We hear from citizen activist, Diana Kastenbaum, who organized a town meeting in her congressional district in Western New York State filled with both Democrats and Republicans airing their concerns.
Last week, we had discussions on the environmental impact of AI. Elizabeth Booker Attorney on Substack @ Bet it On Booker reported that Musk's xAI is polluting the air and water in the Blackest and poorest neighborhoods in Memphis.
With the ongoing removal of EPA protections and watch dogs dismantled polluters will become more prolific.
We need AI Ethics and Ethic Board of oversight for each industry adopted by states .
Thank you Ralph Nader & Team for the continued activism
Mr. Nader I beg you, please bring attention to GEORGIA right now!!! If people think the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant/"Construction Work in Progress" was a Boondoggle, well it's Nothing compared to the upcoming "SOLAR FARM JAMBOREE" aka, "DATA CENTERS"!!!!!!!! (SEE: GEORGIA POWER HEARINGS- YOU TUBE-2nd Round Of Hearings; 3rd Day of the Intergrated Resourse Plan/ . Docket # 570002.)
The town hall meetings that are happening are just theater. This is what happened in Florida district 7, Representative Corey Mills
I had visited his local office and got the runaround about pretty much everything. When I asked what it would take for him to have a town hall meeting, I was told that he had a few before. I receive his emails and never saw anything about a town hall meeting. I found out that they have a different email list, they select people who are supposed to attend those. I got on that list.
Then I received a call a few weeks later to confirm my email and that I would get an invitation for the meeting. I did receive the email for a "meeting" by phone. I had a code, so I could ask a question. I believe there were two emails, one for everybody and one for "the special people".
On the day of the meeting I called in and typed my code. Corey Mills came on the phone, talked about himself for 10 minutes, then started answering questions. At one point I was interrupted by a staffer to take my question.
My question never made it to the list. I know it wouldn't since it was vetted and it was a serious question about Medicaid cuts. In the end, Corey Mills answered about 6 or 7 questions, I am 100% sure that two of them were planted in there so he could spin his talking points. Maybe all of them were because they were so easy, praising him and sounding like they came from very naive people, not from real concerned citizens. The meeting was over in just under one hour. And they claimed that 220 thousand people were on the phone. Maybe 200 thousand very angry people
I sent an email after the meeting to voice my concerns about the way it was conducted and asking my question again. One thing I asked and I think many people should ask their MAGA republican representatives: what does Make America Great Again mean to them? Seriously, why did Corey Mills said MAGA so many times? I really want to know because for some, this country was never that great. For some, it was great when there was slavery and the civil rights laws didn't exist. Whatever they answer, there is a rebuttal. In most cases, one can argue that this country was somewhat great when rich people paid more taxes.
But I never received a reply to my email. Obviously
I can't tell if you listened to the episode, but Diana didn't go to a town hall at the invitation of the congressperson. She got together with her friends and summoned the representative to their meeting. Even though the rep didn't show up, the hundreds of people in attendance got to share their stories and their concerns in community. The press covered it and the congressperson was outed for not being there. And what has followed is a series of them all over the district, two a month. Diana took the power into her own hands.
I did listen and kudos to her. I was just trying to point out how ridiculous Congress has become. I know that there was at least one "cardboard" town hall meeting in my district but I am not in any social media and didn't hear about it until after. I asked a friend to let me know if she sees people organizing another one. I feel a bit like an impostor but I don't have the time or skills to organize anything. I don't have time to even be on social media because it is so easy to fall in the rabbit hole.
Thank you Ralph. As long as Americans continue to reward these two corrupt parties by voting for their Red and Blue cabal the American People will have no voice and no change. They will continue to do whatever they want and answer to AIPAC. These Hyenas do not belong in government.
Question to Norman Solomon or anyone from wrap-up segment. Now that AOC is a leading Candidate for President, which I think is scary. My feeling David Hogg should run for Congress or Mayor as a starting point so we can have a better candidate in a few years?
It's way past time for you to attend an emergency meeting with me as you continue to approach the problem with big money/the alleged Democratic Party as if it's business as usual clinging to the myth that we have two parties.
In major league baseball there are the American league and the National league. On paper they are two separate leagues but they are both under the control of MLB. So in practice and reality they are each one half of MLB.
The Dems and Repubs are two separate parties on paper but are both under the control of big money so in practice and reality they are each one half of the one big money party.
This is why 90% of the 2026 congressional elections are already decided in the gerrymandered districts making those districts one party districts no matter how you view the Dems and Repubs.
So let's organize the Dems in Repub districts, Repubs in Dem districts and independents in both to demand small donor candidates and enforce that demand with our votes in 2026 instead of continuing to prop up the big money two party myth.
No one that takes big money is a progressive or liberal or conservative. They are just putting on show for the rubes while they work together for the big money interests.
We need a grassroots effort to demand that politicians do not take big money.
Looking at your ten points, what is your proposed policy strategy for achieving those points? Specifically, how do you propose achieving points 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10?
The issue is that there is an existing party which contains many of the points in your list, the Green Party. The problem is that the Green Party generally doesn't explain, at least not in a successful way, how they hope to achieve those goals and, thus, relatively few people who might be aligned with their goals take them seriously as a viable option.
The good news is that there are potential policy paths which can be taken to achieve your goals. The bad news is that there are a lot of false narratives out there, especially on economic matters of central importance, and so there has to be many discussions on that front in order for people to see a realistic way that the problems you're hoping to address can be successfully addressed.
"I've asked plenty of people how they feel about these 10 points. So far it's unanimous agreement. Surely there's at least 5 million people in the United States who agree."
This is my exact point though. You'll have no problem finding 5 million people who agree with your 10 points, or at least most of them. Similarly, the Green Party's platform is full of positions which poll very strongly with progressives and even with the whole population in some cases. The problem is that even people sympathetic with the Green Party's platform have no reason to think that the Green Party has even the slightest clue on how to achieve their end goals. Thus, the Green Party is not worthy of being taken seriously.
Whether you're looking to start a party or a movement, the key is to be able to explain how meaningful reform can be achieved to accomplish the goals via policy. There is no shortage of people wanting peace and prosperity, but the problem is that people have differing definitions for these things and, even if there is consensus, the breakdown occurs when people do not see viable policy to achieve the goals.
