAP when I was a kid, nor food banks. My Mom shopped for churches that provided the best thanksgiving and Xmas baskets and gifts.
And there was no such thing as a food bank either. Today there is SNAP and food banks, and non profits galore which will provide food and shelter, but not in my day. Maybe a soup kitchen near center city or in South Phillie., but those were for adults.
When I was 11 I would panhandle near the subway entrance on Broad St, beg for money to get past the turnstyle, but when I collected enough I would go to Horn and Hardardts's automat and grab my favorite spaghetti and creamed spinach.
William,I've been asking that question for the past few months since it is apparent big tech in going to deliberately destroy as many jobs as they can with AI..Estimated by some sources 60 million over the next 2 yrs. I am taking yours and breaking it down into 3 questions.
They aren't interested in destroying jobs; that would require intent. They don't view what they are doing as destruction but as modernization (aka reaping higher profits). That millions are going to be out of work doesn't bother them in the least because in this new and glorious utopia all will share in the New World Order's virtually unlimited wealth. Work will be a dark shadow from the past. It's all about trust. Whatever could possibly go wrong?
Back in 1970, I was an E-6 on active duty, but also attending college. A popular book at the time was the Greening of America, the local communist recruiter. a dweeb that would haunt the cafeteria looking for kids that seemed lonely and needing company to prey on, called a meeting. I attended out of curiosity. He held up the book as a blueprint for destroying capitalism, it was called the Greening of America.
It didn't destroy capitalism but destroyed jobs, and created what became the Tea Party/MAGA movement. Facilitated by Bill Clinton, who, being generous, signed the bill to get Newt Gingrich off his back about Monica.
It is possible that Bill's dalliance with star struck Monica, is responsible for all of his disastrous legislation, like revoking Glass Steagall,Omnibus CrimeBill, Defense of Marriage Act, Omniuus Crime Bill, Telecommunications act of 1996. NAFTA and Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), or welfare reform, in 1996.
He was the best Republican President, real Repblican, not neo NAZI MAGA of the 20th Century.
The main reason Republicans refuse to negotiate isn't health care. It's protection of Trump from Trumpepstein.
Even some of the unions are saying "uncle." NYT. The American Federation of Government Employees, in a shift, called on Congress to immediately reopen the government without the health care measures sought by Democratic lawmakers.
Not going to reinstate those who lost jobs arbitrarily in DOGE cuts, and in recent elimination of positions.
I disagree, I believe the design was to shut down Congress, so Trump has cleared the field to continue to govern by executive orders. We can drum up all the excuses we want, but the Trump administration doesn’t want a legislative body getting in its way and obstructing its progress toward its goal of destroying our country.The Epstein stuff, as nasty as it is, is a diversion removing our attention from what this administration is doing to America.
On Election Night, my little blue State was the first to close the polls and declare Harris the winner. It was up there for hours, even after the rest of the electoral map went red. I remember thinking that Vermont was going to stick in the craw of the "retribution candidate." In related news, this week, the Trump Administration has denied a request from our State for disaster assistance.
The corruption of the two cartel parties enabled ALL of this. The benefactors of corruption know if they remain united against the rank and file voters and against democracy, they and their families will be an irremovable ruling class. YES. They are operatives of BOTH parties.
Treating this as a small town high school football game in which the home team can do no wrong brought us here. BOTH parties became corrupted because the rank and file members were chastised by the partisan stooges (flying monkeys for the wannabe ruling class) if they dared to try to hold the corrupt within their own party accountable. Your response has that quality. We MUST hold our own party accountable and remove the corruption. If we cannot do that, all is lost.
Slow suicide by self-poisoning is as deadly as quick suicide. In both cases, we end up dead. Only by rejecting both the slow and the fast paths do we get to live. Falling for the siren call of our own partisan stooges not to hold our own party accountable is a sure path to suicide. We've been on it too long.
For the guy unable to hold his "home team" accountable for anything and twice put Trump into office doing that partisan stooge thing, here is how holding your own accountable is done.
"At the same time the marches are occurring, the foundation of the GOP’s up-and-coming fascist autocracy is being built: the staffing of key agencies, the rewriting of rules under emergency or administrative power, the gerrymandering and court packing, the stealth takeover of local precincts and state and county election commissions."
The takeaway is this: we're simultaneously living in two parallel worlds - both of which demand our immediate attention - but only one has the absolute ability to construct the future. That world takes durable work, isn't as immediately emotionally satisfying and places strategy before tactics.
It is behind the daily in-our-face horror-dramedy where construction and solidification of this moment are being made permanent. The details, as always, are mundane and confusing - yet this is precisely where our attention must be placed - and as always, it is the details in sum which determine our life. It's rarely, if ever, "one great moment".
I believe it is our duty to occupy those offices if our elected representatives refuse to show up for work. This government of ours isn't semi-autonomous yet, despite the best efforts of those funding the GOP. We need people who'll not only accept the paycheck and the bribes, but also be there when we the people need them the most - like this very moment for example.
“In effect, while protesters may feel emboldened and signal a national discontent, in the absence of durable organization, leadership, and strategy the protests are easily absorbed, marginalized, or rendered irrelevant by Trump’s fascist forces and billionaire supporters once the streets are empty again.”
