@WoodsDweller

parroted? i'd forgotten that. and as to the Q of stupid or Evil, i might rephrase it as 'Clueless or Sociopathy'? and yes, i've wondered aloud if their particular Overton window might be living in the Congressional bubble that's been afoot for sooooo long now.

and yes, a blackrock sociopath's been appointed by biden, as have a couple banksters from Goldman Suxx.

food? oh, my: he's appointed tom 'Mr. Monsanto' vilsack as agriculture secretary, speaking of poisoned land, subsurface water and aquifers..(bill gates' & company's Green Revolution).

but as far as i can tell, the food banks in most metro areas are either empty or struggling mightily to keep up with Need.

thanks for your precision comment, woods dweller.

That's always the question, isn't it?

Biden tells us his father said "people don't want a hand out". I couldn't pull up a birth date for his dad, but easily a century ago. Why are we taking economic advice from a dead guy born in horse and buggy days?

On the one hand, our leaders could be elderly, senile, out-of-touch aristocrats who have no concept of the struggles of the proletariat or understanding of the effects of their policies. Metaphorically a pair of bejewelled nobles riding through the crowds in their golden coach. One casts a handful of coppers into the mud for the peasants to fight over, the other berates her for wasting a handful of coppers. We call this "the Overton window".

On the other hand, they may know exactly what they're doing, forcing the transfer of remaining house equity and rental properties to favored corporations. Next they'll be coming for our gold teeth.

And the food hasn't run out yet...

@AverageJoe42

but i'd add a 5. if i might:

all the best social movement are funneled into the D party. hence, this photo-op:

wearing kinte cloth and metaphorically kneeling on george floyd's neck for 9 seconds.

yes, the most cynical sort of performance art, and the killings go on...and on.

but i do hear you loud and clear on so many being too tired to fight back. that's always been part of the plan, yes? until, as you say: a gross miscalculation brings: Nothing Left to Lose: fight back!

It's been a great marketing strategy for the 1% since the 2nd century CE. Why stop now? The oligarchy has only upped their game since then.

1) Keep the downward spiral slow, like frogs boiling in a pot.
2) Grease the skids with cheap credit, so the working class doesn't know how badly they're being cheated.
3) Allow protests and even violence as a safety valve to let off some steam.
4) Crush any movement towards actual reform, painting them as the enemy of society.
5) Coopt and compromise potential reform leaders, rendering them useless as controlled opposition. (Thanks, Wendy!)

Most people are too tired from their daily grind to even think about fighting back. They just want to unplug and relax for a while before getting back on the treadmill. Not sure we can break out of this until the 1% seriously miscalculates what's needed to pacify the masses.

@earthling1

but i suspect you mean voting for the legacy parties (duopoly) is evil. i've voted ineffectually Green the past three or four cycles, ineffectual, but in many states the Ds have made it all but impossible for Greens to get on the ballot.

oh, my yes; covid-masked Black Lives Protestors were kettle while armed, maskless Proud Boys in black and lemon yellow roamed free at some rallies for Boss Tweet.

to say the truth, i have no idea who/what Antifa even are.

thanks, earthling1.

All voting is voting for evil.
We're left with no alternative.
Voting has become a clear and present danger to the American people of all stripes.
The peasants are beginning to revolt in the streets. Witness BLM or Antifa
marching. But they are quickly marginalized at best, demonized if possible, to send a message that dissent will not be tolerated.
Only the American Brownshirts are allowed to brandish their weaponry with impunity. Cowards, all of them. They're to afraid to march publicly with no body armor and unarmed, like BLM does.

@Shahryar

What would a revolt look like? Yes, that’s by way of a rhetorical Red-Blue question, isn’t it?

meaning: i have no idea, but key would be common issues: poverty, civil and constitutional rights, access to medical and alternative medical care/insurance, feeding our families, affordable housing and transportation, the right to unionize, and i sure would wish for Ellen Brown-esque Public Banking (F the Fed).

we'd all have other items toon the list, but those are off the top of my pointed little head.

lots of people here recommend the movement for people's party; i'm agnostic on that, myownself.

anyone have an idea? The vague "people in the streets" is more of a hope that things get even worse, one that I hold to occasionally.

I can't help think, though, that we've seen massive gatherings bring down oppressive governments only to have them be replaced by different oppressors. The Arab Spring is now the Arab Winter.

Wikipedia:

The Arab Winter is a term for the resurgence of authoritarianism, and Islamic extremism evolving in the aftermath of the Arab Spring protests in Arab countries

The French Revolution led to Napoleon. Russians in the street led to Stalin.

Maybe our next one will result in something better, more permanent but unless we have some alliance with the rightwingers I think it would be doomed. Those people would resent a lefty revolution and counter it.

@on the cusp

politics, but i'm not seeing where 'not paying their monthly bills' would distill to one issue, nor how that might translate into 'protesting and voting'.

do i guess correctly that Medicare 4 All would be your prime issue?

as a side note: i think few realize (as i've shown) that IF jayapal's bill ever passes, it would take two years past being signed into law before it kicked in. and it may not be free insurance in any event, but i'd brought the sections in hope that folks her might help crowd source a few answers as to the mentioned 'buy-ins' and so forth.

and he posited this: A poll said 1 out of 3 Americans had difficulty paying their monthly bills.
Illustrating how movements get derailed, he said stop with that 1 question, 1 issue, hook up with that 1/3 and take over with protesting and voting.
He INSISTED, 1 question to join the movement. Do not ask party affiliation, gender preference, racial identity, and so on and so forth. It is 1 question answered, solidarity achieved. Keep asking question after question, the person becomes remote and practically alone with no power. We may want a thing, but we also want other things and have completely different perspectives.
I loved that idea of just holding hands with anybody and everybody who just was healthcare.
If this would happen, we could get some true environmental change. Maybe money in politics. Maybe staunch wealth inequality.
Anyway, we should demand the most important thing for all. Move on to the next thing once we discover it works.