The Cliff

Joe Biden supporters talk about incremental change. They point out that it took decades for us to get to this point, and that it will take decades, maybe forty years, to reverse the damage.

But we don't have 40 years. We don't even have ten. In 10 years we pass the point of no return. Hundreds of millions or billions of deaths become inevitable, and at that point the struggle for survival and the resource wars will make any sort of sane human civilization impossible.

It's not pleasant to contemplate, but the only way I see the human race surviving at this point is via a worldwide revolution. And I honestly don't know if that will happen.

But it's very clear that the powers-that-be, including the DNC and the RNC, will do everything they can to maintain the status quo as we head over that cliff.

* * *

I can't get away from that ten years. Realistically, we need to make profound changes in the world's economy and society as quickly as possible - within five years or less, there must be fundamental change on a level we've never seen before, or the odds of human extinction are huge.

I can't get that out of my mind. I can't let it go. For Sebastian's sake, if nothing else. The DNC and RNC have made it INCREDIBLY clear that they won't allow the fundamental change we need, as long as they exist. Hell, Biden literally SAID "nothing will fundamentally change" to his Wall Street bankers.

I'm not voting for Trump. But to me, it's clear that we've reached the point where the "lesser evil" is still too evil to accept. Human extinction isn't something I will agree to, no matter which puppet of the oligarchs is offering it.

And although I've voted all my life, I've finally reached the point where I'm convinced that voting is truly meaningless. I'll vote anyway, I suppose, out of habit. But it's painfully obvious that voting isn't going to save us. The ONLY way that humanity survives, as I see it, is mass protest and revolution.

Luckily (?) the greed of the 0.01% is creating a hothouse environment for exactly that. With unemployment reaching Great Depression levels, conditions are ripe for the sort of anticapitalist revolution that FDR only barely managed to forestall. Since the DNC successfully blocked our modern equivalent of FDR, it seems inevitable to me that there will either be a revolution...or we'll have the most technologically advanced and brutal authoritarian society that humanity has ever witnessed.

For a little while. Until the Earth will no longer sustain human civilization or life.

Sigh...talking and thinking about this stuff depresses the hell out of me.

* * *

I'll never vote for Trump, and voting for him is stupid if only because the DNC would be perfectly happy to have him re-elected; he's good for their campaign donations, and the oligarchs who own both parties don't mind Trump.

But I am convinced that the DNC defrauded their primary voters twice now. That they stole MY vote. Trump didn't do that; Biden and the DNC did, and they did it to make sure that they could keep looting the planet, killing off humanity, and keeping billions of us locked in desperation and poverty for whatever remains of our lives.

That makes it personal. I EXPECT the Republicans to be mad dogs; that's what they are. But the DNC was supposed to be a counter to that, as was the media. Both sold out to the same oligarchs who own the RNC. To paraphrase Treebeard:

"[They] ought to know better: they DO know better. There is no curse in Elvish. Entish. or the tongues of Men bad enough for such treachery. Down with [the DNC]!"

I won't vote for Trump. But I understand those who will.

And if it's any comfort, it doesn't matter anyway. Our votes are meaningless, and the differences between Trump and Biden are comparatively minuscule.

* * *

The problem is that as a privately-owned corporation (and owned by one of the world's richest oligarchs, to boot), the First Amendment doesn't apply to Facebook. And the structure of Facebook allows faceless moderators and admins to wield censorship and bans like a club.

Worse still, Facebook is very troll-friendly; I don't know how many people remember 2015-2016, but the DNC hired David Brock and his "Correct the Record" to send armies of trolls in to every progressive and pro-Bernie group. None of those groups survived, as I recall. I wrote an article about spotting trolls and the techniques that trolls use to take down groups in the hope that it might help people to resist them, but it didn't stop me from being banned by a troll from Krystal Ball Rising.

The thing is, there's no real alternative to Facebook. Well, there's Reddit, but they're even MORE susceptible to troll attacks than Facebook is, thanks to their "voting down" algorithm; all the trolls have to do is get enough of them into a group (or enough accounts, anyway) to vote down posts and make them effectively invisible.

Outside of Reddit and Facebook, all you've got are ghost towns. Google Plus had some activity going on, but Google killed that off. So I could go to some small social media site and write (as I do on Blogger), but nobody will ever read what I write and it will never spark any conversation.

We have free speech only insofar as it's controlled or nobody hears it. That's not freedom at all.

 

Banned by a troll

This is a follow-up to "How to Spot A DNC Troll". This morning the Facebook group I'd written it for was gone. Posts I'd saved from that group were gone. Notifications on comments and posts I'd made there were likewise gone. When I looked up the group, Facebook reported that it didn't exist.