All so true and so important. The ‘No Kings’ rallies may dissipate without a fact like Occupy Wall Street for exactly this reason.
The federal Democrats need a unified message to speak to the disaffected swing voters in the important electoral college states that once voted solidly Democrat: the system has treated you unfairly, we are going to get you fair paying jobs with dignity and this is how we’re going to do it.
The Democrats must emphasize economic policies that will help the people in financial despair and downplay or even move to the centre on all social policies until the fair sharing of the GDP is restored as at once was beginning after World War II.
The predatory wealthy have their enormous political power because of their ability to accumulate excessive wealth once Reagan lowered tax rates on the rich. At the same time policies must be developed through to drafting terms of legislation the way the far right does to stop the upward transfer of wealth. That requires a knowledge of the systems in corporate, banking and tax for the transfer of wealth. And that requires some dedication to learn about these systems— which only the predatory rich understand at present.
Jan,unfortunately I agree,the rallies or protests are easily ignored by the " Nazi" forces in control of Gov't.Getting good paying jobs is not going to work because Tech has made a committment to destroy millions of jobs as quickly as possible through AI.
The time for nonviolent protests may have passed with no real results. There must a strategy to go on offense in a way that motivates people. Our silence and hope is not going to work.
Our protests have been little more than virtue-signaling. Once every 2 or 3 weeks for a few hours is going to do zilch to turn this around. Going to the streets and staying there, or general strikes, national call-in sick days, something that actually shakes the pillars of corruption has more of a chance. In order to work is going to require a significant part of the population. How we do that at this time escapes me.
I agree that violent protests are justified morally in extreme situations; however, I don't think they're a necessary or winning strategy yet. And Trump has already anticipated them by engaging the National Guard and the army to quell protests.The Occupy Wall Street movement failed because it was against having a leader, nor did it have enough understanding of the financial system to demand effective reforms. The same applies to no kings, It hasno leader and no vision.
A great hinderance to the Democrats is the belief that centrist is moderate. A centrist says they are liberal on social issues and conservative on financial issues. The two do not interact like an arithmetic function producing a middle of the road average. The conservative economic policies remain conservative and have led the Democratic Party from a party of the people to a party of the 10% coastal college educated. If the No Kings movement is to be successful, it has to reject the idea of centrism and adopt the economic policies that FDR instituted, of course adapted to modern circumstances. But these mean looking at the concerns of the working class in the flyover states and putting those first.
I agree with your observations. Your original question was morally not strategically. Strategically, there is a great danger in the use of violence. Those who use violence to get control often use it to maintain control. That is the lesson from the French and Russian revolutions. The American Revolution is an exception.
By coincidence I'm rereading Asimov's Foundation series which I first read some 50 years ago
How often do violent protests succeed and how often do they lead to greater oppression? Asimov's "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" has a certain tang to it but there is a certain falsity to it. It has no business ever being the first response but by the time one's last refuge has been stripped away very few options are left on the table. Most would react violently way before. I'm opposed to violence but I know I wouldn't be here without it.
In the end, riots are inherently chaotic. They are reflexive in nature, not measured. Not many battles have been won by soldiers making their own choices, devoid of a clear and common goal.
The 20th century -- and indeed all of history -- shows that we the human species are deeply vulnerable to fascist entreaties. The Nazis were democratically elected to power in the Weimar Republic. In effect, Putin was too. Erich Fromm in Escape from Freedom (1941) argued that too many of us unconsciously yearn to have the freedom from responsibility that all of us have as children -- we yearn for the comfort that a political parent figure can provide. True democracy is always a tough sell, because the path to fascism is so easy.
I am reading a variety of essays that argue the point that the Trump administration is halfway or more along the way of consolidating their power and becoming the dictatorship Trump has promised. Honestly, I believe it is complete. The Supreme Court is corrupt and is handing Trump victories that allow him to continue violating our Constitution and Congress is useless. The assault on our White House is just a symbol of the capture of our government. Trump and his enablers make no distinction between himself and our government. Indeed, he equates himself with the government of the U.S. and the White House is his. He is free to do as he pleases. Even when our courts hold the line, the executive branch is responsible for the enforcement of their rulings, and the Trump administration will never act against itself. Now, as time flies by, we may experience more broad reaching cruelty by the administration. Iron-fisted control over every aspect of civilian life takes time to implement. Indeed, we really COULD experience violence toward people who do not line up and espouse the Christian Nationalist definition of Christianity, as the administration is already seeking out Americans who engage in "anti-Christian" speech, as defined by them. I think we can predict gradual tightening of the grip on Americans to line up and obey, or else. Now, the topic of the day is how to effectively push back. I read an essay yesterday that suggested wealthy, powerful blue states might be our best approach. Blue states actually generate most of the wealth in this country and we know CA is the world's 4th largest economy. Clearly taking bold steps could provoke more aggressive attacks on Americans who resist, but continuing down the path of acquiescence will almost surely get millions killed. When families cannot feed themselves or access healthcare, desperate people will respond, opening the way to use force against sick, hungry Americans. So, either way, resisting or succumbing is likely to lead to suffering. So, how do we restore our rule of law and allegiance to our Constitution?
Judy,are we leaving messages on the SC website,we do not approve of the :" Nazi" supreme courts and they have no legacy other than as a " Nazi" supreme ct exluding the 3 women who get no respect from the other 6.
