Looking at reality

What amazes me is that both Democrats and Republicans are united in ignoring the climate cliff that we're headed for. Oh, the Democrats pretend to "listen to the science", but Joe Biden has repeatedly said that he will not ban fracking - and has already shown that the fossil fuel industry will be heavily represented in his administration, while progressives and environmentalists will be completely frozen out.

 

Here's the thing. Climate change will pass the point of no return by the end of 2027 - and that's if we're lucky. So far every time new data has come in, the amount of time we have left has gotten shorter. And once we pass that point of no return, human civilization is doomed. The oligarchs retire to their luxury underground bunkers in New Zealand, and end up eating each other within 5 years - because let's face it, they won't survive on a dying planet without millions of slaves to support them. The rest of us will end up living briefly and dying in a post-apocalyptic world.

 

Maybe you think that's bullshit. That's your privilege, although if you have kids or grandkids they might disagree. But you owe it to them - and to all the children of the world - to take a hard look at the data. It's freely available on the Climate Clock.

 

There's no time left for political games. We have seven years at most. The only option if we want to survive is revolution. Now, that's not up to any one of us. But the elite have been creating the conditions which make revolution almost inevitable. Cops killing people with impunity. Congress serving the interests of the oligarchy exclusively. Covid-19 being completely botched while BOTH parties refuse to consider universal health care. Millions of Americans unemployed (and even more underemployed) while unemployment benefits expire. Topping things off, tens of millions of Americans will be evicted in the next several months - and again, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans will do a damned thing to stop that from happening.

 

Tens of millions of desperate, starving American families in the streets. In winter. What the hell can we expect but revolution?

 

So get ready. Network with neighbors. Be ready for the mass protests and the general strikes. Stock up on essentials. Learn basic first aid, and get enough supplies to help others. Look up protest techniques and equipment. Because either the revolution is coming...or hell on earth.

Facebook Recidivism

 I'm back in Facebook jail. This is my fourth time; I'd gone for years without any trouble, but in the last few months I've been suspended four times.

What was my offense?

Criticizing Bernie Sanders for selling out the progressive movement.

Now, the funny thing is that I've used almost the exact same words to criticize him on Facebook before with no pushback whatsoever from FB. I can only speculate as to the change in FB's response. My guess is that either I have a stalker (not impossible, it has happened before) who is reporting every controversial comment I post, or else Facebook has escalated their censorship standards. It's also possible that I'm on Facebook's watchlist, of course.

In any case, it reminds me of the old Soviet censorship that we used to hear about. It seems that we need to develop a samizdat network of our own; a way to be able to communicate without having Mark Zuckerberg's clammy hands clamped over our digital mouths.

The problem, of course, is that the three major social networks (Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter) are all subject to rigorous censorship by the oligarchy. Smaller ones aren't, but that's because their user base is so small that you might as well write your post on a piece of paper and flush it down the toilet. The oligarchy is perfectly happy to have us waste our time talking to nobody; it's only when we might rile up the sheep (as they see them) that they have their sheepdogs take us down.

It's a problem.

In the meantime, I've been posting on a very small new site called Leftbook.us. It desperately needs more users, but given that Facebook has been flat-out purging leftist groups there (and some libertarian/right groups, too), Leftbook seems like a good option. It's not a place to reach the unaffiliated, but it could be a good place to meet other leftists and organize - which is something that the oligarchs have spent a LOT of money to discourage.

What I hope for from this election

What do I want from this election?

Uncertainty. I know I won't get a Green victory. The only way we’re going to have a chance to avoid extinction is with a full-blown revolution. But I don't want to see either candidate get a clean win. The closer it is, the more contentious and confused the results are, the better for us in the long run.

Because that sort of turmoil will help discredit the whole rotten system. Let the two corrupt corporatist parties squabble and fight. Let the two demented old rapist-pedophiles scream at each other on TV. Better that than a quiet return to business as usual!

Business as usual means extinction for us all.