But it turned out that I'd been kicked out of the group and permanently banned. I checked with a mod who's a friend, and she couldn't find out what had happened - and she was afraid to ask other mods for fear of being banned herself.

That's a classic development in troll attacks. Odds are that a troll weaseled into a mod position, and got rid of me for posting the article. At a guess, the group really will be gone within two months.

Collected comments

I should have been recording my political comments here all along. it's only a matter of time before they start getting censored; I've been receiving warnings from Facebook.

Given the tinderbox political situation, a crackdown by the oligarchy on political speech online is inevitable.

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Sorry, but I don't buy it. The DNC has made it unbelievably clear that they would rather destroy everything than allowed Bernie to get the nomination.

And Bernie has made it clear that he is always going to knuckle under to them. Face it, he's out of the picture.  It's painful to watch Bernie supporters trying to come up with some feeble, tenuous reason to believe that he might save us all somehow.

He's not going to save us. We are going to have to save ourselves. And you know what that means, even if it scares you.

#Revolution.

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I've been advocating organizing outside of the political system for decades now. The political system as it is now is a killing field for opposition to the system.

Leaderless groups which provide mutual support and (dare I say it) FUN are our best approach. That's why Occupy caught on fire with the public.

The system has made life very grim and scary. A movement that offers people a way to support each other and have fun could go viral incredibly quickly.

Call it a party. To oppose the Parties.

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During the Great Depression, the Communist party had marches and protests demanding jobs and relief for the people. Thousands of people spontaneously joined those marches. The situation today is extremely similar; unemployment is actually higher than it was then, and neither of the mainstream parties is offering anything close to a tolerable social safety net.

Mass protests and riots are inevitable, under the circumstances.

Get ready for them. Stockpile material for big signs. Assemble your protest gear - the cops won't be any less brutal this time. Learn how to live stream video securely from your phone - the mainstream media will ignore most of that stuff, put gripping footage of police brutality will go viral anyway.

One way or another, opposition to this corrupt system is about to explode. We need to be planning on how to make the most of that.

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When you are offered a choice between cyanide or arsenic, refusing to choose is the only sane choice. The DNC blatantly rigged the nomination process for a second time to force a corrupt corporate rapist down our throats - a "Blue Trump".  That's not a choice at all. Under the circumstances, the oligarchy is forcing us to the only alternative we have to human extinction: #Revolution

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Check the records. Joe Biden is more of a warmonger than Trump.. He pushed the Iraq war through Congress, causing The deaths of thousands of US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children. He has supported every war that he ever had the opportunity to vote for. He was also a sponsor of the bankruptcy bill, v which ruined millions of Americans.

To top things off, he undermined democracy and the Constitution by conspiring with the DNC to rig the Democratic nomination process - nullifying the will of the people.

In virtually every way, Joe Biden is so much like Donald Trump that the to are virtually indistinguishable from each other.

For more reasons why Joe Biden doesn't deserve your vote, this thread is an excellent resource:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/2369136416640563?view=permalink&id=2558974750990061

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Got a mask? Of course you do. That means you have the start of a protest gear collection. And you NEED that, because the era of mass protests is beginning.

Covid-19 has changed America forever. Employment levels are never going to go back to what they were. After the second wave of infections and deaths hits, most small businesses will not survive. A huge number of jobs will go away and never come back.

The oligarchy has made damn sure that we will not get the kind of social safety net necessary for people to have a bearable life - much less a decent one. The similarities to the Great Depression are remarkable. A huge population of unemployed workers living on the ragged edge of desperation is a recipe for social unrest, mass protests, and revolution.

So save your masks. Any mask will defeat facial recognition. Look for masks that are effective against tear gas and smoke. If you can, get a respirator or a gas mask. Expand your collection with some goggles or other eye protection. A hard hat could save your life. If you don't have a first aid kit, get or make one - and have a portable one to take with you to protests. There won't be any warning before the protests and riots begin, and you'll really want that gear when the day comes.

The #Revolution is coming. Be ready.

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Once again the system has successfully deflected populist progressive energy. They can keep this up for a long time. The DNC controls the democratic primary system absolutely. Recognize that simple fact.

The planet is running out of time, and so are we. Within 10 years, climate change will have passed the point of no return. After that, hundreds of millions or even billions of deaths will be inevitable. The odds are high that civilization will collapse, and our species will become extinct.

The oligarchy owns the political system. We can vote however we want; it won't matter. Just as the DNC controls their primaries, the duopoly controls the general elections. The Green party will never be allowed to reach the 5% threshold. Neither will any other third-party. The oligarchy is determined to see humanity destroyed rather than give up a shred of their power. They know that once they make any concession, they risk an enraged population waking up and tearing them to pieces.