Will town meetings like the one Diana Kastenbaum organized in upstate New York be able to counter the juggernaut of right-wing politics in the US? I’ve been involved in grassroots Democratic Party politics for decades and did not walk away until Bernie Sanders' primary run defeat in 2020. It may be too late. The movement of all three branches of the federal government under the dictatorial edicts of Donald Trump have overwhelmed those of goodwill to counter this insanity. That a genocide is being carried out in Gaza is hardly acknowledged in the US and among Israel’s allies. “Never again” is happening with the support of many, while many in the US, especially young people, have strong opinions, and have taken action to a limited extent on college and university campuses and on the streets where police repression and the repression of administrators at colleges and universities has been generally universal.
In terms of activism, besides continuing to write about and against these horrors, I’m going to protest against the Trump parade on June 14th.
The best town hall meeting is when someone yells something from the back of the room and know one completely hears or understands what he or she said.
Take the night our senior citizen Wanda yelled, " give them hell Buster'" , but Buster our new sheriff was not in the room nor anywhere to be found. And besides the meeting was about school lunches, what kids eat in my town is a big deal because sometimes it's the only meal some of our kids get. It's got to be more than just ' sloppy Joe's or sh__t on a shingle.
I saw an Elon Musk rocket go up the other day,, and it's cost could easily feed every day, every kid in America a great nutritional meal for a year.
Buster,, just showed up,, he said, " let's vote, come on folks, come on America we need great food for our kids every day right now ! '
Thanks for another excellent thought-provoking program.
I've not been listening to it on the internet as I cut my "Optimum" link, trying to limit internet to the local library though I have a very active ebay account. The internet is a net negative in many ways unless you are highly disciplined and serious in how you access it. For an active mind the internet is an ever present world of information, debate, entertainment and challenges.
SCOTUS intends that a government for the Bar, by the Bar, and of the Bar shall not perish from the face of the earth. Lawyers create conflicts to extort legal fees, and SCOTUS supports. US and Israel have, by far, the highest per capita ratio of lawyers in the world.
My ex-wife, Lugene Kelley, lied to extort money, and Chester County Judge Thomas Gavin, who had a crush on her, allowed this tribunal that was illegal because PA had no geographic jurisdiction. Only a federal court in CT would have jurisdiction. But my she still resided in PA, and a Chester County lawyer thought I would settle over the phone, because I didn't live in PA but the false allegation would soil my reputation, which was important to me.
I refused, didn't hire the lawyer, so Chester County detective had to testify that I was studying the stored comments of the hard drive of Lugene's computer, which was in PA. Only that is not possible. She testified that she had to keep changing the password of her hotmail account, that it became an everyday thing. Technical evidence from Hotmail, not seen at the fake jury trial, proved that was false. Even if true, the emails are not stored in PA and I lived in CT during FEB 8-10 2009.
I am a co-owner of the account. I didn't "hack" into anything. If she didn't want me to have access, why did she insist I set-up the account, and why didn't she change all security info as I suggested when I divorced her?
I was looking for evidence against Chester County Judge Grover Koon who colluded with her to extort money from me. I did eventually get the evidence, but by then I had 31 accesses in 2 days.
Judge Gavin thought I would mention my motive, which my ex-wife knew, but I didn't. Therefore, during the illegal jury trial, nothing that PA had jurisdiction over and was on the indictment was ever mentioned. Judge Gavin wouldn't have jurisdiction even if I mentioned Judge Grover Koon, but Gavin would have faked it.
I have been repeatedly and illegally extradited to PA, and thrown in prison by Judge Gavin because he wants me to sign a faked plea bargain so he can't be sued.
Lugene doesn't even live in PA since 2016, and is now in FL.
But Judge Gavin is still trying to have me arrested and extradited without ever alleging anything that PA had jurisdiction over. The email accesses were legal and I have evidence against Judge Grover Koon, that for 15 years Gavin and other PA officials have obstructed justice to protect Judge Koon from being a defendant in a jury trial.
It sounds like you strongly believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred in a legal matter that is troubling you. It sounds extremely frustrating and disturbing, especially since this has repeatedly interrupted your life and distressed you, apparently for over the last 15 years.
This kind of perpetual stress over so long can wreak havoc on your health and well-being. I think you will be best served by doing all you possibly can to extricate yourself and put this situation behind you. Imagine the simple peace of being free of all this and of being able to wholeheartedly enjoy your daily moments once again.
I tried for a few hours to understand your narrative, and I found that I had missed important things that made a difference. I believe it could serve you well to write out what happened from start to finish in temporal sequence with clarity and accuracy, and with proof of all you say to the extent possible. Crystal clear evidence of the wrongdoing you discovered is vital.
Next, I believe you need to connect to someone for help. It seems to me that you cannot do this alone. You've tried that for too long. It is now time to get someone with knowledge and competence and clout on your side.
I remember that Edward Snowden turned to investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald to help him as he revealed things that turned the world upside down. He could not go home again, but he could survive, and he could be with his family, and he could do what he knew to be right, and he could feel inwardly free to be himself and do work he loved.
Where can you get the help you need? You might be able to turn to public interest law. This may not be the final answer, but you might get leads this way. These people are passionate against corruption, and they are quite busy because of the extensive corruption occurring.
I believe you will need someone with the power and passion of lightening to strike down corruption. Some of the essential government personnel who were fired from our agencies, who are passionate about justice, and who know how corruption works in practice might be one place to search. You might also speak to the ACLU, which might be able to direct you to potential sources of support.
I believe someone needs to listen to you and go to bat for you, so you have power and are not kept on the defensive. You need to find them. Then, whatever happens, you can let go, and be done with it. You can start to live again.
SCOTUS justices Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Sotomayor know because they also obstructed justice.
They don't want judges to face civil suit.
They want judge to be free to commit egregious and depraved violations of civil rights with no recourse. Roberts recently messaged that the only recourse for disagreeing with a judge's opinion was appeal, not impeachment. False. Sotomayor recently claimed that judges are supposed to be fiercely independent. False. Judges are to serve in good behavior, which in the late 1700s was pious and 24/7.
As for media helping, over 50 media have been contacted over the years, and their lawyers block the information from reaching the public. Star Chamber policies.
If truly interested, please start with the following federal opinion online, then at the end compare with how Abrego Garcia is treated much better but not a citizen.
The New York judge insisted on exhausting state remedies before federal relief.
Exhausting state remedies was to gut the 14th Amendment. Many innocent blacks died in southern prisons before state remedies were "exhausted." (ex parte Royall 1887).
