I have to admit, eight years ago, if you had told me I would consider Rick Wilson a fellow troop in the trenches, I would have replied you were delusional. Which shows how much any of us had a clue about what was going to happen - to us, and to the country.
thanks for the re-post, Tom. it's a very fine piece and obviously very well-informed because it's the work of an insider, which most of us are NOT.
I also liked Wilson's book. his loathing of TFF is genuine. and I can hardly fault his strategy.
again, I GET Jill Stein. I GET RFK. I'm still having trouble trying to figure out wtf Cornel West is thinking. I know what he SAYS ("Biden is the exemplifier of Neoliberalism run rampant," etc.), but what about the TIMING??
is it possible it's as simple as overweening grandiosity? could be. god knows I can't think of anything else it could be. I remember reading somewhere, about twenty-five years ago, that when you call him, his answering message is about fifteen minutes long and includes his listing of every academic award or appointment he's ever received. sounds pretty overweening to me.
I too am baffled by Cornel. He also had a need to bash Obama as well with a radio show, if I recall correctly. As a theologian he's done some good things. As a politician, he remains something of an enigma who seems to want too much perfection in a fallen world (to speak theologically). And in this case wanting perfection is going to bring a bit to much of hell to this world if T.... wins.
the Obama thing is because he deeply resented not getting invited to some part of the inauguration. I read that in MANY places and he talked about it himself.
as for the other part, yes. I agree. it's a much more theological/philosophical thing than a political one and maybe it's as simple as him thinking that only HE can redeem it.
Then there’s Marianne Williamson who most all media are ignoring. I thought for sure she was more in tune than to choose now to run. I’m disappointed because I now have to come to grips with the fact she’s way out of touch. Her ideas are very good. I agree with much that she says but why now brown cow?
Happy to report that my campaign of distributing handwritten warning notes about fascism killing democracy now has collaborators. Because they're handwritten, the message varies slightly from time to time, but I'm told they come across as concise and heartfelt. McLuhan said the medium is the message, so what better than a personal handwritten warning?
There is an element of mischief involved in placing them around in public places, which makes the task easier than I thought it would be. Even if it all comes to naught in the end, I'll always know that I tried to get the democracy message out in a way that just may be less ignored than the steady drone of Faux.
Here are some of the convenient places to place them: ---between shelved items in super markets, in bus kiosks, inside library books, in little lending library boxes in the neighborhood, amongst the free publications in the lobbies of restaurants, between issues of the daily newspapers where they're sold, in gas pump holders, on top of the soap dispenser in public restrooms, in shopping carts and baskets, in the pockets holding greeting cards at the drugstore, wedged into fencing, tacked to wooden poles where other items are tacked, on message boards of local vendors, between the bags of potatoes at the produce market, etc. Discretion and subtlety are key in order to avoid confrontation, but I'm quite prepared for that. Boy, am I prepared for that.
Along with Gail, I too am loving this strategy! Would you be willing to share a couple/few examples of the "gifts" you leave? I think a clear starting point would help me to get my own creative juices flowing!
"DO NOT let the right wing radicals turn the U.S.A. into a fascist country. We will ALL regret it. I know."
The I-know part is cryptic enough to give pause. The USA part signals patriotism. The DO NOT in caps is stark warning. Any handwritten warning might cause people to actually think about what's at stake. I avoided using Trump's name because the threat is bigger than he is. And I have started cutting up lightweight packaging material and writing on small pieces so I can carry them in my coat pocket and so they have a little more heft than paper. Index cards work, but I like to recycle. Finally, I was tempted to wedge a message into the door handle or under the wiper blade of a truck with a Trump 2024 bumper sticker, but I think that would be less productive than having people just "discover" them.
What is most satisfying is that you can leave a message and walk away without dealing with trolls and jackals that take swings at you for what you say on the internet and in comment sections everywhere, the Russian hackers can't alter the message, and you can't be blocked. Old school.
Don’t allow your communities to host Diaper Don--he STIFFS the bills, leaving taxpayers and businesses to pay for everything from extra security, to clean up, to coffee and donuts for MAGA sycophants.
Seriously, why allow the Stink Bomb Don to deposit his diapers to YOUR landfill?