So vote if you wish. But NEVER make the mistake of thinking that voting will be allowed to accomplish any meaningful change. You want to live? You want your children and grandchildren to have a future? Then you have only one option.

#Revolution.

Get yourself ready. Network with your neighbors. Have a first aid kit for your house, and a portable one as well. Get protective gear & sign-making equipment for the mass protests, because they are coming. More people are unemployed than at any other time in American history. The oligarchy is determined to keep them desperate and hungry. They are making revolution inevitable.

Get your shit together. Stock up on essentials. Research protest techniques - our brothers and sisters in other countries are developing some amazingly effective ones.

When the day of revolution comes, we won't have any warning. We don't know what the triggering event will be; all we can know is that the people will eventually reach a breaking point. When that time comes, we need to be ready.

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Personally I despise Democrats more than Republicans because A) it's the Democrats whose primary opponents are the progressive movement, and they show it with unabashed hatred and contempt, and B) you expect the Republicans to be rabid dogs. But Democrats were supposed to be the people's protectors. Although anyone who has done much study of the issue knows that in fact the Democrats are the ones who saved capitalism.

Come to think of it, Bernie would have saved capitalism. So with any luck, we will be able to bring it down now that he's out of the picture.

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I think the DNC has proved (twice now) that politics should not be our main avenue of attack. The oligarchy owns the political system, both parties; they are NOT going to allow someone like Bernie to get a major-party nomination, and they damned well won't allow any third party to ever reach the 5% threshold. It's clear that votes are not being reported accurately or honestly. And since both the DNC and the RNC are privately-owned corporations, there is absolutely no way that we can take them over.

But that's not our strength, anyway. Our strength, as you put it, is numbers. And our numbers are increasing every day, thanks to the oligarchs themselves. The unemployment rate is now higher than it was during the Great Depression, and those numbers are only going to go up after the second wave of Covid-19 hits in the fall. The elite will not provide even the minimum social safety net necessary to allow the people a bearable life, much less a decent one. As the people suffer and grow increasingly more desperate, they will move - out of sheer necessity - towards revolution.

We almost had a revolution during the Great Depression. FDR bought it off and saved capitalism with the New Deal. Bernie was capitalism's last chance in this era, and the DNC killed that chance. So now revolution is all that's left to us.

We can organize politically, too - but we have to recognize that our primary tool are the mass protests which ARE going to start happening, more and more often. We need to be part of that. We need to prepare. Developing demands. Making local connections. Stocking up on necessities and protest gear. Materials to make signs and banners. When the Communist Party started marching during the Great Depression, thousands and thousands of ordinary unemployed Americans joined them. We need to take a page from their book.

Apart from that, all I can say is that a leaderless movement seems to be the way to go. Leaders are just targets for corruption or destruction. Small local groups for mutual support could spring up all over the country (and the world), and network loosely. If those groups offer fun as well as support, they could go viral incredibly quickly. Call it a party (in the fun sense) to oppose the Parties.

What do you think?

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Here's the thing: the DNC would far rather lose the next TWENTY elections rather than allow Bernie to get the nomination. And Bernie has proved that he'd rather play ball with the DNC than fight them. So all this is a waste of time.

We need to focus on mass protests and breaking the system from the outside - not on a hopeless attempt to reform an utterly corrupt and oligarchy-owned system from the inside.

We have ten years before the planet reaches the breaking point. Then hundreds of millions or billions of us will die, and the resource wars will begin. Pissing away those ten years on hopeless political struggles is just a dumb way to commit suicide. We need to be working NOW to bring down the system and save the planet.

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[I'm often flamed for warning that Ro Khanna is a deep-cover fauxgressive whose ultimate loyalty is to the DNC and the oligarchs.]From an email from Steve Spinner to John Podesta:

"Ro Khanna has been a loyal supporter of Hillary Clinton unlike Mike Honda. Ro worked with Amy Rao and Jonathan Mantz to help Hillary Clinton in 2008 and before that supported HillPac. He did a number of fundraisers in the South Asian community for Hillary Clinton throughout 2008. He also traveled to Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas, and the Every Vote Counts rally for Hillary Clinton in 2008."

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/40072

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The entire subject of citizenship needs to be completely re-evaluated. I think we tend to look at things from the default assumptions of the current system; that's a mistake, as the current system is a failure in so many ways.

Our system and society are examples of how NOT to live a human life or form a human society. They've brought humanity to the brink of extinction. Each and every aspect, every concept, needs to be regarded with suspicion and care.

If people live and work here, they should have an equal voice in our government.

