Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Thursday, January 29, 2026
No Kings and No Guns
I'm all for mass protests and civil disobedience but adding guns is a bad idea, a vary bad idea. Violence is a State monopoly and a game they are the masters of. You and me cannot win playing that game. Those on the right do it and mostly just look amateurish and silly. If you have a well trained security element to deter bad actors, maybe, possibly? If you think you are going to take on the police or related State apparatus GTFO! You're not. At best, you make the atmosphere much more tense and deter many from joining your cause. In the worst case, one or two undisciplined idiots do something really dumb and wind up getting people killed. That also kills your cause, no matter how well intended. Let me give you a few more things to consider.
The state needs and loves violence. A protest that turns deadly green-lights more repression. The Communists turning violent in 1930's Germany only helped the Nazis. Once violence enters the chat, things can spiral. The State, at least in the beginning, has all the advantages in a game of violence. The state can be seen as defending order and the rule of law (even if this is not the case). A few disorganized individuals with firearms are no match for the power the state can bring. Oh sure, in time a resistance can become better organized, better armed and better trained. perhaps even giving the state a run for its money in the game of violence. I think Syria is a cautionary tale about where this leads; countless dead, a new tyrannical government and no end in sight.
We have this myth that simply owning a firearm suddenly turns us into Rambos. Think about arm the teachers. Passing out firearms does not make a security force. It only increases the likelihood of a negligent discharge and possibly getting someone injured or even killed. Your fourth grade math teacher with a pistol versus a determined, heavily armed assailant who has the advantage of complete surprise loses every time. This whole notion was and still is absurd. To be competent with a firearm (that includes handling it safely) takes time and continued practice. A bunch of individuals operating independently compose a threat not only to each other but to those they are trying to protect.
You bringing your firearm to a protest without any coordination, without any rules of engagement or plan opens the door to complete chaos. Who are you supposed to shoot at and under what circumstances? What's the end game look like? One thing you can count on, however you think things will go, it will turn out much different with much more tragedy. There will also be great difficulty in telling “good guys” from “bad guys.” That cop you just shot was trying to defend an injured woman. Enjoy the rest of your days in prison! I think it's best to let the right cosplayers continue to make fools of themselves while we think of a better alternative.
I think that a better alternative is sunshine. Protesting should be about highlighting injustice, demanding positive change and offering real solutions to problems. It also needs to be in for the long haul. Real change takes time and a lot of mundane work like running for office, organizing, planning and executing viable actions to further a cause. Be patient, willing to put in the work and leave the guns at home.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Good News! Speaking Truth to Power.
Hi Friends, let's take a minute or two and consider the truth seekers who often work at great personal risk to let the sunshine in. Organizations, professional individuals and everyday people all record, witness and spread the information that will be critical for creating a better tomorrow.
Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American
Let's face it the free press is not what it used to be. The News Room has become another profit center driven by ratings, dollars and entertainment (with a healthy portion of outrage). Remember, there are good alternatives. Seek them out and ask questions, lots of questions. I think good journalism is good news in and of itself.
Monday, January 12, 2026
Three Women to Help You Understand These Times
https://www.youtube.com/@KnittingCultLady
Meet Daniella, a cult and US Military expert. About the US military as a cult, religious cults and of course the cult of MAGA. Not all doom and gloom. Daily videos.
https://www.youtube.com/@ParkrosePermaculture
Meet Angela, an expert in nonviolent resistance. She gives updates from the Portland area as well as what's going on nationwide. Definitely worth your time! Daily videos.
https://www.youtube.com/@AccordingtoNicole
Meet Nicole, an expert on corporate malfeasance, income inequality and money management for regular people. Weekly well throughout videos.
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Rebuild Community
Only January 10th and as one rediditor put it, it feels like 10 years! There are so many things happening all at once; the murder of Renee Good, the kidnapping of a head of state, Maduro, more ranting about Greenland and mass protests in Iran to name a few. Each one of these could easily be a blog post or hell, even a series! It's easy to write about the ongoing outrages, especially when there is a new one every damn day it seems. Let's step back from that. I'd like to share a way to help solve many of our ongoing problems. The idea is simple, rebuild local community.
Our problems are not left versus right, they are top versus bottom. Rebuilding local community cannot fix everything on its own. We need to ask ourselves if we can afford billionaires when people are going hungry and homeless. If the poor are just a cost of doing business as usual, isn't it time to improve or replace this system? Think of it this way, have you ever stopped and thought why do we need charities? We constantly remind ourselves that we are the richest nation on Earth, have the most powerful military in history and we think we are the envy of the world. Two out of three might be correct but we conveniently forget those without health care, the homeless and our history that is less than stellar. The billionaire class has mastered the art of turning our weaknesses against us. They constantly use our phobias to pit us against each other while they jet off of the bank with all the money. Occasionally, we get a few scraps like the New Deal of the 1930s, the economic growth of the 50s and 60s and sometimes, even more freedoms! That said, the power structure remains the same. The good times of the 50s and 60s had something else, community. At least according to our nostalgia fed mythology, this was the case. Please don't run away, stick with me for a minute.
Try to think back what it was like before the onset of air conditioning, TV certainly the internet. This was a time when people knew their neighbors by more than their car. They knew each other's children, names and what they did for a living and so on. In short, neighbors were not strangers to each other. Had to work and leave the kids at home? No worries, the neighborhood would watch out for them. This was a time before we were taught to fear one another. There would be neighborhood get-togethers, like cookouts, holiday parties and card games. It's a lot harder to be afraid of someone you and your kids hang out with. The labels and stereotypes just don't hold up so well. But wait, you say, “…wasn't society highly divided along racial and socioeconomic lines?” Sure, things were far from perfect. I'm trying to separate the good from the bad here.
Community can take place at home via inviting people over or going to their house, a local church, school or community center. Local parks can also be a place where community can happen. The central idea in my mind is to pull people away from their TVs and computers into the warm sun of the community. The isolation of the television along with the World Wide Web are creating a loneliness and suicide epidemic the likes of which we've never seen before. We are social animals after all that have not evolved to live in isolation. You can create a community! Invite people on your block over for a simple potluck. Start a group to keep the park clean, a community watch or to simply play games outside. Knowing your neighbors makes everyone more secure.
Building community is a great way to counter the power of the oligarchs and their algorithms and talking heads on TV. Community alone cannot solve all of our problems but I think it is an important step in the right direction. The biggest cost is mostly time.
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