I agree with all of Rick's points. Any chance that Rick could go to work for Biden during this election? Between right now 12/29/23 and 11/5/24 every action should focus on getting the pro democracy message out and throwing the MAGAts off balance and on the ropes. Attack every day in every way at every single opportunity. The best defense is a good offense, a multi pronged attack. If tRump's trials severely wound him, that's gravy. Defeating the fascists HAS to be the goal of millions of people, and we have to do the work necessary at every level. We cannot count on the R's to defeat themselves. They have been adept at marketing sh*t for years.
I'm on his joint and he is right on the mark. I wish he would invite himself to dinner at the White House and give the POTUS a neccessary and supportive lecture to put reality front and center.
Been at this for quite awhile. . . Glad to see someone outline the strategy with NO APOLOGIES. Deporting Deplorables to Russia would be okay with me, too.
Christmas! He did nail it - I especially liked his description of the DC-Beltway consulting crowd, absolutely on point, and the reason I am not a registered Democrat. If you reward bad behavior you'll get more bad behavior..... I have had it with the passively arrogant, tactically and strategically ineffective current Dem leadership afraid of offending someone on the other side (Dude, they are bitterly offended that ANY Democrats are in office).....
The insatiable demand for 24-hour coverage (and the ever-present desire to reap heavy coin for the management) contributes to this, and it is a lot cheaper than having to pay for actual investigative journalism.....
I don't have a demand for 24-hr coverage. Doubt many do. I'd be happy with 30 minutes of Walter again. And a few exposes, like 60 Min . We really need to trash the trash, - Fox, reality "anything," and limit political crap to six months. Would love to see PBS return to quality public television instead of the begging channel ( thanks to repubs budget cuts.). Advertising has taken over the world. I can barely tolerate a 30 minute show. Apparently nobody remembers when that content would come with three 15-sec ads. Unbearable, even the streaming services that I pay for no ads manages to slip some in. My 2024 rant...
You'll find that TJ’s Reserve Brut will definitely help in your analysis this weekend, just as Fred Henderson in the old Flying Review model column recommended elderberry wine..... Bless you for your willingness to take one for the team.
Can the courts take the company away from Murdoch, nationalize it, cannibalize it, dissolve it, put the funds from the sale of it's assets into NPR? It sounds rather autocratic. Who can tell us?
Jeri….yes they do. Just let it go after you pray it. Do not hold on to it. It’s for the Light and will always be received if you intend it for the Light. True ‘dat.
thanks for the re-post, Tom. it's a very fine piece and obviously very well-informed because it's the work of an insider, which most of us are NOT.
I also liked Wilson's book. his loathing of TFF is genuine. and I can hardly fault his strategy.
again, I GET Jill Stein. I GET RFK. I'm still having trouble trying to figure out wtf Cornel West is thinking. I know what he SAYS ("Biden is the exemplifier of Neoliberalism run rampant," etc.), but what about the TIMING??
is it possible it's as simple as overweening grandiosity? could be. god knows I can't think of anything else it could be. I remember reading somewhere, about twenty-five years ago, that when you call him, his answering message is about fifteen minutes long and includes his listing of every academic award or appointment he's ever received. sounds pretty overweening to me.
Grandiousity, yes. This is not the time to hand it over to the enemy because then there will be no more tomorrow to work it out.
exactly my point. WHY?
I can not for the life of me make sense of why West is doing this. Hubris is all I have been able to see so far. I’m angry at him for this.
you and me both. it's very DISAPPOINTING on top of everything else.
The respect I might have developed for West never will occur because of this badly timed choice of his to run.
Fatal flaw.
Wont the people who vote for him reduce the number of votes for Joe?
I too am baffled by Cornel. He also had a need to bash Obama as well with a radio show, if I recall correctly. As a theologian he's done some good things. As a politician, he remains something of an enigma who seems to want too much perfection in a fallen world (to speak theologically). And in this case wanting perfection is going to bring a bit to much of hell to this world if T.... wins.
the Obama thing is because he deeply resented not getting invited to some part of the inauguration. I read that in MANY places and he talked about it himself.
as for the other part, yes. I agree. it's a much more theological/philosophical thing than a political one and maybe it's as simple as him thinking that only HE can redeem it.
still pretty grandiose....