Article III Section 2 Clause 3, ...such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed.
Article IV Section 2 Clause 2 requires extradition to the state with jurisdiction.
The only state with jurisdiction was Connecticut, but McPherron was innocent.
BACKGROUND for NY FEDERAL COURT OPINION
While teaching at UCONN, during FEB 8-10 2009, McPherron legally accessed an email account that he set-up for his ex-wife. She had colluded with Chester County Judge Grover Koon on OCT 29 2007 to extort money from McPherron for her to get out of her pending federal bankruptcy. The scheme failed and she confessed, but nothing happened to Koon.
On APR 6 2010, senior member of a powerful secret society and a judge in Chester County Thomas Gavin held an illegal tribunal in defiance of Article 15 of the PA Declaration of Rights.
The reporter admits McPherron set-up the account, which renders his actions legal. Gavin, asst DA Krilivsky, and Public Defender Nellie Bey hid this from the jury, and refused to tell the jury that McPherron didn't reside in PA when the incident happened, because of the aforementioned clauses in the US Constitution.
To fake geographic jurisdiction, many lies were told about Dr. McPherron, which were proven false and some were not even technically feasible, like Chester County Sheriff claiming McPherron was studying the hard drive of the computer located in PA. McPherron was teaching at UCONN FEB 8-10 2009. McPherron set-up the email account, which is correctly reported in the link. He didn't "weep on the stand." Lugene Kelley only had to change the password twice, and only during FEB 8-10 2009. McPherron finally got the evidence that he needed against Chester County Judge Grover Koon shortly after 1900 EST FEB 10 2009.
Latter half of 2010: McPherron sued Gavin and other officials for $10 million, with Federal District Judge C. Darnell Jones II presiding. However, to protect corrupt officials from civil suit, SCOTUS ruled in 1994 (Heck v Humphrey) that a conviction must be impaired, basically imposing judicial whim to obstruct the will of the public. Normally, lack of geographic jurisdiction is an automatic defect, but not this time. So Judge Jones II could not proceed to civil rights jury trial.
Meanwhile, Judge Gavin used his secret society connections to have McPherron's 14th Amendment federal appeal assigned to Judge Curtis Joyner, a weak-minded judge who was from the Chester County Bar. Joyner ignored many motions to recuse for obvious bias.
Also, Gavin tried to get McPherron into PA where he would be thrown in prison until accepting a plea bargain over some fake charge that would nullify any civil rights suit. That was standard operating procedure in PA, but this time PA had overreached by ignoring every aspect of US Constitutional law.
3 years after the fake 2010 Chester County Trial
McPherron was in Pinellas County FL in March 2013. Pam Bondi was the FL Attorney General. Tim Scott, a Navy vet like Dr. McPherron, was Governor. To extradite McPherron in defiance of the constitution would require a corrupt governor, but Scott was not. McPherron was unreasonably searched and seized, the Gavin struck an agreement or compact with Pinellas County Judge Lay, and the Chester County Sheriff did the same with Pinellas County Sheriff Gulati. This violates Article I Section 10 Clause 3.
McPherron was told by the jail official he was to be released, so he could go back to his apartment in St Pete Beach. However, at midnight McPherron was taken out and put into a prisoner transport service that was so abusive that can be called "La Amistad on Wheels." Back in May 2010, even though states have no jurisdiction over federal laws and rights, Gavin required McPherron to sign away his right to challenge extradition or he was not going to be free. This agreement is illegal, it is coerced, and easily dismissed in a court of law. But the people running the transport service ignored the law and claimed they didn't need a federal judge or Governor to okay their extradition.
An incompetent court-appointed attorney was put on the case (Chester County proudly operates a Star Chamber, insisting only Britain declared it illegal in the 1640s). This attorney refused to do anything but less than the bare minimum because he wasn't being paid the hourly rate he wanted. He told McPherron that Judge Gavin had to release him in 90 days, expect to include time served in FL jail. so McPherron would be leaving for FL soon. Instead, Gavin left McPherron in prison for 3 years until Judge Jones II dismissed the suit (well before the three years), and waited for the fake plea bargain. But McPherron refused to sign a faked plea bargain or waive his right to challenge extradition. All that time Judge Joyner refused to recuse, and claimed everything McPherron sent to court was unintelligible or incomprehensible. McPherron wanted Joyner to return to school until
Joyner realized that everything PhDs say or do is incomprehensible and unintelligible to an affirmative action hire.
3 years in prison without a jury convicting McPherron of anything that PA had jurisdiction over
In March 2016, McPherron intended to leave to declare asylum, but Gavin convinced the US State Department to deny his passport, else McPherron could not be threatened with prison in order to get a fake plea bargain. Gavin wasn't just worried about the civil rights suit by then, the 3 year in prison would get Gavin disbarred and he would be a defendant in a federal criminal court.
CANADA - US BORDER
July 2016, Dr. McPherron was unreasonably searched and seized a couple of minutes walk from the Canadian border by US Border Patrol. They found 10 large manila envelopes of asylum paperwork. US Border Patrol prevented McPherron from his right to apply for asylum, turning him over to Clinton County Sheriff and corrupt local Judge Ryan, who was not pleased that McPherron had sued Judge Thomas Gavin and other officials for that absence of personal jurisdiction under Stump v Sparkman 1978.
NY FEDERAL JUDGE's OPINION (link at the beginning of this comment)
McPherron applied for federal relief because the "full faith and credit" clause didn't apply when the jurisdictional defect was automatic.
Still, the district court judge misstates the "full faith and credit" clause.
McPherron knew that in 2013 that when he was deported to PA, the FL district court judge declared the case moot and that McPherron could not be ordered back for due process.
The NY federal judge writes poorly, but he is trying to convey that McPherron claimed he would not be allowed to exhaust state remedies before being illegally extradited to PA, and that the court would then declare the case moot. In other words, there was no substance to the procedures of exhausting state remedies, just a red herring to allow Nazi-like abuse of people illegally in custody.
The federal judge disagreed, yet that was precisely what occurred.
Even though the judge obviously lied, and knew that he was lying when he wrote the opinion linked at the beginning of this comment, the judge then said he could not order McPherron back to Clinton County NY for due process, even thought Article III Section 2 Clause 2 and Article IV, Section 2 Clause 2 of the US Constitution would require that McPherron could only be extradited to Connecticut. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the federal district court judge.