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It seems to me that if they're living under our laws, they should have an equal voice (and responsibility) in making those laws - or electing those representatives, or whatever. Personally, I think we need to work towards a society in which every member has the time and education to represent themselves effectively. Representative democracy has been a recipe for corruption, far too often.

I'm reminded of T.H. White's The Once and Future King; specifically the passage about the wild geese. From the sky, there are no border lines. No states, no countries. And we know now that every part of the world shares the same fate. What happens across the sea affects us here, and vice versa. No part of the world is untouched by our actions. And that interconnection will only increase with time...unless everything falls apart.

What's the concern about giving people the vote? Will they abuse it to advantage foreign nations over the US? It seems to me that that's already a widespread problem (*cough* Israel *cough*). We need to break out of the dead-end assumptions of the old system and consider entirely new approaches.

Giving humanity the education and thinking skills needed to govern themselves wisely is not only the ideal of fairness; it's a desperate necessity for human survival.

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Again, assumptions. Are taxes the only way to fund government? And non-citizens pay huge amounts of taxes RIGHT NOW, yet are denied the vote.

At the same time many corporations and billionaires pay NO taxes - some even get huge gifts of our tax dollars - and yet control our election system with brutal rigor. The control votes on a scale none of us can imagine. So where's the logic in that?

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Don't take stuff like this too seriously. The DNC has proved twice now that your vote means NOTHING - they will happily cheat progressives over and over again, and nobody can stop them. They've proved that YOU CANNOT REFORM THE SYSTEM FROM WITHIN - and by so doing, they've made revolution inevitable.

So get ready for that. We're reliving the Great Depression, in many ways. That means mass protests and revolution, since the DNC has decided to stop our equivalent of FDR from saving capitalism this time.

Get ready. It's coming.

#Revolution

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Remember, although the oligarchy can buy out virtually any politician, they can't buy out the people. Or rather, they could, but they never will. They did it last time with FDR, but Bernie was their chance to buy off a revolution this time and they wouldn't do it.

There's a limit to how much a people can suffer. The 1% doesn't seem to believe that. They think they could keep screwing us, and we will just take it like docile cattle. I believe they are wrong, though. The people are reaching a limit, just as they did in France and Puerto Rico. And when that happens, things will change very very quickly.

So be ready. Get your protest gear collection together. Have sign-making material available in your home. Stock up on necessities. Keep a portable first aid kit ready to go. Make connections with your neighbors, because you will need all the friends you can get when the revolution comes.

The oligarchy has been re-creating the conditions of the Great Depression. More people are out of work than ever before. Last time, America came within a hair's breadth of a socialist Revolution.

This time we're going to go all the way.

#Revolution

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What in the past forty years gives you ANY reason to believe that politics is in any way affected by the will of the people? The DNC successfully thwarted the popular vote for the Democratic nomination twice now - and not only was no one punished, they actually proclaimed in court that they had the RIGHT to pick the candidate in a smoke-filled back room. *And the court agreed*.

If you seriously think that anything we do will affect the outcome of the election...you're right. But not in the way you think. If voting could make a difference, it would be illegal.

Trump, Biden, third party...it doesn't matter. The DNC controls the Democratic nomination process *absolutely*. The duopoly and the oligarchs who own them control the entire general election system, in all meaningful ways. And they own the media, as well - so they can do whatever they want and the people will never know. Enough of the people, anyway.

Beyond that, we don't have *time* to try a political solution. We have ten years at most before the planet passes the point of no return. After that, hundreds of millions or *billions* will die - the odds are good that the entire human RACE will go extinct. Do you really think that we can overcome the oligarchy's death-grip on power in time? By voting?!?

We can't. If we want to survive, our only option is revolution. Every other option has been taken from us. So get ready. Circumstances now are more friendly to revolution than they've been since the Great Depression, and things are only going to get worse. Stock up on sign-making equipment and protest gear - masks, goggles, a yellow vest, a first-aid kit, etc.. Network with neighbors - when the mass protests begin, you'll need all the friends that you can get. Do some research on how to prepare for protests. The day is coming, but when it comes everyone is going to be surprised. So get ready now.

#Revolution

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[Democratic Governors Association "urgently" requests input on who Joe Biden's running mate should be, with a choice if four]:

What side would you like with your arsenic-and-shit sandwich? We urgently need to know.

1. Corrupt corporate flunky and rapist-defender with a double garnish of identity politics and extra faux liberal smarm 

2. Corrupt corporate flunky and rapist-defender with a double garnish of identity politics and a liberal sprinkling of hypocrisy. Served by a genuine prison inmate/slave!

3. Corrupt corporate flunky and rapist-defender with a garnish of identity politics and LOTS of abuse on the side. Served with a comb.