Stopped listening to him long ago, don’t remember why
The perfect is the enemy of the good, or something like that.
Or as Tom Clancy's character John Clark always said, "good enough is good enough, and perfect is a pain in the ass."
Nothing more irritating than “supposed” perfection.
Since there will never be any in this life.
I don’t get Stein (Putin admirer) or RFKJr, seriously disturbed pseudo smart. Don’t be fooled.
Then there’s Marianne Williamson who most all media are ignoring. I thought for sure she was more in tune than to choose now to run. I’m disappointed because I now have to come to grips with the fact she’s way out of touch. Her ideas are very good. I agree with much that she says but why now brown cow?
She's a New Age Yanna-yanna from the People's Upper-Bourgeois Republic of Santa Monica. In other words, a fucking moron.
I don’t think she’s a moron, just idealistic to the idiotic. Not a good thing. I could be like that, but I slapped myself upside the head.
I don’t lump her like that. She has helped a lot of folks. And in case you had not noticed, this here, this now IS a new age if I’ve ever seen one.
Happy to report that my campaign of distributing handwritten warning notes about fascism killing democracy now has collaborators. Because they're handwritten, the message varies slightly from time to time, but I'm told they come across as concise and heartfelt. McLuhan said the medium is the message, so what better than a personal handwritten warning?
There is an element of mischief involved in placing them around in public places, which makes the task easier than I thought it would be. Even if it all comes to naught in the end, I'll always know that I tried to get the democracy message out in a way that just may be less ignored than the steady drone of Faux.
Here are some of the convenient places to place them: ---between shelved items in super markets, in bus kiosks, inside library books, in little lending library boxes in the neighborhood, amongst the free publications in the lobbies of restaurants, between issues of the daily newspapers where they're sold, in gas pump holders, on top of the soap dispenser in public restrooms, in shopping carts and baskets, in the pockets holding greeting cards at the drugstore, wedged into fencing, tacked to wooden poles where other items are tacked, on message boards of local vendors, between the bags of potatoes at the produce market, etc. Discretion and subtlety are key in order to avoid confrontation, but I'm quite prepared for that. Boy, am I prepared for that.
How clever, I’ll give it a shot. Carefully, so I don’t get shot. Texas is wild
Along with Gail, I too am loving this strategy! Would you be willing to share a couple/few examples of the "gifts" you leave? I think a clear starting point would help me to get my own creative juices flowing!
I love this idea! What is your message? I can do this!
It is variations of
"DO NOT let the right wing radicals turn the U.S.A. into a fascist country. We will ALL regret it. I know."
The I-know part is cryptic enough to give pause. The USA part signals patriotism. The DO NOT in caps is stark warning. Any handwritten warning might cause people to actually think about what's at stake. I avoided using Trump's name because the threat is bigger than he is. And I have started cutting up lightweight packaging material and writing on small pieces so I can carry them in my coat pocket and so they have a little more heft than paper. Index cards work, but I like to recycle. Finally, I was tempted to wedge a message into the door handle or under the wiper blade of a truck with a Trump 2024 bumper sticker, but I think that would be less productive than having people just "discover" them.
Thank you! I’m going to start my own campaign!
What is most satisfying is that you can leave a message and walk away without dealing with trolls and jackals that take swings at you for what you say on the internet and in comment sections everywhere, the Russian hackers can't alter the message, and you can't be blocked. Old school.
https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/donald-trump-police-costs/
Don’t allow your communities to host Diaper Don--he STIFFS the bills, leaving taxpayers and businesses to pay for everything from extra security, to clean up, to coffee and donuts for MAGA sycophants.
Seriously, why allow the Stink Bomb Don to deposit his diapers to YOUR landfill?
I agree with all of Rick's points. Any chance that Rick could go to work for Biden during this election? Between right now 12/29/23 and 11/5/24 every action should focus on getting the pro democracy message out and throwing the MAGAts off balance and on the ropes. Attack every day in every way at every single opportunity. The best defense is a good offense, a multi pronged attack. If tRump's trials severely wound him, that's gravy. Defeating the fascists HAS to be the goal of millions of people, and we have to do the work necessary at every level. We cannot count on the R's to defeat themselves. They have been adept at marketing sh*t for years.