So why can Abrego Garcia be ordered back by 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals?
Because Garcia has lawyers, and the more bite to their bark, the more billable hours and the higher the hourly rate.
So McPherron, a PhD in Macroeconomics, insisted to SCOTUS that they enforced a financially-motivated Star Chamber.
SCOTUS responded by blocking his right 1st Amendment to peacefully petition for redress of grievances against the government as pro se and in forma pauperis. Actually, they blocked his right altogether, insisting McPherron must have an attorney at all times, trying to vitiate Faretta v California (1975).
However, both Microsoft Corp v US (2016) and Van Buren v US (2021) are based solely on the expert legal theory McPherron provided to them years earlier, although the cases credit others.
About 4 years ago, McPherron that social equity measures substantive due process, so that constitutional due process can be put on software and AI will make it user friendly.
SCOTUS has lost almost all discretion, and many of their opinions will be vitiated as frivolous.
I stopped to read your link. Wow! The image of the earth and its blue waters connected to an opened water faucet that is draining away our pure, clear, drinkable water containing no lead gets right to the point. That water may be appropriated for those who can afford to go to Mars with Elon Musk . . . Yikes! Truly chilling. Water is life.
I seem to remember that episode of Ralph's. That was a passionate person speaking about the need to protect our water as part of the commons. Ralph himself sounded tremendously impressed. The ownership of the resources of our planet by all the peoples of the earth is one of Ralph's great reminders that has been nearly totally eclipsed. When I first heard about it from Ralph, which must have been decades ago. I had never heard the idea of a commons. Ideas seem to have a sense of crazy impossibility to them until they become a natual part of the language. I really could not get it. I was too steeped in the idea of private property. What we cannot conceive, we cannot create. We need to open our imagination in order to survive.
The idea that social media is the opposite of activism is startling. I did not want my personal information to be appropriated, so I kept clear of it. I did not consider RNRH or a few other places with limited participation and fascinating content to be social media, although I could be wrong. I think the main difficulty is the insidiousness of the theft and sale of our personal information and of corporate algorithms that create jittery zombies of us. Surveilance, too, is a serious problem, and I think serious technology is needed to stay clear of it.
It turns out that I am interested in the political considerations I have discovered on YouTube, which I did not realize was social media. To my surprise, it seems that I got into social media after all. Commenting on YouTube can be satisfying, since it seems pressing now to express the importance of resisting authoritarianism. However, it has been dawning on me that this may equate to the entertaining distraction of the Roman circus in another age.
Perhaps intentionally, social media can be a compelling distraction from difficult, effortful activism that could create the real changes we need, such as assuring clean drinking water to our people, without which we cannot survive, or creating a deeply buried, frozen repository of our organic non-GMO seed stock to assure the means to restore our healthy agriculture, or supporting our Constitutional rights of due process, because freedom also really matters.
You are right about the basic idea of a citizens group telling Dems if they don't do what we want they won't win elections (because they won't get our votes).
But nothing on your list will happen until the problem that you want to solve with publicly funded elections is solved. And publicly funded elections cannot solve that problem.
As you point out legislators make the laws. As long as the politicians take big money they will not pass the legislation to publicly fund elections no matter what they promise while campaigning. In order to pass that legislation the big money legislators must first be replaced by small donor legislators.
The problem has to be solved before the legislation to solve the problem can be passed.
The citizen's group we need to solve that problem needs only one demand- the politicians (Dems, Repubs, third party or independent) do not take big money and if they do they will not get our votes.
Your list enables the politicians to promise future action that they will never deliver while continuing to take big money feeding the problem. Citizens demanding that politicians do not take big money forces the politicians to take action now in order to earn our votes.
You seem to have missed my point that publicly funded elections cannot solve the problem. The big money legislators will not pass the legislation.The big money legislators must first be replaced by small donor legislators before the legislation can be passed.
The problem has to be solved before the legislation to solve the problem can be passed.
As for why stop with one demand that politicians do not take big money and if they do they will not get our votes is that 80% of citizens want the big money out of politics including a majority of Republican voters.
This way citizens that agree on this one issue can work together on this issue they agree on even if they disagree on other issues. These citizens can work together to influence the Dems, Repubs, third party and independent politicians.
What I am proposing is that citizens declare they will not vote for candidates that take big money in 2026 by registering their intent on the One Demand website once it is updated for 2026. They can also pledge to contribute to small donor candidates.
This let's the politicians and other citizens know their intention before the election and verifies the reason the votes were cast as write in votes after the election.
The reason participants will cast a write in vote is if there are no small donor candidates on their ballot they cast a write in vote to register a vote against the big money candidates on the ballot and to create and demonstrate demand for small donor candidates in the next election.
Just 10% of voters participating in 2026 (instead of voting for Dems in Repub districts, Repubs in Dem districts or not voting) would inspire more citizens to participate in 2028 and inspire some politicians to run small donor campaigns in 2028. This would inspire more citizens and politicians to participate in 2030.
Real progress in 4-6 years because it does not require legislation as opposed to waiting another fifty years for the big money politicians to pass legislation they are paid to not pass which is why they haven't done in the last fifty years.
For those of us who have a reluctant but passionate sense of needing to do "something" for which we feel totally inadequate, it is surprising how much difference it makes to hear your honest perspective about the very real challenges involved.
Interestingly, accepting what is actually true about the real challenges and difficulties of "doing something," rather than feeling discouraging, actually instead feels empowering. I can now see a different possibility.
I thought I needed to know what I was doing and to already be good at doing it, and to do it passionately with all my time and all my heart, none of which is true of me in the least. I may feel passionate about the importance of making change, but I'm just a tired old person with no experience and no time around the edges who wishes I could change the many ways our country falls short of what We the People truly need.
But what if I don't need to know what I'm doing, and what if I don't need to already be good at it, and what if I don't need to do it passionately with all my time and all my heart? What if whatever I am able to do at any moment, however tiny it may be, is exactly what I need to do.
Wonderful group of panelists.
Last week, we had discussions on the environmental impact of AI. Elizabeth Booker Attorney on Substack @ Bet it On Booker reported that Musk's xAI is polluting the air and water in the Blackest and poorest neighborhoods in Memphis.
With the ongoing removal of EPA protections and watch dogs dismantled polluters will become more prolific.
We need AI Ethics and Ethic Board of oversight for each industry adopted by states .
