July 30, 2018

Innocent children are STILL separated from parents + crying convulsively in US concentration camps?

Then every serious news source should quote in the DEAD CENTER of their first page:

And this should be repeated until Trump, Sessions and all those fascists and extended crime families are in jail.

July 24, 2018

A Radical Democratic Center?

Yes, you read that right. The main thrust of Democrats for the last century has been pro-change, pro-human rights, pro-environment.

And weirdly, BOTH the "progressives" and the "establishment" have a considerable venn diagram overlap. Call it the radical center. And it's what has always moved Democrats to vote.

I lead discussions on DU over the weekend and learned a lot about people's feelings regarding certain buzz words. The following reflects my findings and proposes a language, and a model of good government, which might further unite – and propel – the Democratic Party.

A New Vision for a Civil Economy

I recommend that we abandon the "socialism vs capitalism" rhetoric. Let us call instead for a CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE for a CIVIL ECONOMY. A civil infrastructure of public roads, public education, net neutrality, bank regulation, healthcare, police reform and renewed voting rights, etc., would essentially feed a civil economy of small, innovative businesses. A civil infrastructure regulates big business for the purpose of creating a fair playing field for small business and individuals. Trust busting and support for unions, as occurred after the Great Depression, would be essential.

We should stop letting Republicans frame the national discourse as "WELFARE/SOCIALISM" vs "CAPITALISM." We should immediately state "that's just dumb" and point out that governing in a high tech society requires the building of a strong, efficient CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE as a foundation upon which to grow the economy at every level. One supports the other like a lattice supports cell cultures. With a healthy, educated populace and fair rules and regulations, everyone gets to participate, not just the overpaid tiers of society.

What I'm proposing is a nested model of society, or a circle inside a circle:

AT THE CENTER: a democratically determined infrastructure of both hard and soft systems.

AROUND THE CENTER: continuously emerging economic activity of the people, by the people.

This is, from a theoretical standpoint, Wired Magazine meets The Nation. Biology meets economics. EO Wilson meets John Maynard Keynes.

All of the traditional Democratic priorities going back to the New Deal, from raising the minimum wage to supporting unions and public education, fosters a robust civil economy.

In other words, Democrats must not be trapped into defending welfare AGAINST capitalism. We should reframe the debate. Welfare – and all the other regulations, public services and environmental protections – are there to support a healthy CIVIL ECONOMY. And the proof is in the pudding: Democratic policies have usually been great for the economy. Republicans, in their deep, paranoid stupidity, foster recessions. Its an historic cycle we have rarely pointed out and exploited for votes.

In the 1990s I saw Bill Clinton give a speech about the Democratic/Republican cycle of boom and bust. It was a revelation to me. The point is rarely made unfortunately, and it's largely because most Democrats don't realize how their own good policies (with notable exceptions) function to grow the economy for all, not just the 1%.

I would love to hear thoughtful feedback on this vision and this model, which replaces socialism VERSUS capitalism with civil infrastructure FOR a civil economy.

July 23, 2018

Democrats OWN the Civil Economy

I lead a discussion on DU over the weekend and learned a lot about people's feelings regarding certain buzz words. This new piece reflects a lot of great input:

Civil Infrastructure for a Civil Economy

I recommend that we abandon the "socialism vs capitalism" rhetoric. Let us call instead for a CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE for a CIVIL ECONOMY. It may help unify progressives and centrists and help put some wind in our sails as we aporoach elections in November.

Democrats should emphasize a CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE of public roads, public education, net neutrality, bank regulation and healthcare, etc., which essentially feeds a CIVIL ECONOMY of small, innovative businesses. A civil infrastructure regulates big business for the purpose of creating a fair playing field for small business and individuals. Trust busting and support for unions, just as occurred after the Great Depression, would be essential.

We should stop letting Republicans frame the national discourse as "WELFARE (or SOCIALISM) vs CAPITALISM." We should immediately state "that's just dumb" and point out that governing in a high tech society requires the building of a good, efficient CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE to grow the economy with an educated populace and fair rules and regulations so everyone gets to participate.