I make handmade cards (not for sale) and maybe I should focus them on 2024 from now on.
Yes, it's all 2024 from here to November.
I have thank you's to write first. Then this will be my version of "attack" but done with art and, hopefully, persuading messages.
I'm on his joint and he is right on the mark. I wish he would invite himself to dinner at the White House and give the POTUS a neccessary and supportive lecture to put reality front and center.
I couldn’t agree more, with every syllable.
Always attack - because they NEVER let up
Save the Family squabbles for later - a no-brainer in any election, but WTF folks?
Sell Morning in America - if MSM won’t do it, and Rupert does the opposite, WE must
Fight MAGA from the edges in - yep, my smart friend looks for any way to intellectualize the msg, Make it clear what they are supporting
Corrupt the Fox narrative machine - good luck here. Do cult nuts have ears? Try anyway.
It’s the fascism - a strong, powerful government turned against the people,
Fight the Repubs at home - not the GOP, remind them of what chump did to party
Don’t underestimate new team - smart and evil is way worse than dumb arses
Miracles are for suckers - hope is a tease and a whisper, action screams
Third party candidates - are help for chump. These for IQs in the toilet.
Spot on !Thanks for share. I was wondering about LP’s “stinky” ad…now all makes sense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-4M85B3HNg
Simon Rosenberg is getting traction in the media with his repetition + simple statements.
It was interesting watching Faux news clip as the Fauxettes fell over themselves trying to twist Biden’s powerful 4 words…..” It was about slavery.”
Keep at it all ! ✍️📲🏃🏻♀️💲
Cork the TJ’s Brut, put down the Chardonnay…next I’ll be pouring out my IPA.🍺NOT happening.I’m in Florida…sigh.
Been at this for quite awhile. . . Glad to see someone outline the strategy with NO APOLOGIES. Deporting Deplorables to Russia would be okay with me, too.
One should remember that in a river of money, political consultants rarely get paid to swim against the current.
Christmas! He did nail it - I especially liked his description of the DC-Beltway consulting crowd, absolutely on point, and the reason I am not a registered Democrat. If you reward bad behavior you'll get more bad behavior..... I have had it with the passively arrogant, tactically and strategically ineffective current Dem leadership afraid of offending someone on the other side (Dude, they are bitterly offended that ANY Democrats are in office).....
I m A Dem, but not impressed with some panelists on MSNBC. Can hardly watch some of the repetitive blathering.
The insatiable demand for 24-hour coverage (and the ever-present desire to reap heavy coin for the management) contributes to this, and it is a lot cheaper than having to pay for actual investigative journalism.....
Yep. Quantity always harms quality.
I don't have a demand for 24-hr coverage. Doubt many do. I'd be happy with 30 minutes of Walter again. And a few exposes, like 60 Min . We really need to trash the trash, - Fox, reality "anything," and limit political crap to six months. Would love to see PBS return to quality public television instead of the begging channel ( thanks to repubs budget cuts.). Advertising has taken over the world. I can barely tolerate a 30 minute show. Apparently nobody remembers when that content would come with three 15-sec ads. Unbearable, even the streaming services that I pay for no ads manages to slip some in. My 2024 rant...
That's why I DVR the shows and watch on delay. I can scoot through the "lesser" segments.
I miss my DVR at this stupid facility. I use my return button a lot when not streaming.
You'll find that TJ’s Reserve Brut will definitely help in your analysis this weekend, just as Fred Henderson in the old Flying Review model column recommended elderberry wine..... Bless you for your willingness to take one for the team.
An aside...
Can the courts take the company away from Murdoch, nationalize it, cannibalize it, dissolve it, put the funds from the sale of it's assets into NPR? It sounds rather autocratic. Who can tell us?
My prayer, but my prayers don’t seem to get far…
Jeri….yes they do. Just let it go after you pray it. Do not hold on to it. It’s for the Light and will always be received if you intend it for the Light. True ‘dat.
Salud, Jeri. Happy New Year!
🗽
Yes! Lets go!
Thanks for suggesting a step forward.