I'm a retired old white guy organizing with Indivisible in SW Virginia and reading "The Persuaders." How do people like me, that want to 100% fight for real democracy, equal justice and equal opportunity for everyone, start building community with and learning from minority group (better term?) organizers?
Awesome you want to get involved! Just some thoughts: Perhaps a place to start is to volunteer, ask the organizations you’re interested in, what they need, what would help. It’s also important for us white people to educate ourselves, to search out our full history—the one that’s ignored in school. Anyway, good luck. I’m sure you’ll find your way!
I've been organizing against war, climate change and political corruption since 2004 but organizing within the white middle class - my class - with very little traction since Occupy Wall Street died... until now. Now that the white middle class is waking up, because now the pain minorities have felt for centuries is now hitting home, I'm looking for advice on how I respectfully cross the bridge to build community with those who have good reason to distrust me?
I would like to hear a lot more about what contract the US has with El Salvador to imprison people in CECOT. This should be mentioned every time the Trump administration pretends they have no ability to bring Abrego Garcia back.
Has there been any release of a legally binding agreement between the US and El Salvador to help people from the US in prison illuminating the terms and conditions. According to ChatGPT, there has been no document disclosed. The sniff test on this leads me to think this is illegal.
Some of the comments above ask about the future. It’s not just what we don’t want but, as these comments suggest, what we do want. Once we are hopefully able to sustain the body politic off life support, how do we build democracy forward? What are our principles and the vision these create in modern America? I mean, not just “equality for all” but include true definitions of what, for example, DEIA and universal healthcare really mean…
#1: I remember when women couldn't get credit cards: my mom had to start with doing layaway to build credit. I didn't get my first one until I was 27 and it was a dept store card; it didn't come in the mail automatically-that shifted in the 90s.
#2 PLEASE 👏🏾: GET CHEF JOSE ANDRES TO TALK WITH YOU- and TY for the talk w Sara Nelson, so uplifting and informative! You're doing a GREAT JOB ANAND!!💞
Why aren’t we hearing, “WE ARE THE PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE NOT FOR BILLIONAIRES!” loud and clear on every media platform, everyday, everywhere by every elected Democrat in congress, in state legislatures, in county/city councils?
Can you talk about pros and cons of capitalism, how both parties have supported it, and this may be the time we, as Americans can come together and tamp down the robber barons of 2025. Seems greed will always find a way if left unrestrained which is why checks and balances, law and order, our Constitution etc are so important. Our true fight isn't against Trump, it's against the capitalist who want to be cowboys and could care less about the death and misery in their wake. I hope Americans can rally around this one goal-we the people, not the robber barons. Trump is their Trojan horse who broke through so these billionaires could unleash Project 2025 and consolidate power and money.
Hi Anand! Thank you for bringing so many issues and reformative ideas into the light !
I would like more and urgent attention brought to AI. Here are my thoughts: I believe we need to address with urgency, the monolithic AI Farms that require vast amount of energy and spew out deadly toxins and drain enormous amounts water to cool the tech systems. Justin Pearson is fighting just one of these x-AI Farms in Tennessee where Musk lied about the building use and did not get permits for the turbines that spew formaldehyde and poison people in the community.
We, the people and communities have welcomed in tech without understanding or even being aware that we MUST question the consequences of each specific technology. Accepting tech was similar to peer pressure in some ways; we wanted to embrace the new leading edge and certainly not be left behind. While it is meaningful to be connected to the world, we have not till late, recognized the damage algorithms have caused to individuals and societies. Under the cover of "free social media" algorithms stealthily redirect society. Our privacy and personal information is being stolen and sold. Big tech and the conglomerates now own and track our private citizen information. Even if unplugged from social media, personal information has been stolen and is tracked.
We the people need to control AI. AI is being used to market (sell!) the information of individual citizens for the profit of Big Tech and conglomerates.
AI could be valuable on a smaller scale rather than the monolithic sized AI farms. It could help solve our climate crisis, initiate medical discoveries, institute regenerative farming methods, and ways to make the world a better place - help us solve and prevent war, feed people, create equity!
The video is acting different...a timer is showing when the video will start, on top of the actual video in progress. No comments or hearts showing. But can see you and hear you
We all have similar fears and grave concerns…as the world we know keeps moving toward a precipice with the drop-off is almost in sight. As a group within Ink I wonder how many we are and is their any viable way we can organize? Or is our existence already a public voice?