What I'm proposing is a nested model of society with a democratically determined infrastructure at the center of a continuously emergent system. Wired Magazine meets The Nation. Biology meets economics.

All of the traditional Democratic priorities going back to the New Deal, from raising the minimum wage to supporting unions and public education, fosters a civil economy.

In other words, Democrats must not be trapped into defending welfare against capitalism. We should reframe the debate. Welfare – and all the other regulations, public services and environmental protections – are there to support a CIVIL ECONOMY. Democratic policies have usually been great for the economy. Republicans, in their deep, selfish stupidity, foster recessions. Its a historical fact we have rarely exploited.

In the 1990s I saw Bill Clinton give a speech about the Democrat/Republican cycle of boom and bust. It was a revelation to me. The point is rarely made unfortunately, and it's largely because most Democrats don't realize how their own good policies function to grow the economy for all, not just the 1%.

July 22, 2018

Socialism vs Capitalism? Really?

I recommend that we abandon the "socialism vs capitalism" nonsense and call for a "PEOPLE's ECONOMY." It may help unify progressives and centrists.

Deeper still, Democrats should emphasize a "PEOPLE'S INFRASTRUCTURE" of public roads, education and healthcare, etc., to foster a "PEOPLE'S ECONOMY" of small, innovative businesses.

I'll bet five peaches no one here will find this sufficiently pithy to respond to... but I hope one or two thinks about the implications of socially responsible INFRASTRUCTURE as ECONOMICALLY GENERATIVE. It's a nested model of society with a democratically determined infrastructure at the center of a continuously emergent system. Wired Magazine meets The Nation. Biology meets economics.

I'd even hazard to coin a term, DEMOSTRUCTURE, to imply a democratically determined infrastructure.

July 21, 2018

BONDING ACTION METHOD (007 B.A.M)

WE MUST PUT DOWN OUR KNITTING....
And hit the streets and interwebs NOW.
Don't wait people... we're actually under attack.

THE 007 BONDING ACTION METHOD (B.A.M.) to WARM UP THE COUNTRY TO VOTING for DEMOCRATS:

1) Talk to everyone you meet, including retailers, about voting. Be sweet. It's contagious.

2) Photocopy and distribute the following Wash. Post statement (and other quotes):
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-entire-republican-party-is-becoming-a-russian-asset/ar-BBKSkAu?li=BBnb7Kz

3) Make a "VOTE DEMOCRATS NOV. 6" sign that covers your ENTIRE bumper. Don't mention T or the Repugs by name, just extol the virtues of Democrats. ($15/hr. min. wage; Medicare for all; clean air, water and government, etc.)

4) Throw a party and BOND over doing these tactics as a group for motivation. Call it the "007 Bonding Action Method (BAM)". Yes it's corny, but corny is memorable.

5) Yes, also hit the interwebs – to post these PERSONAL street tactics AND UPLOAD PIX of the FUN you are having as you SAVE the country. Include "007 B.A.M." to help it go viral (among young people especially). ...Or make up your own branding. Make it sing. Aesthetics matter.

EVERY MARKETING EXPERT WILL TELL YOU:
THE PERSONAL TOUCH IS 10x BETTER THAN ADS.

with love,
Democracy Mouse

July 19, 2018

Dear Mainstream Media: OUT their strategies

Today DU contributor Tommy Carcetti brilliantly outlined the strategies Trump/Fox/Putin are likely to use going forward after that disastrous display of fealty to Putin earlier this week. (That's here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210895929 ).

It was then recommended by DU member Zentrum that we move these analyses out of the DU thinktank and into the mainstream media (MSM) so staffers have the tools they need to avoid inadvertantly pandering to herr Putin themselves. ("Tweet it to Maddow." )

LET'S DO THIS!

OUT THEIR STRATEGIES!

If we ACTIVELY reach out to the press in such a fashion, eventually a staffer or two in the MSM will realize the strategies used by Fox/Trump/Putin (ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY AND THE CONSTITUTION) and start STATING it as such.

Here's an example of a more accurately written statement a staffer could put forward into the daily press churn:

*Fox has stated in court, in order to deflect lawsuits, that it is entertainment and opinion, not news. Never call it Fox News kids. Never.