James Carville recently told Jen Psaki that, “You aren’t scared enough yet!”
Carville nailed it - Inertia is a good word to describe us. Ask the guy trying to steer an oil tanker or the guy trying to stop a train. I read a book several years ago that I didn't like. It was titled - The Great Leveler. It created a cognitive dissonance that would not leave me alone. We will be "scared" when our assets disappear. Your words will matter then, and not until then:) We are a ship, making way.
We live in a country where even a children's Halloween parade is a concern to our government stormtroopers. So anything we do that is clearly opposed to the regime will be met with hostility, if not violence. That is where this is going. Wherever we appear, we need massive numbers, the more the scarier.
Halloween is followed by all saints day, the day of the dead.
BREAKING NEWS
New York Times
U.S. Military Killed 14 More People Accused of Smuggling Drugs on Boats, Hegseth Says
The Trump administration launched another round of strikes, destroying four more boats in the Pacific Ocean, Pete Hegseth said. The defense secretary did not provide evidence for the claim that the vessels were smuggling drugs, the basis for an operation that has killed at least 57 people so far.
I signed up to be a precinct captain back in 2016 during Bernie's first campaign. Been doing that ever since. We do a bit of work in my county for voter protection and voter greeting during early voting and on Election Days. My county democratic party keeps meeting year round to work on getting candidates elected. That is the mission. Our state Democratic parties need to get more coordinated but it helps if there can be work done at every county or local level. We basically all work as volunteers in my county. We pay one person as Executive Director. It takes time and effort from many volunteers. https://hillsboroughcountydemocrats.org/about-us
I don't think we left the field uncontested. I think that we are crime victims, that the elections have been stolen and corruption exists at numerous levels.
We may/may not be missing an opportunity. I keep posting. According to Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) Trumpepstein may cause an "Epstein bomb" causing over 100 Republican members to "jailbreak" from Trump.
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit Congressional Republicans.https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
I continue to be exasperated by the parties and lawyers with cases when justices and judges who have dispositive records of bribery and prejudice are not challenged. At SCOTUS, Robert opened the door in November, 2023. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf
If the Dems on the court have first hand evidence, they have a duty to come forward.
Not unlike a virus, say C19, the gop is adept at hijacking healthy cells within the body politic and converting said cells into virus factories.
Witness Bondi throwing excrement at Senators recently. She's a virus. As is the gop mob.
We are the cure . . .
We must assume the most determined offensive, overwhelm them, and utterly destroy their whole party.
Hungary is the size of Indiana and less than 10 million, just sayin'.....
The vacuum left by hollowing out the institutions will be filled by the Tech-Bros, and it won't be pretty. There is indeed a plan for complete control. The Technate of America movement finally broke through online. Kyle Kulinski (Secular Talk on YouTube) spoke about it yesterday in conjunction with the boat-murders in Venezuela: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DkvJcS-AtLiM
Real life effects are landing on Republican doorsteps. The food assistance loss, insurance rates, and tariff related food prices are HERE. Crooked, gold obsessed, crazy-ass TRump does not know how to shut-up and steal at the same time.
We are going to get these old f-ers or the grim-reaper will. Then we deal with the technocracy crowd. The solutions you gave are the answers, and it's happening.
Ethnic Hungarians make-up over 90% of the population. Screw that, AOC just shouted diversity, equity, and inclusion to 10,000 people and they screamed for more. See you in the streets.
Like it or not, the plan is for a 21st century version of feudalism. That lasted for what, a thousand years in Europe. They know when people are poor, hungry and sick, they are hard pressed to push back.
Peasant revolts in medieval Europe were fairly common. The best known were the English Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the French Jacquerie of 1358. The Peasants' Revolt. It was the basis for William Morris's A Dream of John Ball (a good read) where he presented some of his positions on Socialism, a thread of which he saw running through the revolt. Themes we would associate with socialism today were fairly common in the revolts of the time.
The major drivers for these revolts were an increasing gap between rich and poor, and inflation and taxation. Driving much of this was the desire to live more and more extravagant lifestyles. Sounds familiar...
Alis,good post. Just watched an interview on CNBC( a Major Trump Supporter) with Alex Karp CEO Palantir and Jensen Huang(Nvidia)( both of whom contributed major funds to destroy the East Wing) and are Trump sycophants. They are planning with AI to destroy the American workforce. They are not bashful about making those claims. Are our pols going to wake up soon,are we going to wake up soon to realize in as little as 3 yrs.everyone posting on this substack will know hundreds or thousands of people who are unemployed. Are we just going to let this happen and not push back. Tech is not our friend,they are power hungry and think technocrats should run the Gov't so they can eliminate anyone they feel should not be alive. Can we wake up soon.
The big companies announced their lay-offs within days. It's a message and it is collusion. Seeing them sitting around a dinner table sucking-up to TRump was too.
So true, David, and thanks.
“We need leadership and institutions capable of organizing, strategizing, and executing on multiple fronts: precincts, courts, local elections, media ecosystems, and state regulatory agencies.” Yes, yes we do. To be clear, that would demand removal of establishment defenders of a deeply flawed status quo.