Thank you Ralph Nader & Team for the continued activism
Who knew, Batavia stands up for Free Speech and the audience are seniors.. Feels good.
Mr. Nader I beg you, please bring attention to GEORGIA right now!!! If people think the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant/"Construction Work in Progress" was a Boondoggle, well it's Nothing compared to the upcoming "SOLAR FARM JAMBOREE" aka, "DATA CENTERS"!!!!!!!! (SEE: GEORGIA POWER HEARINGS- YOU TUBE-2nd Round Of Hearings; 3rd Day of the Intergrated Resourse Plan/ . Docket # 570002.)
The town hall meetings that are happening are just theater. This is what happened in Florida district 7, Representative Corey Mills
I had visited his local office and got the runaround about pretty much everything. When I asked what it would take for him to have a town hall meeting, I was told that he had a few before. I receive his emails and never saw anything about a town hall meeting. I found out that they have a different email list, they select people who are supposed to attend those. I got on that list.
Then I received a call a few weeks later to confirm my email and that I would get an invitation for the meeting. I did receive the email for a "meeting" by phone. I had a code, so I could ask a question. I believe there were two emails, one for everybody and one for "the special people".
On the day of the meeting I called in and typed my code. Corey Mills came on the phone, talked about himself for 10 minutes, then started answering questions. At one point I was interrupted by a staffer to take my question.
My question never made it to the list. I know it wouldn't since it was vetted and it was a serious question about Medicaid cuts. In the end, Corey Mills answered about 6 or 7 questions, I am 100% sure that two of them were planted in there so he could spin his talking points. Maybe all of them were because they were so easy, praising him and sounding like they came from very naive people, not from real concerned citizens. The meeting was over in just under one hour. And they claimed that 220 thousand people were on the phone. Maybe 200 thousand very angry people
I sent an email after the meeting to voice my concerns about the way it was conducted and asking my question again. One thing I asked and I think many people should ask their MAGA republican representatives: what does Make America Great Again mean to them? Seriously, why did Corey Mills said MAGA so many times? I really want to know because for some, this country was never that great. For some, it was great when there was slavery and the civil rights laws didn't exist. Whatever they answer, there is a rebuttal. In most cases, one can argue that this country was somewhat great when rich people paid more taxes.
But I never received a reply to my email. Obviously
I can't tell if you listened to the episode, but Diana didn't go to a town hall at the invitation of the congressperson. She got together with her friends and summoned the representative to their meeting. Even though the rep didn't show up, the hundreds of people in attendance got to share their stories and their concerns in community. The press covered it and the congressperson was outed for not being there. And what has followed is a series of them all over the district, two a month. Diana took the power into her own hands.
I did listen and kudos to her. I was just trying to point out how ridiculous Congress has become. I know that there was at least one "cardboard" town hall meeting in my district but I am not in any social media and didn't hear about it until after. I asked a friend to let me know if she sees people organizing another one. I feel a bit like an impostor but I don't have the time or skills to organize anything. I don't have time to even be on social media because it is so easy to fall in the rabbit hole.
Thank you Ralph. As long as Americans continue to reward these two corrupt parties by voting for their Red and Blue cabal the American People will have no voice and no change. They will continue to do whatever they want and answer to AIPAC. These Hyenas do not belong in government.
Question to Norman Solomon or anyone from wrap-up segment. Now that AOC is a leading Candidate for President, which I think is scary. My feeling David Hogg should run for Congress or Mayor as a starting point so we can have a better candidate in a few years?
Thank you
Ralph,
It's way past time for you to attend an emergency meeting with me as you continue to approach the problem with big money/the alleged Democratic Party as if it's business as usual clinging to the myth that we have two parties.
In major league baseball there are the American league and the National league. On paper they are two separate leagues but they are both under the control of MLB. So in practice and reality they are each one half of MLB.
The Dems and Repubs are two separate parties on paper but are both under the control of big money so in practice and reality they are each one half of the one big money party.
This is why 90% of the 2026 congressional elections are already decided in the gerrymandered districts making those districts one party districts no matter how you view the Dems and Repubs.
So let's organize the Dems in Repub districts, Repubs in Dem districts and independents in both to demand small donor candidates and enforce that demand with our votes in 2026 instead of continuing to prop up the big money two party myth.
No one that takes big money is a progressive or liberal or conservative. They are just putting on show for the rubes while they work together for the big money interests.
We need a grassroots effort to demand that politicians do not take big money.
spinbackwards,
Looking at your ten points, what is your proposed policy strategy for achieving those points? Specifically, how do you propose achieving points 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10?
The issue is that there is an existing party which contains many of the points in your list, the Green Party. The problem is that the Green Party generally doesn't explain, at least not in a successful way, how they hope to achieve those goals and, thus, relatively few people who might be aligned with their goals take them seriously as a viable option.
The good news is that there are potential policy paths which can be taken to achieve your goals. The bad news is that there are a lot of false narratives out there, especially on economic matters of central importance, and so there has to be many discussions on that front in order for people to see a realistic way that the problems you're hoping to address can be successfully addressed.
"I've asked plenty of people how they feel about these 10 points. So far it's unanimous agreement. Surely there's at least 5 million people in the United States who agree."
This is my exact point though. You'll have no problem finding 5 million people who agree with your 10 points, or at least most of them. Similarly, the Green Party's platform is full of positions which poll very strongly with progressives and even with the whole population in some cases. The problem is that even people sympathetic with the Green Party's platform have no reason to think that the Green Party has even the slightest clue on how to achieve their end goals. Thus, the Green Party is not worthy of being taken seriously.
Whether you're looking to start a party or a movement, the key is to be able to explain how meaningful reform can be achieved to accomplish the goals via policy. There is no shortage of people wanting peace and prosperity, but the problem is that people have differing definitions for these things and, even if there is consensus, the breakdown occurs when people do not see viable policy to achieve the goals.
Will town meetings like the one Diana Kastenbaum organized in upstate New York be able to counter the juggernaut of right-wing politics in the US? I’ve been involved in grassroots Democratic Party politics for decades and did not walk away until Bernie Sanders' primary run defeat in 2020. It may be too late. The movement of all three branches of the federal government under the dictatorial edicts of Donald Trump have overwhelmed those of goodwill to counter this insanity. That a genocide is being carried out in Gaza is hardly acknowledged in the US and among Israel’s allies. “Never again” is happening with the support of many, while many in the US, especially young people, have strong opinions, and have taken action to a limited extent on college and university campuses and on the streets where police repression and the repression of administrators at colleges and universities has been generally universal.