What, if anything, gives you the most hope that we will rein in this horrible illiberal trend and restore and perfect our democracy? Obviously even if we were to vanquish MAGA and its enablers we would have far from a perfect system. Any chance, given our history and culture, of attaining more equality, universal healthcare, an enlightened policy toward the environment, social justice, etc.? (Little things like those 😀.) Thank you!!
Is it legal for a member of one polotical party to change his or her party while in office, after being elected as a member of one particular one? As in, officially change from being listed as a Republican to be listed as a Democrat? How would they do it? Who needs to be notified?
I see some polls are saying that Trump's immigration policies are losing favor. Where are the leaders who represent these constituents? And is there a plan to provoke and enable a revolt that also comes from the representatives? Because demonstrations alone can be too quickly and easily ignored by those holding the power? Where are the leaders who will insist when something is unconstitutional?
I highly recommend that you all see the film "I'm Still Here." It brings home where this all could lead. It is terrifying.
I would love a response regarding your thoughts on Congress and leaders who can make a real, concrete difference. Thank you
1) If we want to start a fully encompassing movement in which "people power", businesses, institutions, elected officials, unions, non-profits, and more, stand together in firm resistance, how would we do that? That would require an "aggregator" of actions, dates, locations, etc. Right now, this is a hot mess with too many siloed places to find this information. Where will this emerge from?
2) Who is writing the playbook for how to restore democracy, close loopholes, bolster laws, etc., when sanity returns? If we don't have smart, experienced people working on this behind the scenes NOW, how will the keystone cops (aka, Democrats) hit the ground running on this "job one" mission on day one?
3) How do we keep the pressure on Musk, Inc. even after he leaves DOGE? Tesla Takedowns should morph into takedowns of the highly federally funded Space X. As well as X. Get a load of this from local news: "The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election." Defund Space X, defuse X.
4) How could the, "yes presidents are Kings" Supreme Court ruling be reversed?
I'm a retired old white guy organizing with Indivisible in SW Virginia and reading "The Persuaders." How do people like me, that want to 100% fight for real democracy, equal justice and equal opportunity for everyone, start building community with and learning from minority group (better term?) organizers?
Awesome you want to get involved! Just some thoughts: Perhaps a place to start is to volunteer, ask the organizations you’re interested in, what they need, what would help. It’s also important for us white people to educate ourselves, to search out our full history—the one that’s ignored in school. Anyway, good luck. I’m sure you’ll find your way!
I've been organizing against war, climate change and political corruption since 2004 but organizing within the white middle class - my class - with very little traction since Occupy Wall Street died... until now. Now that the white middle class is waking up, because now the pain minorities have felt for centuries is now hitting home, I'm looking for advice on how I respectfully cross the bridge to build community with those who have good reason to distrust me?
I would like to hear a lot more about what contract the US has with El Salvador to imprison people in CECOT. This should be mentioned every time the Trump administration pretends they have no ability to bring Abrego Garcia back.
Has there been any release of a legally binding agreement between the US and El Salvador to help people from the US in prison illuminating the terms and conditions. According to ChatGPT, there has been no document disclosed. The sniff test on this leads me to think this is illegal.
Some of the comments above ask about the future. It’s not just what we don’t want but, as these comments suggest, what we do want. Once we are hopefully able to sustain the body politic off life support, how do we build democracy forward? What are our principles and the vision these create in modern America? I mean, not just “equality for all” but include true definitions of what, for example, DEIA and universal healthcare really mean…
#1: I remember when women couldn't get credit cards: my mom had to start with doing layaway to build credit. I didn't get my first one until I was 27 and it was a dept store card; it didn't come in the mail automatically-that shifted in the 90s.
#2 PLEASE 👏🏾: GET CHEF JOSE ANDRES TO TALK WITH YOU- and TY for the talk w Sara Nelson, so uplifting and informative! You're doing a GREAT JOB ANAND!!💞
Why aren’t we hearing, “WE ARE THE PARTY FOR THE PEOPLE NOT FOR BILLIONAIRES!” loud and clear on every media platform, everyday, everywhere by every elected Democrat in congress, in state legislatures, in county/city councils?
Where are the concentration centers located in the U.S. and the list of names of ICE agents and their GS levels?