4. Corrupt corporate flunky and rapist-defender with a garnish of identity politics (some artificial), laden with tangy rattlesnake backstabbing sauce.

Don't forget to donate! That's the whole point, anyway.

-----------

The DNC has plowed millions of dollars for over five years now to install mindless terror of Trump into liberal voters. Trump is Hitler, Trump the the worst thing imaginable, Trump is going to destroy the world (as if Biden wasn't going to do the same thing)...all to terrorize people into forgetting that it was the DNC who brought us Trump in the first place. And to get us to vote for their Blue Trump without perceiving the utter irony of it all.

Get Ready, the Revolution's Coming

If we want humanity to survive, it looks like it's up to us. The oligarchs and the political establishment seem absolutely determined to squeeze the working class to death, if we don't stop them.

The worse it gets, the more people will wake up and get angry. Under the circumstances, social instability and mass protests are the inevitable result. The oligarchs themselves are creating the conditions for revolution.

When the revolution comes, it's going to come fast - and it's going to surprise the hell out of everyone. We need to prepare now - because when the day comes, it'll be too late.

This is a list for the initial mass protests. I am not an expert in protesting; I've put this list together from research online. I plan to keep developing this list as I learn more. I am open to suggestions and advice. New techniques are being developed for mass protest around the world; look them up. Hong Kong. France. Puerto Rico. We can learn from them all.

• Yellow vest
• Respirator
• Hard hat
• Protective goggles
• First aid kit
• Traffic cones (for containing/smothering tear gas grenades)
• Bottled water
• Badminton or tennis rackets (for knocking tear gas grenades away, or back to police)
• Steel-toed shoes or boots
• Umbrella (as a shield)
• Remove fingerprint and facial recognition from phone (password only) - burner phone?
• Install secure communication apps
• Install secure live-streaming apps
• Write lawyer and other necessary phone numbers on yourself with sharpie
• A small supply of any necessary medication or hygiene items in a waterproof baggie

Biden vs. Trump = Bullshit

There's been a lot of furor online about Biden vs. Trump. Much of it has been started by the latest wave of DNC trolls; they're pushing hard to shame, guilt, or intimidate progressives to support Joe Biden.

But here's the thing: it doesn't matter.

There's not a dime's difference between Biden and Trump. Their policies are incredibly similar. Both do the bidding of the fossil fuel and health insurance industries. Neither will do anything to stop the climate change that will kill off most or all of the planet before much longer. Neither is going to allow Medicare for All, despite Trump's hints that he might be open to something like that.

Both are demented. Both are rapists. In fact, there are only three points on which the two have any real difference:

Biden is actually more of a warmonger than Trump. Like most neoliberals, he's desperate to prove how tough he is - and that means sending the children of the poor and working class overseas to die for the oil companies, the Saudi royal family, and for Israel.

Trump is a bit more of a wild card. He's still loyal to the oligarchy, but his overweening narcissism and insecurity sometimes inspire him to deviate temporarily from the oligarch party line. He won't do anything to REALLY cross them, but occasionally he'll screw up their plans slightly.

Lastly, Biden and the DNC actually stole the nomination. With a combination of vote-tampering, poll-station-closing, voting-roll-purging, and the whole Super Tuesday ratfuck, they successfully screwed voters out of their choice for a second time. For all their evil, vote suppression, and gerrymandering, the RNC never did that.

So not voting for Biden is personal, for some of us. He stole our votes. And not voting for Trump is just common sense; he's as evil as Biden is, or damned near.

But if you're worried about who to vote for, don't be. Your vote doesn't matter at all. Red Trump or Blue Trump, the oligarchy will still get what they want: more and more wealth and power for themselves, and less and less for everyone else. And the planet will continue to hurtle towards the point of no return. Don't forget, we have ten years if we're LUCKY before hundreds of millions or billions of human deaths become inevitable. When that happens, it's all over.

Are you cheered up yet? Well, just because the political system is completely locked out for us doesn't mean that there's no hope. In fact, there are some surprising factors working in our favor.

Electoral politics is by no means the only way to make significant change. In fact, it's not even the best way; it's slow, and corrupt even in the best of times. To make the kind of massive change that we need if we're going to survive will take a mass protest movement: a revolution. And we have powerful allies who are pushing society towards revolution at a breakneck pace.

Those allies are the oligarchs themselves - or rather, their greed and stupidity. They believe that we're cattle; that they can keep taking more and more and more from us, and we'll never do anything about it.

But they're wrong. There has never been a people who will quietly accept extinction for themselves and their children without fighting back. And we outnumber them enormously. As people become more and more desperate, we get closer to the point where a critical percentage of the population has no other option but to take to the streets. Once enough of the people are ready to fight to save themselves and their children, the system will fall.

