Yep, no reason to infight over protest strategies; we should be doing all of them, all at once. The Overton Window works both ways, like how the threat represented by the Deacon’s for Defense made the thought of negotiating with MLK seem much more appetizing.
If a civil war, or even just a general strike, does happen, the people on the frontlines will still need people like you for support roles.
Who would’ve thought having a partisan executive appoint a partisan judge and by approved by a partisan congress would result in a partisan Supreme Court!
My vote is for using a system similar to Tennessee’s State Supreme Court. A commission of judges nominate a short list of candidates -> the governor appoints from the list -> after a year, there is a popular election on whether the judge should retain their seat.
For the Supreme Court, I’d modify it to: every federal judge elects the short list with Single Transferable Voting or Approval Voting -> President appoints one -> after a year, the populous has a retention vote. Also limited and staggered terms so appointments are distributed evenly across presidencies; must pass a background check & audit; criminal & civil convictions have mandatory prison time and fines are based off percentage of wealth.
Of course neither party (and definitely not the oligarchs) are going to push for systemic changes that could curb their power, so we all need to be united with a General Strike. In the past these have lasted a few days to about a month; I expect making the constitutional changes needed to save our democracy will take longer and meet greater resistance, so Mutual Aid Networks will be crucial to support the strikers and keep essential services running. You can start by plugging in with the ones in your community, they are already everywhere.
Vinegar helps counteract the toxin for most jellies. I also have friends that swear by bentonite clay, which helps absorb the toxin and soothe the rash, but I haven’t personally tried it. It’s definitely a good idea to look up what critters are in your waters, both for how to keep yourself safe and for you to avoid disrupting their habitats.
And congrats! I also taught myself how to swim. I recommend joining an open water swimming group if any are around your area, you can learn so much just by watching how they swim.
This was so me the past 5 years; doom spirally, no hope, escapism. It took the government black-bagging my neighbors during their commutes to kick me out of it. No one from up-top is going to help, but if you look to your real-world neighbors, I’d be surprised if you didn’t find a bounty empathy and solidarity beneath the layers of fear and desperation. Over here, things are extreme, but Canada and the UK are disturbingly close to joining Nazi Bell End Land too.
Ironically, this year has been the most hope I’ve felt in decades. Thousands over here have realized you don’t need to wait for someone to give you orders to start acting; you can… just do it. Grass-root networks are tracking our vulnerable, getting them legal counsel, and raising mutual aid funds for their families; neighbors are going out of their way to form new bonds, potlucks are becoming common; I live in an area with a lot of local farms and backyard gardens–we’re starting to collaborate and may be able to become a food independent neighborhood; potential pathway to become energy independent with solar and microgrids as well; there’s an ongoing campaign to curtail landlord abuses with a long-term goal of tenant owned properties; people showing up in mass to town halls and actually succeeding in getting our mayors to act; mass adoption of encrypted communication; and FOSS is gradually normalizing.
There’s a lot of hope out there, just don’t expect to see it broadcast. Shout out to all the mothers out there; you all have the least amount of time, but are still the backbone and brains to our communities.