Yes Tom, we need a lot of things. The question is: How do we get them?
https://blueprint.democrats.org/
Blood, sweat and tears.
I'm afraid this generation is so deafened and alienated by the oversaturated media bombardment that they will focus on the myriad distractions while the yokes are ever so mercifully locked in place around their necks. They'll come to when the chafing becomes too noticeable to ignore, but by then it will be much too late to do anything about it.
The story of mankind.My son,now 64, and a department head in a college, missed the hippie era, the drugs, the LSD, but was nostalgic, for it and for a spell tried to be one even dropping acid. Smoked pot in front of me, hoping to get a rise. Didn't work though. I never cared about that shit, and he was 26, his own man (my wife smokes pot and eats gummies, helps with her pain and sleep, I don't shit made me dizzy and tha was it.
The point is that present generations don't have an inkling of what past generations went through to get here.
I fell through the floor when I learned that much of the black and Hispanic male vote went for Trump. Yegads don't they know that the Republican part is the home of the most diehard racists? The answer is no, apparently.
My great great chldren and grandchildren are going to grow up, with the Vietnam war some kind of ancient, irrelevant, history, just like for me the civil war, and WWI were irrelevant history, though my great grandmother who was 12 when Lee surrendered to Grant, bounced me on her knee and rocked me to sleep.
I was a child during WWII, yet the only recollection I have of that era, was playing with my friends. picking blackberries., running from a goat, life in backwoods Arkansas, and being in a hospital after a tonsilectomy when I was two, in other words events that had some emotional tag. I didn't know jack about the War until I read about it in Time Life books and the library in my pre teens.
Today's generation are going to have to pay tomorrow for the mistakes and inattention they make today, me: I just muddle through best I can, and hope that I die softy, painlessly and in peace.
The bookThe Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny t argues that U.S. history is cyclical, with each cycle lasting approximately 80 to 100 years and composed of four 20-year periods called "turnings".
Thom Hartmann first brought it to my atttention on his TV/Radio program.
Evidently Charlie Kirk read it too, as his organization is Turning Point..
It's happening all over the world, the rise of fascism a and social control. the loss of freedom and social control, and religion struggling and apparently succeeding to gain or regain control of the social millieu, and the imposition of real communism or communitarianism if you think communism is about economic and ownership, what is about is an ant colony, where there is social homogenity, and everyone has their place and role, and any deviance from the dictated norms is punished.
Every body goes to church or mosque (if in a Muslim country), everyone pays their tithe, rebellious teenagers are punished, even executed, LGBT are executed if revealed, Breaking the ten commandments is a capital punishment, perps are stoned. Social classes are stratified and rigidly enforced. No more entrepreneurs to challenge the Zuckerbergs, Bezos, Musks, Dimons, Thiels.
That class will fight among themselves, and use the resources of the nations they control
Europe will become Muslim or expel all Muslims, While Christians convert to Islam, Muslims do not convert to Christianity.
What Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi, failed ot achieve in 732 at the battle of Tours, aka Battle of Poitier and subsequently Sultan I at the gates of Vienna in 1682, will be achieved, not by armed invasion, but gradually by emigration, by boat loads of refugees, until the Muslim population exceeds the critical mass of 17%
The world is headed towards homogenity and spheres of domination and influence, either conform or perish.
Freedom and individuality as we know it, won't even show up in history books, but it won't be a world at peace. George Orwell was prescient, even geographically. his Oceania is the Tecnhate of America https://www.deviantart.com/grimbeans/art/Alt-World-Technate-The-World-Plan-760750706
Interesting that map is old, of the Technocracy Movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement
Now look at South America and Trumps war on Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and you might update it to Argentina.
Thankfully I won't have to live in that world, ny descendants will though.
I was born in a world not of my making, but somehow managed to plow my way through, they will have to do the same. Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams, none of them could have envisioned the world that they would create.
This hit hard. The part about democracy being hollowed out while we’re still casting ballots feels painfully true. People keep waiting for the “moment” when it all breaks, not realizing the breaking already happened quietly in the courts, the media, and the rules.
Blessed be the ones who still believe participation is sacred work, not a spectator sport.
Whether we get to cast ballots next year is problematical.
I attended a Dem Women meeting yesterday and people are fired up! Speaking loudly about Stephen Miller and Vought’s Project 2025 evilness.
The ugliness more revealed every hour of every day…I say vote and speak up to each other! Social media and independent media are at risk too of censorship, whitewashing and disappearing with American democracy.
Thanks Thom. I've been writing much the same since Trump took office, alas I've been charged with obedience in advance, and lethargic negativity; Not so.
There is recent article by Michael Sellers, about federal poll watching, that is a thing, 10,000 poll watchers are being trained, and don't be surprised if many show up armed, especially in black districts, as voter suppression. Redistricting, MAGA election commissions, Voter ID laws, voter suppression laws, voter caging (thanks to Greg Palast for info on that) It does look like managed elections are the future.
I don't like the term competitive authoritarianism, because there is no real competition, in Hungary, Turkey, Russia. It is a sham of a competition, Like me stepping into the ring with Chuck Norris. Only worse, because both parties, slop at the same trough, and try to elbow each other out of the way.
One party fights bare knuckles, no rules, the other wears gloves and follows rules. That seems to be changing, a day late and a dollar short though.
