Now that @schumer.senate.gov & @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social successfully made a day of mourning seem bipartisan, rumor has it they are now drafting formal apologies to Randy Weaver, David Koresh, & Timothy McVeigh, sayin, “what the heck, let’s get ahead of this for once. “

I agree with lot of what pdx city councilors do but when the “socialists”of decide to take a vacation to Vienna on taxpayers’ dime & ignore the local academics, researchers & resident experts in housing, urban planning & social sciences, it’s straight up bougie, regardless of the propaganda reels.

I was talking with someone recently who did not know who Jim Jones was, never heard of Ruby Ridge & only had a vague idea of the significance of David Koresh. This week I was reminded to pull Waco Rising off the shelf & revisit the highlights.

Part of me knows that I should be quoting Matt 5 but part of me wants to be quoting Psalms 137. So I best be quiet.

This is important reading for @portlandcouncil.bsky.social Development is a done well neighborhood by neighborhood. “The state and city have made large cross-sector investments to finance neighborhood-based redevelopment.”

They were literally fighting wildfires. Where is the outrage? @cantwell.senate.gov & @murray.senate.gov

Playing the socialist & equity card until they realize they can use taxpayer dollars to take a Vienna vacation. @councilordunphy.bsky.social @counciloravalos.bsky.social @councilorgreen.bsky.social www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

It’s not just that the oligarchs don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes. Many of them literally do not believe in the concept of government. They are rich and powerful and have the “divine right” to do anything they want.

Gaslighting is not just for the right. According to the press release of Green & Dunphy the amendment eliminated $11 million General Fund Prosper Portland & instead “fund its operations through a $50 million Strategic Investment Fund—a revolving loan program used to finance local businesses.”

The boom loop that Portland, Oregon really needs, is to capitalize on the four district model that has been adopted as the new charter. In this model, we make distributed investments across all four districts…

Morning coffee ☕️ “If a modest fraction of a community shift a modest fraction of their expenditures toward local business, the economic boost can be extraordinary. One study found that a shift of just 10% of purchases could create 31,000 new jobs paying $940 million in new wages.”

Undoubtedly the stupidest idea floated this week. If the city councilors don’t see how this would undermine all four districts & damage neighborhood businesses. Then we are screwed as a city. This ideas plus MBL support = increased disparity & inequity.

Easter. The cross is not a symbol of blood atonement sacrifice. It was a the ultimate act of revolution. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offering & again He has told you what the Lord requires. Do justice, to love mercy & walk humbly with your God?

Just a friendly reminder of where we are today. Oh. The same place we were in 1970 when Nixon was president. #BezosOrionRocket youtu.be/goh2x_G0ct4

News flash. Senator Lisa Murkowski along with half a dozen other senators could stop this chaos today.

When #church leaders are suggesting that empathy can be (or is) a sin? The faith that you profess is in free fall and crashes into the Empire as the “Deutsche Christens” Note to my #Christian pastor friends? Time to double down as the vocal & faithful opposition of the “Bekennende Kirche.”

How many dystopian science fiction books I read in the 70s forecasted the oligarchy in the United States? A lot.

Yesterday’s #protests demonstrated the power of organizing & that we are not isolated & alone. Bur it likely won’t make a meaningful impact on public policy. It was important but let’s not confuse yesterday with what happened in 2019 when Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 showed us how to ouster a corrupt leader.

On this day in 1933, FDR established the Civilian Conservation Corps, offering jobs, hope, and environmental stewardship. The CCC uplifted a generation of workers and improved public lands—a reminder of leadership that invests in and supports workers. fdrlibrary.wordpress.com/tag/...

From @yesmedia.bsky.social comes this handy top 10.

“This isn’t really just a decision about Dollar General. It’s a decision about what kind of community we want to have. We have a choice to make; we can either choose to stay local and support local or send our money out to a corporation that makes decisions in a boardroom hundreds of miles away."

The undermining of the fabric of this nation is real & has been happening since back into the 70s with the first wave of offshoring manufacturing & the emergence of the ultra wealthy. And today we are living with the results of the destruction. 1/5

Morality is unthinkable without empathy. - Frans de Waal

They are literally destroying seniors who are already aging unto poverty because, since Reagan, pensions have been gutted, & wages lag inflation so social security check are smaller, & healthcare is designed to siphon wealth. Now? Make no mistake the oligarchs are destroying America 🇺🇸

I went to a contemporary Christian concert last night at a megachurch. Not usual for me but okay. The entire concert was a narcissistic reflection on blood covering our sins, of happiness & joy as sh*t happens & how we can expect miracles. Like one one in the room could read the national context 1/2

Hey @oregondems.bsky.social, why is there no democrat already publiclly raising money & campaigning in a very loud very public voice to challenge Bentz from OR district in the midterms? This person could be organizing & going town halls talking about the harm Bentz is inflicting daily. Why we lose.