It won't be easy, or pretty. But it's virtually inevitable. Rather than worrying about politics - vote for whoever you want, it really doesn't matter - spend some of that energy getting ready for the breaking point.

Stock up on essentials. Buy a yellow vest. Brush up on skills which will be valuable in a mass protest, such as first aid. Make connections to neighbors and local groups - friends will be critical when the time comes. Help others as much as you can; that forges connections that will matter in the future.

Read up on the latest protest techniques and tools. Secure communications will be important, as will things such as protective googles and face masks. Learn what to do when you're exposed to tear gas. Find others who are like-minded, and share your knowledge and ideas. Avoid leaders, if you can - particularly political leaders. They're only targets for corruption or takedown by the oligarchy, and far too many of them are just con artists.

The situation isn't hopeless, UNLESS you limit your view to the political sphere. Then things look bleak indeed. That's what the oligarchy, their political parties, and their mainstream media want you to believe. They know that we outnumber them by hundreds of thousands to one. Once the people wake up and realize that - and they will! - the days of the system are numbered.

Keep fighting!

Getting Ready for the Uprising

If you, like me, are finally convinced that politics is where the progressive movement goes to die...and that the DNC will NEVER allow meaningful action towards progressive goals...then I suggest that we start preparing for the inevitable revolution. Let's share ideas.

The unemployment rate is higher than it was during the Great Depression. The social safety net has been slashed beyond the bone, and it's very unlikely that the duopoly and their oligarch owners will relent on austerity. The damage to the economy will be permanent in many areas. So we have a large and growing portion of the population who've been brought up HARD against the fact that they are surplus population, and are supposed to quietly die.

Funny thing about that: most people WON'T quietly die. They'll fight back. And the greed and stupidity of the oligarchy is forcing them into exactly that choice.

Revolution or death.

Revolutions don't come because a brilliant group of leaders makes a plan; they come from the suffering of a critical percentage of a population. It doesn't have to be a majority of the population, either. If 3.5% of a population takes to the streets, the rulers of a country are in serious danger of having to flee.

So what can we do in the meantime?

We should be getting ready. When the revolution comes, it's going to come FAST - and with virtually no warning. The elite will take drastic action to crack down on communications, so it will be necessary to use the most secure online communications possible. I've heard that the Signal and Telegraph apps are good, but I haven't tried them myself, yet. But even the most secure online communications are subject to cracking. So we need to develop low-tech means of communication as well. When we need it, there won't be time to develop it - so now is the time to start working on it.

Likewise, securing video of protests and police brutality will be important. There are apps you can use to send live streams of your video data to the cloud, and to other users. Again, you need to have those apps and know how to use them BEFORE you actually need them.

Protest skills and techniques are critical. Our brothers and sisters in France were doing outstanding work in that area, until the COVID-19 crisis. Leaderless movements and specialized teams were devastatingly effective against the French police. We need to study their techniques, and ALL techniques which can be helpful.

When the revolution comes, human connections will be critical. Get to know your neighbors, if you can. If there are small progressive groups in your area, join them and get active. If there aren't, why not start one yourself?

When the revolution comes, the economy is going to go into a tailspin on a scale that we've never seen before. The shortages will make the current pandemic look like a picnic. Read up on what you would need for yourself, your family, and your neighbors. When the time comes, you want to be someone who has something valuable to offer to the group.

That includes skills, too. All sorts of skills will be valuable; first aid. App security. Basic chemistry. Research. Books of useful information will be EXTREMELY valuable. You don't have to spend a lot, or even anything at all, to ready yourself to contribute to the movement. You might even find it fun!

I'm not going to suggest any specific source for protest or revolutionary information in this post. Let's save that for the comments. Please share your ideas there.

How to Spot A DNC Troll (2020 edition)

With the collapse of the Bernie 2020 campaign, the DNC has unleashed a new army of trolls. Just as in 2016, they've descended on every progressive, socialist, or Bernie campaign they can find. Their mission: shut down those groups. Sow dissension and despair. Crush the progressive movement.

But we don't have to just give in. There are ways to spot a troll. Here are a number of typical troll warning signs:

Fear-mongering

Fear (and deception) are the primary weapons of the troll, but fear of Trump is by far their first choice. The DNC has been weaponizing fear of Trump for five years now. If a post is all about how terrible Trump is, and doesn't reference progressive goals, you've almost certainly found a troll. "I'll support Biden now because Trump, but wait until 2024!". Sure you will, troll.

"But what about the Senate?" is very "in" this year. For some reason trolls assume that we'll buy the idea that if the Democrats took over the Senate, they'd enact progressive goals and policies - as if the last forty years haven't proven over and over that they'll do whatever the oligarchs want. Only a troll would try that arguement.