We need a survival strategy, and a warfare strategy. I heard on TV yesterday, the idea of a national uprising and general strike, waiting on congress to shift into defiance mode, among the Republicans is like Waiting for Godet. I doubt that it will happen, as Trump and the malignant billionaires, have a headlock on the Republican party. We can hope, but I see it as a forlorn hope.
Nobody is going to rescue us, we are going to have to rescue ourselves, just like the founders did in 1775
We shouldn't let the Republicans claim the tea party and MAGA as their own, a real populist uprising, not right wing hate populism is what is going to save us.
Their control of the U.S. looks like a fait accompli and Trump has already moved on to his goal of a Technate America. Check the map at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocracy_movement
He hasn't given up on Greenland or Canada, and now he is using drug cartels as an excuse to invade South America, he has bought Argentina, plans to invade Venezuela and Colombia, Panama can be knocked out by the 173rd Airborne Brigade and JSOC. The rest will fold. Even Lula of Brazil is bending the knee.
We better move before it is too late, or maybe it is. The NSA has a data center at Bluffdale, UT that sniffs all electronic traffic, and with AI, it can instantaneously identify any traffic that is perceived to be a threat, and we don't know how to analog communicate anymore
I already read an argument, coming from the "left" for Democrats to capitulate to the Republicans in Congress. When people are sick and hungry and lack resources it becomes harder and harder for them to maintain their will to resist. My gosh, you need to eat. Yes, I believe the agreement is that Trump gets the western hemisphere. One thing, though, you can count on is that dictators only cooperate with one another when it suits them. They are all "transactional." When they complete the predicted 3-way split of the world between Trump, Putin and Xi, they will surely turn on one another for a bigger piece.
Nobody goes hungry in America. There are food banks (I contribute to the local) soup kitchens, even Meals on Wheels for Seniors
The problem is that there are many on the so called left, who have no guts, or propensity for inconvenience or pain.
And not just the left. Only 3% of British America supported the revolution and that 3% were Boston and Philadelphia merchants and Virginia planters
The rest of the country, especially in virginia had to be coerced into supporting the revolution.
Here is what they did in Virginia. Tor start with the planters, the tidewater aristocracy, saw in the revolution the chance to become the nobility in a new country.
The planter class had relatives in London and the surrounding counties, as they were descended from the cavaliers, the royalists, that fled England with the victory of Cromwells Roundheads (Parliamentarians)
It became a thing among the tidewater aristocrcy to show their wealth and status, by making an aliyah to London, the more that they made, the higher their social status.
Problem is that when they arrived in London, they were treated like country bumpkins, because of their lack of courtly manners, etiquette and their Virginia Drawl.
The speechways of Virginia were influenced by the speechway of Surrey and Suffolk, the counties surrounding London, from whom the indentured servants and tradesmen were recruited
.
King William in 1700 had outlawed the accent, but it remained in Virginia, and it was interspersed with words and pronunciations of the Africans, Italians, Irish and even Polish who had migrated to Virginia.
The Irish had no so much as migrated but sold into slavery by Oliver Cromwell, after he subdued Ireland, he sold about 50,000 Irish to English Colonies, most in the Caribbean.
The planters saw the revolution as an opportunity to become the nobility in the new country, but the Virginians had no mind to replace English overlords with homegrown overlords, Therefore they settled in two plans.
First: they Created Committees of Public Safety,name chosen not to alarm the British overlords,. but the job was to keep track of the people and punish those that weren't patriots
The second was to buy pamphlets like Common Sense and Rights of Man, published in Philadelphia by Ben Franklin and the William Rittenhouse printing company.
The effort didn't reach to South Carolina which retained a very strong royalist base among the planters, until the Brits landed in Charleston and moved out commandering the plantations of the Royalists for the officers.
The movie The Patriot showcases this behavior.
Perhaps you are right that no one goes hungry here, BUT….
By all reasonable rights, healthy Americans should be able to work a job with dignity, put a roof over their family’s heads and food on the table. The truth, however, today in America, is that many of the people, and I don’t know the percentages, who have to access food banks, and other ways to get food for their families are people who already have jobs and work. This absolutely should not be the case.
I agree. Here is something to mull over, We live in an increasingly automated world, Robots have taken over in the factory floor, and even McDonalds is going to or has, use robots for frying fish and potatoes.. AI is set to put millions out of work, and America has been greened, off shoring factory jobs.
The future is that the only jobs left will be menial labor and construction jobs, and even many of those will be taken over by AI driven robots.
Even plowing, sowing and harvesting grain crops and potatoes can and will be one by robots and AI.
As far as I can see, only picking fruit and tomatoes will require humans, lettuce and greens are already harvested by machines.
So what does the government or society do with millions of unemployed people?
We are designed to work, if not biologically,. then socially people find their identities in their work.
Ask an American "what do you do" and they will reply with a trade or occupation. Ask a Swiss what do you do"And they will reply with something like skiing, or down hill racing.
If an American doesn't have a job an occupation they feel worthless, unless they are retired and saying retired is a sign of social success
I've been retired since 1982, I have held jobs, but only to keep busy, not to support myself, and the extra money is gravy. If asked what I did, I would have replied, Retired, not law firm administrator, or non profit administrator.