Can you talk about pros and cons of capitalism, how both parties have supported it, and this may be the time we, as Americans can come together and tamp down the robber barons of 2025. Seems greed will always find a way if left unrestrained which is why checks and balances, law and order, our Constitution etc are so important. Our true fight isn't against Trump, it's against the capitalist who want to be cowboys and could care less about the death and misery in their wake. I hope Americans can rally around this one goal-we the people, not the robber barons. Trump is their Trojan horse who broke through so these billionaires could unleash Project 2025 and consolidate power and money.
Anands' book Winners Take All is very informative of the way the US uses capitalism.
Thank you! I’ll read it :)
Becca, you should listen to Richard D Wolff's lectures on the Economy. His posts are called Democracy at Work.
Hi Anand! Thank you for bringing so many issues and reformative ideas into the light !
I would like more and urgent attention brought to AI. Here are my thoughts: I believe we need to address with urgency, the monolithic AI Farms that require vast amount of energy and spew out deadly toxins and drain enormous amounts water to cool the tech systems. Justin Pearson is fighting just one of these x-AI Farms in Tennessee where Musk lied about the building use and did not get permits for the turbines that spew formaldehyde and poison people in the community.
We, the people and communities have welcomed in tech without understanding or even being aware that we MUST question the consequences of each specific technology. Accepting tech was similar to peer pressure in some ways; we wanted to embrace the new leading edge and certainly not be left behind. While it is meaningful to be connected to the world, we have not till late, recognized the damage algorithms have caused to individuals and societies. Under the cover of "free social media" algorithms stealthily redirect society. Our privacy and personal information is being stolen and sold. Big tech and the conglomerates now own and track our private citizen information. Even if unplugged from social media, personal information has been stolen and is tracked.
We the people need to control AI. AI is being used to market (sell!) the information of individual citizens for the profit of Big Tech and conglomerates.
AI could be valuable on a smaller scale rather than the monolithic sized AI farms. It could help solve our climate crisis, initiate medical discoveries, institute regenerative farming methods, and ways to make the world a better place - help us solve and prevent war, feed people, create equity!
Invite on to your show, one of the most visionary writers on the planet----editor of Catalyst and NYU professor, VIVEK CHIBBER!
Rodolfo D. Torres, Emeritus Research Professor , UC Irvine
How about arresting a County judge? For asking ICE agents in her courtroom to speak to the presiding judge?
The video is acting different...a timer is showing when the video will start, on top of the actual video in progress. No comments or hearts showing. But can see you and hear you
We all have similar fears and grave concerns…as the world we know keeps moving toward a precipice with the drop-off is almost in sight. As a group within Ink I wonder how many we are and is their any viable way we can organize? Or is our existence already a public voice?
What, if anything, gives you the most hope that we will rein in this horrible illiberal trend and restore and perfect our democracy? Obviously even if we were to vanquish MAGA and its enablers we would have far from a perfect system. Any chance, given our history and culture, of attaining more equality, universal healthcare, an enlightened policy toward the environment, social justice, etc.? (Little things like those 😀.) Thank you!!
Is it legal for a member of one polotical party to change his or her party while in office, after being elected as a member of one particular one? As in, officially change from being listed as a Republican to be listed as a Democrat? How would they do it? Who needs to be notified?
I see some polls are saying that Trump's immigration policies are losing favor. Where are the leaders who represent these constituents? And is there a plan to provoke and enable a revolt that also comes from the representatives? Because demonstrations alone can be too quickly and easily ignored by those holding the power? Where are the leaders who will insist when something is unconstitutional?
I highly recommend that you all see the film "I'm Still Here." It brings home where this all could lead. It is terrifying.
I would love a response regarding your thoughts on Congress and leaders who can make a real, concrete difference. Thank you
1) If we want to start a fully encompassing movement in which "people power", businesses, institutions, elected officials, unions, non-profits, and more, stand together in firm resistance, how would we do that? That would require an "aggregator" of actions, dates, locations, etc. Right now, this is a hot mess with too many siloed places to find this information. Where will this emerge from?
2) Who is writing the playbook for how to restore democracy, close loopholes, bolster laws, etc., when sanity returns? If we don't have smart, experienced people working on this behind the scenes NOW, how will the keystone cops (aka, Democrats) hit the ground running on this "job one" mission on day one?
3) How do we keep the pressure on Musk, Inc. even after he leaves DOGE? Tesla Takedowns should morph into takedowns of the highly federally funded Space X. As well as X. Get a load of this from local news: "The social media platform X, run by Elon Musk, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law barring the use of deepfakes to influence an election." Defund Space X, defuse X.
4) How could the, "yes presidents are Kings" Supreme Court ruling be reversed?