In terms of activism, besides continuing to write about and against these horrors, I’m going to protest against the Trump parade on June 14th.
What a fascinating and diverse program! Thank you!
The best town hall meeting is when someone yells something from the back of the room and know one completely hears or understands what he or she said.
Take the night our senior citizen Wanda yelled, " give them hell Buster'" , but Buster our new sheriff was not in the room nor anywhere to be found. And besides the meeting was about school lunches, what kids eat in my town is a big deal because sometimes it's the only meal some of our kids get. It's got to be more than just ' sloppy Joe's or sh__t on a shingle.
I saw an Elon Musk rocket go up the other day,, and it's cost could easily feed every day, every kid in America a great nutritional meal for a year.
Buster,, just showed up,, he said, " let's vote, come on folks, come on America we need great food for our kids every day right now ! '
" Give them hell Buster' '
Is that you Wanda?
Good luck America have a great day my friends.
https://open.substack.com/pub/peterbahouth/p/lets-get-visceral?r=1a90o4&utm_medium=ios
Ha, ha, ha, ha, so real, so alive!
Thanks for another excellent thought-provoking program.
I've not been listening to it on the internet as I cut my "Optimum" link, trying to limit internet to the local library though I have a very active ebay account. The internet is a net negative in many ways unless you are highly disciplined and serious in how you access it. For an active mind the internet is an ever present world of information, debate, entertainment and challenges.
SCOTUS intends that a government for the Bar, by the Bar, and of the Bar shall not perish from the face of the earth. Lawyers create conflicts to extort legal fees, and SCOTUS supports. US and Israel have, by far, the highest per capita ratio of lawyers in the world.
https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2010/04/07/ex-husband-convicted-of-hacking-into-e-mails/
My ex-wife, Lugene Kelley, lied to extort money, and Chester County Judge Thomas Gavin, who had a crush on her, allowed this tribunal that was illegal because PA had no geographic jurisdiction. Only a federal court in CT would have jurisdiction. But my she still resided in PA, and a Chester County lawyer thought I would settle over the phone, because I didn't live in PA but the false allegation would soil my reputation, which was important to me.
I refused, didn't hire the lawyer, so Chester County detective had to testify that I was studying the stored comments of the hard drive of Lugene's computer, which was in PA. Only that is not possible. She testified that she had to keep changing the password of her hotmail account, that it became an everyday thing. Technical evidence from Hotmail, not seen at the fake jury trial, proved that was false. Even if true, the emails are not stored in PA and I lived in CT during FEB 8-10 2009.
I am a co-owner of the account. I didn't "hack" into anything. If she didn't want me to have access, why did she insist I set-up the account, and why didn't she change all security info as I suggested when I divorced her?
I was looking for evidence against Chester County Judge Grover Koon who colluded with her to extort money from me. I did eventually get the evidence, but by then I had 31 accesses in 2 days.
Judge Gavin thought I would mention my motive, which my ex-wife knew, but I didn't. Therefore, during the illegal jury trial, nothing that PA had jurisdiction over and was on the indictment was ever mentioned. Judge Gavin wouldn't have jurisdiction even if I mentioned Judge Grover Koon, but Gavin would have faked it.
I have been repeatedly and illegally extradited to PA, and thrown in prison by Judge Gavin because he wants me to sign a faked plea bargain so he can't be sued.
Lugene doesn't even live in PA since 2016, and is now in FL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLPh1WhqVz8
But Judge Gavin is still trying to have me arrested and extradited without ever alleging anything that PA had jurisdiction over. The email accesses were legal and I have evidence against Judge Grover Koon, that for 15 years Gavin and other PA officials have obstructed justice to protect Judge Koon from being a defendant in a jury trial.
It sounds like you strongly believe that a miscarriage of justice has occurred in a legal matter that is troubling you. It sounds extremely frustrating and disturbing, especially since this has repeatedly interrupted your life and distressed you, apparently for over the last 15 years.
This kind of perpetual stress over so long can wreak havoc on your health and well-being. I think you will be best served by doing all you possibly can to extricate yourself and put this situation behind you. Imagine the simple peace of being free of all this and of being able to wholeheartedly enjoy your daily moments once again.
I tried for a few hours to understand your narrative, and I found that I had missed important things that made a difference. I believe it could serve you well to write out what happened from start to finish in temporal sequence with clarity and accuracy, and with proof of all you say to the extent possible. Crystal clear evidence of the wrongdoing you discovered is vital.
Next, I believe you need to connect to someone for help. It seems to me that you cannot do this alone. You've tried that for too long. It is now time to get someone with knowledge and competence and clout on your side.
I remember that Edward Snowden turned to investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald to help him as he revealed things that turned the world upside down. He could not go home again, but he could survive, and he could be with his family, and he could do what he knew to be right, and he could feel inwardly free to be himself and do work he loved.
Where can you get the help you need? You might be able to turn to public interest law. This may not be the final answer, but you might get leads this way. These people are passionate against corruption, and they are quite busy because of the extensive corruption occurring.
I believe you will need someone with the power and passion of lightening to strike down corruption. Some of the essential government personnel who were fired from our agencies, who are passionate about justice, and who know how corruption works in practice might be one place to search. You might also speak to the ACLU, which might be able to direct you to potential sources of support.
I believe someone needs to listen to you and go to bat for you, so you have power and are not kept on the defensive. You need to find them. Then, whatever happens, you can let go, and be done with it. You can start to live again.
Good luck. Keep safe.
Well known fact, not just belief.
SCOTUS justices Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Sotomayor know because they also obstructed justice.
They don't want judges to face civil suit.
They want judge to be free to commit egregious and depraved violations of civil rights with no recourse. Roberts recently messaged that the only recourse for disagreeing with a judge's opinion was appeal, not impeachment. False. Sotomayor recently claimed that judges are supposed to be fiercely independent. False. Judges are to serve in good behavior, which in the late 1700s was pious and 24/7.
As for media helping, over 50 media have been contacted over the years, and their lawyers block the information from reaching the public. Star Chamber policies.
If truly interested, please start with the following federal opinion online, then at the end compare with how Abrego Garcia is treated much better but not a citizen.
https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/mcpherron-v-new-york-891383162
The New York judge insisted on exhausting state remedies before federal relief.