We are conditioned to value and esteem ourselves by what other people think (we don't and can't know what they really think) and by how we earn our money, those that have to work for their money, are lower down on the social scale, than those that don't have to work
So what is to be done with all of the unemployed people in the future as robots and AI displace the work force?
"Nobody goes hungry in America." I personally was involved in school breakfast, milk programs. I understand they are no longer funded.
I was personally invoved in the Older Americans Act (OAA), which supports services such as nutrition, transportation, in-home care, and caregiver support and state and local Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) administer many OAA-funded services to meet community needs, like ours, which funded meals on wheels. No longer funded in most red states.
AI: Statistics on hunger and food insecurity
Total affected: Over 47 million people in the U.S. face hunger, including 13 million children.
Children affected: Roughly one in five children is affected by food insecurity.
Increase in numbers: The number of people affected by food insecurity has grown by 4.2 million since 2020.
Causes of hunger
Low wages: Many people who work full-time or multiple jobs still don't earn enough money to afford food.
High cost of living: The high cost of housing and other necessities leaves families with less money for food.
Economic factors: Inflation and the expiration of federal support programs like the enhanced Child Tax Credit have increased food insecurity.
Systemic discrimination: Racism and discrimination create barriers to employment and housing, disproportionately affecting communities of color.
Impact of hunger
Children's education: Hunger is linked to poor academic performance, lower test scores, and more frequent illness in students.
"Hidden hunger": Many low-income households experience "hidden hunger," where they may have enough calories but lack essential vitamins and minerals, leading to long-term health problems.
Government and community support
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Known as food stamps, this program provides low-income families with money to purchase groceries. Democratic AGs and governors sue USDA for suspending SNAP benefits. NPR. Updated October 28, 2025
School meal programs: These programs provide essential nutrition to children. https://frac.org/blog/how-will-the-government-shutdown-affect-the-child-nutrition-programs
WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children): This program provides food assistance to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. 44 National organizations sent a letter to the White House urging additional emergency funds for WIC. https://www.nwica.org/press-releases/44-national-organizations-send-letter-to-white-house-urging-additional-emergency-funds-for-wic
Community food banks: These organizations play a crucial role in helping people meet their immediate food needs.
That is not what I was saying Daniel. I grew up in a project with a single mother, who worked for $1 an hour to feed herself and three kids.
I never ate in the school lunch room because she didn't have the $.35 cents, and I lost a girl friend because she didn't have the $.25 for me to attend the dance at the YMCA across the street.
Lunch was PB&J Sandwiches alternated with bologna sandwiches. They didn't have SNAP when I was a kid, nor food banks. My Mom shopped for churches that provided the best thanksgiving and Xmas baskets and gifts.
And there was no such thing as a food bank either. Today there is SNAP and food banks, and non profits galore which will provide food and shelter, but not in my day. Maybe a soup kitchen near center city or in South Phillie., but those were for adults.
When I was 11 I would panhandle near the subway entrance on Broad St, beg for money to get past the turnstyle, but when I collected enough I would go to Horn and Hardardts's automat and grab my favorite spaghetti and creamed spinach.
William,I've been asking that question for the past few months since it is apparent big tech in going to deliberately destroy as many jobs as they can with AI..Estimated by some sources 60 million over the next 2 yrs. I am taking yours and breaking it down into 3 questions.
They aren't interested in destroying jobs; that would require intent. They don't view what they are doing as destruction but as modernization (aka reaping higher profits). That millions are going to be out of work doesn't bother them in the least because in this new and glorious utopia all will share in the New World Order's virtually unlimited wealth. Work will be a dark shadow from the past. It's all about trust. Whatever could possibly go wrong?
Back in 1970, I was an E-6 on active duty, but also attending college. A popular book at the time was the Greening of America, the local communist recruiter. a dweeb that would haunt the cafeteria looking for kids that seemed lonely and needing company to prey on, called a meeting. I attended out of curiosity. He held up the book as a blueprint for destroying capitalism, it was called the Greening of America.
It didn't destroy capitalism but destroyed jobs, and created what became the Tea Party/MAGA movement. Facilitated by Bill Clinton, who, being generous, signed the bill to get Newt Gingrich off his back about Monica.
It is possible that Bill's dalliance with star struck Monica, is responsible for all of his disastrous legislation, like revoking Glass Steagall,Omnibus CrimeBill, Defense of Marriage Act, Omniuus Crime Bill, Telecommunications act of 1996. NAFTA and Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), or welfare reform, in 1996.
He was the best Republican President, real Repblican, not neo NAZI MAGA of the 20th Century.
The main reason Republicans refuse to negotiate isn't health care. It's protection of Trump from Trumpepstein.
Even some of the unions are saying "uncle." NYT. The American Federation of Government Employees, in a shift, called on Congress to immediately reopen the government without the health care measures sought by Democratic lawmakers.
Not going to reinstate those who lost jobs arbitrarily in DOGE cuts, and in recent elimination of positions.
I disagree, I believe the design was to shut down Congress, so Trump has cleared the field to continue to govern by executive orders. We can drum up all the excuses we want, but the Trump administration doesn’t want a legislative body getting in its way and obstructing its progress toward its goal of destroying our country.The Epstein stuff, as nasty as it is, is a diversion removing our attention from what this administration is doing to America.