From the book “Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America” by Brendan Ballou This is what we are up against. we need to understand how we got here. #reclaimourdemocracy

No wonder there is such a focus on dismantling education.

If you only have the bandwidth for one wonk-driven podcast. It literally has to be this one. Until all Americans understand the damage being inflicted on red communities. They will remain red & democracy will collapse. @ruralimpactpodcast.bsky.social

The difference between when Republicans lost the 2020 election & Kamala Harris lost in 2024? The Republicans turned up the heat and immediately kept publicly hammering home their vision & organizing with their eyes towards the next election. We are saying Democrat vision? What vision?

This is what journalism looks like rocket boy.

Time to go to Bentz’s district & do town halls with his constituents. Focus on the damage his votes do to rural communities. Democracy’s fallen it’s not time for safe decorum. @repbonamici.bsky.social @repbynum.bsky.social @repvalhoyle.bsky.social @salinas.house.gov @repdexteror.bsky.social

Is today's news tempting you to cancel your Washington Post subscription? I fear an exodus of liberal readers will only hasten its shift rightward. May I suggest the better move is to break up with Amazon? We have a guide for you:

Looking for positive and hopeful perspectives? Add @yesmedia.bsky.social

When even the New York Post has to publish this, you know you fucked up.

The larger frame is not about spending money (though most of us could reduce our consumption). The larger frame is shifting our spending to locally owned businesses & supporting local makers, the local resale economy. Rebuilding Main Street is an act of protest.

“This is someone who made his money by ripping off American taxpayers and who shouldn’t come anywhere near a position of authority over tax dollars,” said Sen. Ron Wyden about Schuler’s appointment. “He’ll fit right in with the Trump administration.” By @peterelkind.bsky.social

The most powerful tools in our resistance to empire are to build locally. Supporting one neighborhood market, joining a civic group, congregating in social spaces, volunteering in the community. Thanx @studiomill.bsky.social for the reminder.

Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage.

There is a lot of talk about boycotting a list of big retail corporations. Also talk about “buy nothings days” that even if they were successful would be a blip or noise on an economic chart three months in the rear view. 1/2

Whelp, we have the Republican ideology in one picture. We go from the high price of eggs to no eggs. In addition to food, that’s how republican policies work across healthcare, education, housing. How’s that working out for America. #oligarchy

Notice how government efficiency has not touched the Department of Defense with its $849.8 billion budget. 🤔 that’s odd.

In case the proliferation of dollar stores, Amazon trucks, and big box stores have not sucked enough vitality from your community, now the billionaire Republican Party is destroying the very fabric of entrepreneurship. Access to human and financial capital? Gone.

Let’s stop calling it a potential constitutional crisis, administrative shake-up or different public policy direction. Democracy has been dismantled with record speed.

Do you realize that all of this could be stopped if just 4 or 5 moderate republicans in the congress & senate would cross the aisle to save democracy? Instead? 14 cabinet members are confirmed out of 22

In case you are under the illusion that cutting USAID makes “them” losers & America winners? USAID, last year purchased $2 billion in US grown crops. The republicans just destroyed $2 billion dollars of wealth in farming communities that elected them to office. And the fun is just beginning.

What would happen to the conversation if every small business owner posted signs that said, “Because of the Republican Policies, we have had to raise our prices by xx% because of tariffs, immigrant labor shortages & elimination of subsidies.”

From @newrepublic.com. The fourth estate has fallen. Next exhibit? @latimes.com was accused by contributor Eric Reinhart of making significant edits to a piece of his that was largely critical of the brain worm. Here is the unvarnished version.

Morning coffee ☕️ Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, & the Rise of the Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild If we don’t understand how rural democrats flipped & now consistently vote against their best interests, we can’t change things & the loss of democracy will be permanent. #ChangeTheConversation

Just finished “Empowered to Repair: becoming people who mend broken systems and heal our communities” by Brenda Salter McNeil. For church leaders and lay people who now realize their sacred duty to resist Babylon? Use this as a study group text along side Nehemiah. #Evengelicals