Exhausting state remedies was to gut the 14th Amendment. Many innocent blacks died in southern prisons before state remedies were "exhausted." (ex parte Royall 1887).
Article III Section 2 Clause 3, ...such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed.
Article IV Section 2 Clause 2 requires extradition to the state with jurisdiction.
The only state with jurisdiction was Connecticut, but McPherron was innocent.
BACKGROUND for NY FEDERAL COURT OPINION
While teaching at UCONN, during FEB 8-10 2009, McPherron legally accessed an email account that he set-up for his ex-wife. She had colluded with Chester County Judge Grover Koon on OCT 29 2007 to extort money from McPherron for her to get out of her pending federal bankruptcy. The scheme failed and she confessed, but nothing happened to Koon.
https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2010/04/07/ex-husband-convicted-of-hacking-into-e-mails/
On APR 6 2010, senior member of a powerful secret society and a judge in Chester County Thomas Gavin held an illegal tribunal in defiance of Article 15 of the PA Declaration of Rights.
The reporter admits McPherron set-up the account, which renders his actions legal. Gavin, asst DA Krilivsky, and Public Defender Nellie Bey hid this from the jury, and refused to tell the jury that McPherron didn't reside in PA when the incident happened, because of the aforementioned clauses in the US Constitution.
To fake geographic jurisdiction, many lies were told about Dr. McPherron, which were proven false and some were not even technically feasible, like Chester County Sheriff claiming McPherron was studying the hard drive of the computer located in PA. McPherron was teaching at UCONN FEB 8-10 2009. McPherron set-up the email account, which is correctly reported in the link. He didn't "weep on the stand." Lugene Kelley only had to change the password twice, and only during FEB 8-10 2009. McPherron finally got the evidence that he needed against Chester County Judge Grover Koon shortly after 1900 EST FEB 10 2009.
Latter half of 2010: McPherron sued Gavin and other officials for $10 million, with Federal District Judge C. Darnell Jones II presiding. However, to protect corrupt officials from civil suit, SCOTUS ruled in 1994 (Heck v Humphrey) that a conviction must be impaired, basically imposing judicial whim to obstruct the will of the public. Normally, lack of geographic jurisdiction is an automatic defect, but not this time. So Judge Jones II could not proceed to civil rights jury trial.
Meanwhile, Judge Gavin used his secret society connections to have McPherron's 14th Amendment federal appeal assigned to Judge Curtis Joyner, a weak-minded judge who was from the Chester County Bar. Joyner ignored many motions to recuse for obvious bias.
Also, Gavin tried to get McPherron into PA where he would be thrown in prison until accepting a plea bargain over some fake charge that would nullify any civil rights suit. That was standard operating procedure in PA, but this time PA had overreached by ignoring every aspect of US Constitutional law.
3 years after the fake 2010 Chester County Trial
McPherron was in Pinellas County FL in March 2013. Pam Bondi was the FL Attorney General. Tim Scott, a Navy vet like Dr. McPherron, was Governor. To extradite McPherron in defiance of the constitution would require a corrupt governor, but Scott was not. McPherron was unreasonably searched and seized, the Gavin struck an agreement or compact with Pinellas County Judge Lay, and the Chester County Sheriff did the same with Pinellas County Sheriff Gulati. This violates Article I Section 10 Clause 3.
McPherron was told by the jail official he was to be released, so he could go back to his apartment in St Pete Beach. However, at midnight McPherron was taken out and put into a prisoner transport service that was so abusive that can be called "La Amistad on Wheels." Back in May 2010, even though states have no jurisdiction over federal laws and rights, Gavin required McPherron to sign away his right to challenge extradition or he was not going to be free. This agreement is illegal, it is coerced, and easily dismissed in a court of law. But the people running the transport service ignored the law and claimed they didn't need a federal judge or Governor to okay their extradition.
An incompetent court-appointed attorney was put on the case (Chester County proudly operates a Star Chamber, insisting only Britain declared it illegal in the 1640s). This attorney refused to do anything but less than the bare minimum because he wasn't being paid the hourly rate he wanted. He told McPherron that Judge Gavin had to release him in 90 days, expect to include time served in FL jail. so McPherron would be leaving for FL soon. Instead, Gavin left McPherron in prison for 3 years until Judge Jones II dismissed the suit (well before the three years), and waited for the fake plea bargain. But McPherron refused to sign a faked plea bargain or waive his right to challenge extradition. All that time Judge Joyner refused to recuse, and claimed everything McPherron sent to court was unintelligible or incomprehensible. McPherron wanted Joyner to return to school until
Joyner realized that everything PhDs say or do is incomprehensible and unintelligible to an affirmative action hire.
3 years in prison without a jury convicting McPherron of anything that PA had jurisdiction over
In March 2016, McPherron intended to leave to declare asylum, but Gavin convinced the US State Department to deny his passport, else McPherron could not be threatened with prison in order to get a fake plea bargain. Gavin wasn't just worried about the civil rights suit by then, the 3 year in prison would get Gavin disbarred and he would be a defendant in a federal criminal court.
CANADA - US BORDER
July 2016, Dr. McPherron was unreasonably searched and seized a couple of minutes walk from the Canadian border by US Border Patrol. They found 10 large manila envelopes of asylum paperwork. US Border Patrol prevented McPherron from his right to apply for asylum, turning him over to Clinton County Sheriff and corrupt local Judge Ryan, who was not pleased that McPherron had sued Judge Thomas Gavin and other officials for that absence of personal jurisdiction under Stump v Sparkman 1978.
NY FEDERAL JUDGE's OPINION (link at the beginning of this comment)
McPherron applied for federal relief because the "full faith and credit" clause didn't apply when the jurisdictional defect was automatic.
Still, the district court judge misstates the "full faith and credit" clause.
McPherron knew that in 2013 that when he was deported to PA, the FL district court judge declared the case moot and that McPherron could not be ordered back for due process.
The NY federal judge writes poorly, but he is trying to convey that McPherron claimed he would not be allowed to exhaust state remedies before being illegally extradited to PA, and that the court would then declare the case moot. In other words, there was no substance to the procedures of exhausting state remedies, just a red herring to allow Nazi-like abuse of people illegally in custody.
The federal judge disagreed, yet that was precisely what occurred.