Consider the Congressional Republicans. Makes many of them vulnerable.
BTW House Republicans have been out 30 straight days. IMHO they will rue this.
I hope you are right!
On Election Night, my little blue State was the first to close the polls and declare Harris the winner. It was up there for hours, even after the rest of the electoral map went red. I remember thinking that Vermont was going to stick in the craw of the "retribution candidate." In related news, this week, the Trump Administration has denied a request from our State for disaster assistance.
The corruption of the two cartel parties enabled ALL of this. The benefactors of corruption know if they remain united against the rank and file voters and against democracy, they and their families will be an irremovable ruling class. YES. They are operatives of BOTH parties.
For starters, the corruption in the DemocratIC party is no where near the level of corruption in the Republican Party.
Treating this as a small town high school football game in which the home team can do no wrong brought us here. BOTH parties became corrupted because the rank and file members were chastised by the partisan stooges (flying monkeys for the wannabe ruling class) if they dared to try to hold the corrupt within their own party accountable. Your response has that quality. We MUST hold our own party accountable and remove the corruption. If we cannot do that, all is lost.
Yet it is still corruption.
Suicide isn't an option.
Slow suicide by self-poisoning is as deadly as quick suicide. In both cases, we end up dead. Only by rejecting both the slow and the fast paths do we get to live. Falling for the siren call of our own partisan stooges not to hold our own party accountable is a sure path to suicide. We've been on it too long.
From the guy who helped put Trump back in office by opposing Democrats in 2024.
For the guy unable to hold his "home team" accountable for anything and twice put Trump into office doing that partisan stooge thing, here is how holding your own accountable is done.
https://newrepublic.com/article/202327/trump-autocracy-rising-dems-unnerving-answer
These are my kind of Democrat.
You WANT us to lose. That report's premise fails to address the crime -- the election was stolen.
Here's a thing from Thom needing emphasis:
"At the same time the marches are occurring, the foundation of the GOP’s up-and-coming fascist autocracy is being built: the staffing of key agencies, the rewriting of rules under emergency or administrative power, the gerrymandering and court packing, the stealth takeover of local precincts and state and county election commissions."
The takeaway is this: we're simultaneously living in two parallel worlds - both of which demand our immediate attention - but only one has the absolute ability to construct the future. That world takes durable work, isn't as immediately emotionally satisfying and places strategy before tactics.
It is behind the daily in-our-face horror-dramedy where construction and solidification of this moment are being made permanent. The details, as always, are mundane and confusing - yet this is precisely where our attention must be placed - and as always, it is the details in sum which determine our life. It's rarely, if ever, "one great moment".
Nor one great group---we are going to need the independents more than ever.
Good comment, Jon.
I keep asking: what if we occupy the Congressional Republicans' offices?
I believe it is our duty to occupy those offices if our elected representatives refuse to show up for work. This government of ours isn't semi-autonomous yet, despite the best efforts of those funding the GOP. We need people who'll not only accept the paycheck and the bribes, but also be there when we the people need them the most - like this very moment for example.
Oh, we'd probably be shot or stripped off our citizenship and deported to Eritrea.
“In effect, while protesters may feel emboldened and signal a national discontent, in the absence of durable organization, leadership, and strategy the protests are easily absorbed, marginalized, or rendered irrelevant by Trump’s fascist forces and billionaire supporters once the streets are empty again.”
All so true and so important. The ‘No Kings’ rallies may dissipate without a fact like Occupy Wall Street for exactly this reason.
The federal Democrats need a unified message to speak to the disaffected swing voters in the important electoral college states that once voted solidly Democrat: the system has treated you unfairly, we are going to get you fair paying jobs with dignity and this is how we’re going to do it.
The Democrats must emphasize economic policies that will help the people in financial despair and downplay or even move to the centre on all social policies until the fair sharing of the GDP is restored as at once was beginning after World War II.
The predatory wealthy have their enormous political power because of their ability to accumulate excessive wealth once Reagan lowered tax rates on the rich. At the same time policies must be developed through to drafting terms of legislation the way the far right does to stop the upward transfer of wealth. That requires a knowledge of the systems in corporate, banking and tax for the transfer of wealth. And that requires some dedication to learn about these systems— which only the predatory rich understand at present.
Jan,unfortunately I agree,the rallies or protests are easily ignored by the " Nazi" forces in control of Gov't.Getting good paying jobs is not going to work because Tech has made a committment to destroy millions of jobs as quickly as possible through AI.
The time for nonviolent protests may have passed with no real results. There must a strategy to go on offense in a way that motivates people. Our silence and hope is not going to work.
Our protests have been little more than virtue-signaling. Once every 2 or 3 weeks for a few hours is going to do zilch to turn this around. Going to the streets and staying there, or general strikes, national call-in sick days, something that actually shakes the pillars of corruption has more of a chance. In order to work is going to require a significant part of the population. How we do that at this time escapes me.
I agree that violent protests are justified morally in extreme situations; however, I don't think they're a necessary or winning strategy yet. And Trump has already anticipated them by engaging the National Guard and the army to quell protests.The Occupy Wall Street movement failed because it was against having a leader, nor did it have enough understanding of the financial system to demand effective reforms. The same applies to no kings, It hasno leader and no vision.