**As a self-appointed leader who jails and kills his adversaries, it is more salient to tie Putin to the word "oligarch" than to "president."

July 15, 2018

A trip to Europe convinced me the USA is ill

Returning from a vacation in Spain with my son, I had the profound impression that this country is ill.

In Barcelona, Girona and the small seaside town of Cataqués I had dozens of encounters with Spaniards (and Catalans) that were marked by a kind of sweetness in the speech patterns that I almost found incomprehensible. Even the police went out of their way to be helpful, despite my lack of reasonable Spanish.

Now I know that Spain has a high rate of unemployment and cops have motivated a wide array of protests from the Catalan independence movement. But during the entire two weeks in Spain I rarely heard signs of distress such as sirens or raised voices. Frankly, the only real disturbance was that of me and my son squabbling over his (distracting) computer game. The people of Spain had every right to roll their eyes or shout "shut up, stupid Americans, don't bring your technology problems and your abysmal record of teaching manners to your children." But they politely endured us. Interestingly, the profusion of "Llibertad" banners could be called "distressing" but the effect for me was the opposite. Those cloth banners were putting the police and unscrupulous politicians on notice that democracy, not fascism, has the upper hand. This is why I often place handwritten signs across my bumper to challenge the status quo and I encourage every DU member to do the same. It would probably be catalytic across the country. (Handmade, across the entire bumper, beats printed stickers).

It was on the return that I experienced the greatest sense of what has happened to our country. My very first encounter with a US citizen was with a border guard who was checking passports and those "declaration" cards we had to fill out. I had filled out the card for both me and my son – which we had been told to do (nicely) by a Norwegian stewardess. As I leaned forward to hand over the card, this guard barked "step back!" as if I were a criminal. After managing to get through that hostile welcoming committee – and still shaking – we passed posters with pictures of armed policemen (with machine guns) and a statement along the lines of "if you see something, say something." The usual SS propaganda wihout a hint of concern for how our approach to security is still terrorizing citizens long after 9/11 . While waiting for our bags a large sign could be seen with a list of horrors you could be arrested for. Welcome to America.

But the final straw was on the ride home. I could swallow, grugingly, the $240 pricetag for parking and the almost pre-industrial and supremely ugly parking systems, but nothing but a bottle of whiskey could medicate me for what followed. Every few miles I saw police cars with strobe lights. They lit up the night sky as if the US were a war zone. Some were due to crashes (which seems insane enough). Some were for speeding perhaps. A plethora of overdue infrastructure work might have employed the cop cars as safety lights, effectively militarizing a civilian operation. But the sheer number of cop cars and the intensity of their strobes was astounding. I don't recall seeing – or hearing – a single stroboscopic display of police power like that anywhere in Spain – and Catalonia was going through a virtual revolution.

These barking security guards, gun-flashing security posters, and insidious over-amped police cars (everywhere), is a sign of national illness. I would stake my life on it. I think the Europeans know this. The Norwegian Air flight included many films that addressed fascism, obliquely and otherwise: 3 Billboards, The Shape of Water, etc.

If I were an alien zoologist studying this region of planet Earth, I might easily conclude that the United States is diseased.

People, we must vote like never before on November 6, but we must CONTINUE to change the culture wherever we can. If nobody in the police headquarters says a peep about whether the order of insanely fascist strobe lights, or sports car police vehicles with aggressive lettering is really necessary, the technology is ordered and employed. If no one on the airport security board questions the appropriateness of posters that makes our country look like a militarized shithole, then creeping fascism is enabled.

A culture dedicated to education and moderation doesn't order strobes like that. This is where US "pragmatism" falls apart. Yes the strobes might prevent an accident or two, but I have nearly had accidents due to the same blinding lights. And the psychological effects are withering. The delicate threads of manners, design and culture can add up to a "city on a hill" – or a fascist dump where a grotesque number of citizens are incarcerated – or shot to death – for standing up to unnecessary police power.

So vote we must. And we must come together in each others homes, break bread, drink wine (or beer), and support each other and the country. We have no choice. We must become a thoughful, caring, cultured country or this great experiment in democracy dies. Each one of us must act as cellular antidotes.