"Concern" about the Supreme Court is another classic troll topic. It completely ignores Joe Biden's role in attacking Anita Hill and getting Clarence Thomas confirmed - not to mention his support of corporatist judges over his entire career. If someone starts talking about Ruth Bader Ginsberg and "losing" the SCOTUS, odds are they're a troll. And why haven't they noticed that the Supreme Court is already lost to corporate "justice", with the happy assent of the Democratic leadership? (Because they're paid not to notice, that's why.)

A fourth form of fear-mongering is for the troll to accuse anyone who questions their logic of being a Russian agent. Even if it doesn't silence the questioner, they'll almost certainly feel it necessary to defend themselves...and the whole discussion will be diverted into the Russian issue, leaving the troll's original "poison pill" argument there to fester.

The Pied Piper 

"We must follow Bernie". "I'm listening to Bernie - why aren't you?" "Bernie has a master plan - trust him!". Pure trollsign. No progressive signed a blood oath to follow Bernie into extinction. We didn't join a cult. And we won't mindlessly follow Bernie over the DNC cliff. We supported him because he stood for the same principles that we do. Now that he's given in to the DNC, we're under no obligation to join him. The DNC may want to believe that we're sheep, but they're wrong - I hope.

Occasionally you'll find a smarter troll, one that operates under deeper cover. They'll spend some time making "good" posts to build up credibility. There's a good chance that they'll be lazy about it, though, and just copy and paste memes. Once they've established their bona fides, they start "evolving" towards full troll status. It takes a keen eye to spot in the early stages, but once they're out in the open you can identify them. If it talks like a troll, it IS a troll - no matter what history it has.

Bernie Bros redux

"You're all so RUDE!". Attacking progressives who won't go along with capitulation and voting for Biden is another popular tactic. This usually takes the form of a dramatic announcement that the troll, who claims all sorts of progressives bona fides, is outraged and repulsed by the rude, crude, hateful talk of people in the group who oppose Biden. But don't worry. The troll will be back right away - using a new name, of course.

 

False Equivalence

Some trolls push an "enlightened" talking point: that no one in the group should be allowed to promote ANY candidate. This isn't an ideal outcome for them, but it's just an excuse to principle-shame progressives who resist the DNC candidate. But why shouldn't we try to persuade people not to vote for the candidate who undermined democracy and stole our votes? And whose fossil-fuel-friendly climate and fracking policies will literally kill off the human race? That he's a almost certainly a rapist is just the cherry on top.

Insults

"Take your ball and go home." "You're acting like a baby." "Adults realize that sometimes you have to make compromises." "Purity test much?". "You're Putin's lapdog." All classic attacks used by trolls to get under our skin. If they can get us pissed off, they're halfway to victory. Don't get mad - report them instead!

Hit & Run Posting

Always remember that the goal, from a troll's point of view, is to stir up trouble and waste our time. When someone (usually without much of a posting history to the group) comes in, posts something inflammatory, and then doesn't respond to most or any comments on what they said, it's a safe bet that they're a troll. And now they're off in another progressive group, doing a hit-and-run there.

Useful Idiots

Not every troll is necessarily a paid professional. Part of the troll's job is to recruit and encourage the development of "useful idiots": weak-minded people who frequent progressive groups, but are easily persuaded by DNC propaganda. They often start parroting the DNC line, even working together with trolls without realizing it. Make no mistake: it doesn't matter if a DNC troll knows what they're doing and who they're really working for. If they're trolling, they're the enemy whether they're paid or just stupid. Treat them as such.

The Swarm

Some trolls work in groups. These can be particularly difficult to handle. They'll support each other, do their best to protect each other, and may even start accusing those who point out what they're doing of being trolls themselves. The goal in such cases is usually to work the moderators, wear them down, get them so overwhelmed that they'll either give up protecting the group or start banning anyone who complains about anything. This generally happens when the a group has been targeted for takedown.

Troll Stages

In the initial stage, the purpose of the troll is to persuade, propagandize, and inspire useful idiots. Their targets at this point are the members of the group. Call this the "infestation" stage, if you like. They'll keep their heads down, and they'll be relatively rare. Only the clumsiest troll will be easily detected.

After a point, the inception approach gives way to a more active, hostile approach. Trolls become more numerous and more blatant. Presumably more funds have been allocated to online propaganda by the DNC at this point; usually there has been a triggering incident, such as the recent suspension of his campaign by Bernie Sanders. In any case, troll tactics shift. The goal now is to make the group an unpleasant place to be; for this reason, I call this the "curdling" stage. Arguments become common. Battle lines are drawn. Schisms are set up and stealthily encouraged. At this point accusations of trolling become much more common, and in some cases the most outspoken progressives will find themselves accused of being trolls by the trolls. The target is now both the members, and the moderators or administrators. Both are to be driven away or to at least be made reluctant to participate. Moderators in particular should feel overwhelmed at this point, trying to handle constant complaints and arguments. In large groups, it's typical for many mods to quit or simply stop moderating.