Even though the judge obviously lied, and knew that he was lying when he wrote the opinion linked at the beginning of this comment, the judge then said he could not order McPherron back to Clinton County NY for due process, even thought Article III Section 2 Clause 2 and Article IV, Section 2 Clause 2 of the US Constitution would require that McPherron could only be extradited to Connecticut. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the federal district court judge.
So why can Abrego Garcia be ordered back by 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals?
Because Garcia has lawyers, and the more bite to their bark, the more billable hours and the higher the hourly rate.
So McPherron, a PhD in Macroeconomics, insisted to SCOTUS that they enforced a financially-motivated Star Chamber.
SCOTUS responded by blocking his right 1st Amendment to peacefully petition for redress of grievances against the government as pro se and in forma pauperis. Actually, they blocked his right altogether, insisting McPherron must have an attorney at all times, trying to vitiate Faretta v California (1975).
However, both Microsoft Corp v US (2016) and Van Buren v US (2021) are based solely on the expert legal theory McPherron provided to them years earlier, although the cases credit others.
About 4 years ago, McPherron that social equity measures substantive due process, so that constitutional due process can be put on software and AI will make it user friendly.
SCOTUS has lost almost all discretion, and many of their opinions will be vitiated as frivolous.
I stopped to read your link. Wow! The image of the earth and its blue waters connected to an opened water faucet that is draining away our pure, clear, drinkable water containing no lead gets right to the point. That water may be appropriated for those who can afford to go to Mars with Elon Musk . . . Yikes! Truly chilling. Water is life.
I seem to remember that episode of Ralph's. That was a passionate person speaking about the need to protect our water as part of the commons. Ralph himself sounded tremendously impressed. The ownership of the resources of our planet by all the peoples of the earth is one of Ralph's great reminders that has been nearly totally eclipsed. When I first heard about it from Ralph, which must have been decades ago. I had never heard the idea of a commons. Ideas seem to have a sense of crazy impossibility to them until they become a natual part of the language. I really could not get it. I was too steeped in the idea of private property. What we cannot conceive, we cannot create. We need to open our imagination in order to survive.
The idea that social media is the opposite of activism is startling. I did not want my personal information to be appropriated, so I kept clear of it. I did not consider RNRH or a few other places with limited participation and fascinating content to be social media, although I could be wrong. I think the main difficulty is the insidiousness of the theft and sale of our personal information and of corporate algorithms that create jittery zombies of us. Surveilance, too, is a serious problem, and I think serious technology is needed to stay clear of it.
It turns out that I am interested in the political considerations I have discovered on YouTube, which I did not realize was social media. To my surprise, it seems that I got into social media after all. Commenting on YouTube can be satisfying, since it seems pressing now to express the importance of resisting authoritarianism. However, it has been dawning on me that this may equate to the entertaining distraction of the Roman circus in another age.
Perhaps intentionally, social media can be a compelling distraction from difficult, effortful activism that could create the real changes we need, such as assuring clean drinking water to our people, without which we cannot survive, or creating a deeply buried, frozen repository of our organic non-GMO seed stock to assure the means to restore our healthy agriculture, or supporting our Constitutional rights of due process, because freedom also really matters.
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
Excerpt from William Wordsworth
You are right about the basic idea of a citizens group telling Dems if they don't do what we want they won't win elections (because they won't get our votes).
But nothing on your list will happen until the problem that you want to solve with publicly funded elections is solved. And publicly funded elections cannot solve that problem.
As you point out legislators make the laws. As long as the politicians take big money they will not pass the legislation to publicly fund elections no matter what they promise while campaigning. In order to pass that legislation the big money legislators must first be replaced by small donor legislators.
The problem has to be solved before the legislation to solve the problem can be passed.
The citizen's group we need to solve that problem needs only one demand- the politicians (Dems, Repubs, third party or independent) do not take big money and if they do they will not get our votes.
Your list enables the politicians to promise future action that they will never deliver while continuing to take big money feeding the problem. Citizens demanding that politicians do not take big money forces the politicians to take action now in order to earn our votes.
The chicken and egg thing is not a thing. When it comes to which came first the chicken or the egg it has to be the chicken because eggs don't come.
You seem to have missed my point that publicly funded elections cannot solve the problem. The big money legislators will not pass the legislation.The big money legislators must first be replaced by small donor legislators before the legislation can be passed.
The problem has to be solved before the legislation to solve the problem can be passed.
As for why stop with one demand that politicians do not take big money and if they do they will not get our votes is that 80% of citizens want the big money out of politics including a majority of Republican voters.
This way citizens that agree on this one issue can work together on this issue they agree on even if they disagree on other issues. These citizens can work together to influence the Dems, Repubs, third party and independent politicians.
What I am proposing is that citizens declare they will not vote for candidates that take big money in 2026 by registering their intent on the One Demand website once it is updated for 2026. They can also pledge to contribute to small donor candidates.
This let's the politicians and other citizens know their intention before the election and verifies the reason the votes were cast as write in votes after the election.
The reason participants will cast a write in vote is if there are no small donor candidates on their ballot they cast a write in vote to register a vote against the big money candidates on the ballot and to create and demonstrate demand for small donor candidates in the next election.
Just 10% of voters participating in 2026 (instead of voting for Dems in Repub districts, Repubs in Dem districts or not voting) would inspire more citizens to participate in 2028 and inspire some politicians to run small donor campaigns in 2028. This would inspire more citizens and politicians to participate in 2030.
Real progress in 4-6 years because it does not require legislation as opposed to waiting another fifty years for the big money politicians to pass legislation they are paid to not pass which is why they haven't done in the last fifty years.
For those of us who have a reluctant but passionate sense of needing to do "something" for which we feel totally inadequate, it is surprising how much difference it makes to hear your honest perspective about the very real challenges involved.
Interestingly, accepting what is actually true about the real challenges and difficulties of "doing something," rather than feeling discouraging, actually instead feels empowering. I can now see a different possibility.
I thought I needed to know what I was doing and to already be good at doing it, and to do it passionately with all my time and all my heart, none of which is true of me in the least. I may feel passionate about the importance of making change, but I'm just a tired old person with no experience and no time around the edges who wishes I could change the many ways our country falls short of what We the People truly need.
But what if I don't need to know what I'm doing, and what if I don't need to already be good at it, and what if I don't need to do it passionately with all my time and all my heart? What if whatever I am able to do at any moment, however tiny it may be, is exactly what I need to do.
Hmmm.