A great hinderance to the Democrats is the belief that centrist is moderate. A centrist says they are liberal on social issues and conservative on financial issues. The two do not interact like an arithmetic function producing a middle of the road average. The conservative economic policies remain conservative and have led the Democratic Party from a party of the people to a party of the 10% coastal college educated. If the No Kings movement is to be successful, it has to reject the idea of centrism and adopt the economic policies that FDR instituted, of course adapted to modern circumstances. But these mean looking at the concerns of the working class in the flyover states and putting those first.
When are those violent protests morally justified?
My answer written in 2020: Banking Apartheid, Debt Slavery, and Financial Lynching: Why People Riot
https://janweirlaw.medium.com/why-blacks-riot-ed51d7e724c
I agree with your observations. Your original question was morally not strategically. Strategically, there is a great danger in the use of violence. Those who use violence to get control often use it to maintain control. That is the lesson from the French and Russian revolutions. The American Revolution is an exception.
By coincidence I'm rereading Asimov's Foundation series which I first read some 50 years ago
How often do violent protests succeed and how often do they lead to greater oppression? Asimov's "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" has a certain tang to it but there is a certain falsity to it. It has no business ever being the first response but by the time one's last refuge has been stripped away very few options are left on the table. Most would react violently way before. I'm opposed to violence but I know I wouldn't be here without it.
In the end, riots are inherently chaotic. They are reflexive in nature, not measured. Not many battles have been won by soldiers making their own choices, devoid of a clear and common goal.
The 20th century -- and indeed all of history -- shows that we the human species are deeply vulnerable to fascist entreaties. The Nazis were democratically elected to power in the Weimar Republic. In effect, Putin was too. Erich Fromm in Escape from Freedom (1941) argued that too many of us unconsciously yearn to have the freedom from responsibility that all of us have as children -- we yearn for the comfort that a political parent figure can provide. True democracy is always a tough sell, because the path to fascism is so easy.
I am reading a variety of essays that argue the point that the Trump administration is halfway or more along the way of consolidating their power and becoming the dictatorship Trump has promised. Honestly, I believe it is complete. The Supreme Court is corrupt and is handing Trump victories that allow him to continue violating our Constitution and Congress is useless. The assault on our White House is just a symbol of the capture of our government. Trump and his enablers make no distinction between himself and our government. Indeed, he equates himself with the government of the U.S. and the White House is his. He is free to do as he pleases. Even when our courts hold the line, the executive branch is responsible for the enforcement of their rulings, and the Trump administration will never act against itself. Now, as time flies by, we may experience more broad reaching cruelty by the administration. Iron-fisted control over every aspect of civilian life takes time to implement. Indeed, we really COULD experience violence toward people who do not line up and espouse the Christian Nationalist definition of Christianity, as the administration is already seeking out Americans who engage in "anti-Christian" speech, as defined by them. I think we can predict gradual tightening of the grip on Americans to line up and obey, or else. Now, the topic of the day is how to effectively push back. I read an essay yesterday that suggested wealthy, powerful blue states might be our best approach. Blue states actually generate most of the wealth in this country and we know CA is the world's 4th largest economy. Clearly taking bold steps could provoke more aggressive attacks on Americans who resist, but continuing down the path of acquiescence will almost surely get millions killed. When families cannot feed themselves or access healthcare, desperate people will respond, opening the way to use force against sick, hungry Americans. So, either way, resisting or succumbing is likely to lead to suffering. So, how do we restore our rule of law and allegiance to our Constitution?
Judy,are we leaving messages on the SC website,we do not approve of the :" Nazi" supreme courts and they have no legacy other than as a " Nazi" supreme ct exluding the 3 women who get no respect from the other 6.
James Carville recently told Jen Psaki that, “You aren’t scared enough yet!”
Carville nailed it - Inertia is a good word to describe us. Ask the guy trying to steer an oil tanker or the guy trying to stop a train. I read a book several years ago that I didn't like. It was titled - The Great Leveler. It created a cognitive dissonance that would not leave me alone. We will be "scared" when our assets disappear. Your words will matter then, and not until then:) We are a ship, making way.
We live in a country where even a children's Halloween parade is a concern to our government stormtroopers. So anything we do that is clearly opposed to the regime will be met with hostility, if not violence. That is where this is going. Wherever we appear, we need massive numbers, the more the scarier.
Halloween is followed by all saints day, the day of the dead.
BREAKING NEWS
New York Times
U.S. Military Killed 14 More People Accused of Smuggling Drugs on Boats, Hegseth Says
The Trump administration launched another round of strikes, destroying four more boats in the Pacific Ocean, Pete Hegseth said. The defense secretary did not provide evidence for the claim that the vessels were smuggling drugs, the basis for an operation that has killed at least 57 people so far.
I signed up to be a precinct captain back in 2016 during Bernie's first campaign. Been doing that ever since. We do a bit of work in my county for voter protection and voter greeting during early voting and on Election Days. My county democratic party keeps meeting year round to work on getting candidates elected. That is the mission. Our state Democratic parties need to get more coordinated but it helps if there can be work done at every county or local level. We basically all work as volunteers in my county. We pay one person as Executive Director. It takes time and effort from many volunteers. https://hillsboroughcountydemocrats.org/about-us