We now enter the "takeover" stage. If there's a need for moderators (which is likely), eager new volunteers pop up. At least some of these will be trolls. While their initial actions may appear to be fair, they'll do everything they can to bring "friends" on as moderators. It won't be long before they begin to purge progressives, particularly those who catch on quickly to trolls. Schisms and battle lines in the group harden. At this point the group is becoming actively toxic. Members start leaving in larger numbers, some announcing their departure, others simply fleeing. The new moderators begin purging real progressives wholesale, generally labeling them as troublemakers. The group can no longer accomplish anything positive, not even in terms of boosting morale.

In some cases at this point groups have been simply bought. In 2016 a number of progressive group administrators came forward to announce that they'd been offered a large sum of money (typically $10,000.00) to either close their groups down, or to hand over control of the group to the purchaser - presumably, someone working for the DNC through David Brock's army of paid trolls ("Correct the Record"). The DNC has spent millions of dollars on Brock's services. And now they're spending $175 million - supposedly against Trump, but Brock's specialty has always been attacking progressives online.

It's clear that at least some admins accepted those offers. Some groups quickly swung 180 degrees, quickly moving from supporting Bernie to Hillary within a few days. Groups with thousands or tens of thousands of members were reduced to mere hundreds, with the new moderators combing through members' history and banning anyone who ever said anything negative about Hillary or the DNC. Within weeks (or less), nothing is left but a hollow shell. Often the group is simply deleted.

If the group can't be bought, it's scheduled for the takedown phase. At this point the masks and gloves are off. Photos may be posted which violate Facebook's terms of service (or whatever social media the group is on; the troll phenomenon is hardly limited to Facebook!). In 2016 extremely offensive photographs were posted by trolls, immediately reported to Facebook, and the groups were inevitably shut down. This technique is particularly preferred shortly before elections.

While the group owner can protest to Facebook and request reinstatement, remember that Facebook is owned by an oligarch itself: Mark Zuckerberg, who is anything but shy about abusing his power to crush movements that threaten his status. Although groups are taken down immediately when attacked, reinstating them can take weeks or months...or never. In any case, by the time they're allowed back online it's too late. The election is over.

Another form of takedown is to simply swamp the group with new troll members. This is a relatively rare approach, presumably because it's expensive. It's much easier to simply post some grossly offensive photos to a group and have it taken down that way.

So what can you do when you have a troll infestation?

Step one is to recognize them. A troll can't troll without trolling; as long as you have a good eye for troll activity, there's no easy way for them to hide.

But just recognizing a troll isn't enough. You have to deal with them. Some people believe that they can argue with trolls, convince them of the error of their ways; this is both arrogant and foolish. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair. They aren't there to discuss: they are there for a paycheck. There's no honesty in them. You might as well try to argue with a bullet being shot at your head by an enemy soldier. They simply don't care. I sometimes suspect that at least some who want to "discuss" issues with trolls are trolls themselves.

Some people argue that trolls are protected by the First Amendment. That's simply wrong. Facebook and other social media services are privately owned; the First Amendment doesn't apply (perhaps it should, but that's a different issue. Personally I'd argue that Facebook should be turned over to public ownership by the members). In any case, the First Amendment doesn't require that a group leave itself open to attack by mercenaries. It's the height of arrogance to insist on leaving a group open to abuse by hostile agents in order to prove moral superiority and supposed understanding of Constitutional rights.

Time and again I've seen groups leave themselves open to trolls in the name of tolerance, the First Amendment, and increasing understanding. In every case, those groups have ended up being destroyed. And that's what the trolls want; to make smoking wreckage out of every possible group that could lay the seeds for resisting the DNC and the oligarchy that they serve. It always happens.

The only effective response to trolls is simple: stamp them out. Fumigate them. Treat them like the cockroaches they are. This puts a huge burden on group moderators, and a responsibility on members to be alert and report trolls. I've written this guide to help progressives to recognize trolls for that reason. Recognize that your moderators work for you, and that they represent the group's primary defense against trolls; support them! Volunteer to be a mod, if you have the time. Think of it as paying the group back for what you've gotten out of it. And paying it forward, for others.

The DNC spends millions of dollars to shut down progressives online. They wouldn't do that if they didn't fear us. That's a comforting thought...and good reason to fight them, and their trolls.

Good luck!