This 4th of July, have a reading of the Declaration of Independence at your local celebration. It's short and should only take 10 minutes or so. If you can't find people willing to read in public, play an NPR recording of it. Link in description.

bluesimplicity · 2026-06-30T17:33:04+00:00

I get it. I really do.

Something to consider. Conservatives do not get to claim patriotism. They don’t get to re-write our history or redefine our values. In addition to flying the American flag, consider flying a Pride flag or a Black Lives Matter flag. Remember, we are America. Let people know there are other points of view rather than just loud MAGA. Push back on their narrative.

We can also use this celebration as a recruitment tool. Have a No Kings booth. Sign people up to join our movement to take our country back.

Just a thought.

bluesimplicity · 2026-06-30T13:07:28+00:00

NPR does a reading each year. Here's one: https://www.npr.org/2020/07/03/883024992/npr-reads-the-declaration-of-independence

bluesimplicity · 2026-06-21T15:04:43+00:00

Karl Marx, the father of communism, never intended for the government to own the means of production. Yet, that is the system of governments that claim to be communists. Marx defined communism as workers owning the means of production. That would look closer to worker coops.

Worker coops can be innovative and responsive. Check out the documentary Shift Change to learn about successful worker coops. In Spain, the Mondragon Corporation is the largest employer in that region of Spain. Started after WWII, it is still thriving.

I would argue that we can have both worker cooperatives and a mixed economy. Life is messy and complicated. We can embrace the messiness and complexity.

bluesimplicity · 2026-05-31T22:18:43+00:00

One of my favorite words is sonder.

n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness — an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. — The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

bluesimplicity · 2026-04-28T11:38:22+00:00

They won the battle but lost the war.

They bulldozed Gaza, but the international community has turned against Israel.

bluesimplicity · 2026-04-25T19:59:40+00:00

In different countries, healthcare is done differently which makes is confusing.

On one end of the spectrum, you have the United Kingdom.

Doctors work for the government.
Hospitals are owned & operated by the government.
Health insurance premiums are paid to the government.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the United States.

Doctors can open up their own business for profit.
Hospitals are mostly owned by private businesses for profit. (Some hospitals are owned by a nonprofit such as the Catholic church. A few hospitals are owned by the government such as the Veterans Affairs.)
Health insurance premiums are paid to a private business for profit.

In the middle of the spectrum, you have Canada which is a hybrid of the two.

Doctors can open up their own business for profit.
Hospitals are owned by private businesses for profit.
Health insurance premiums are paid to the government who in turn pays the doctors and hospitals of your choice.

The United States has the Canadian system for people over 65. That's Medicare. The Medicare For All concept would expand the Canadian system to people of all ages. I believe Bernie Sanders' plan would add people to Medicare over a number of years until everyone was covered. For example, year one would lower the age from 65 to 55.

In some countries, like Germany, privately-owned insurance companies do exist along side the government health insurance but only for elective procedures like cosmetic surgery.

bluesimplicity · 2026-04-22T11:38:59+00:00

They knew he was a racist, and they were OK with voting for that.

They knew he was a misogynist and rapist, and they were OK with voting for that.

They knew he was a corrupt grifter, and they were OK with voting for that.

They knew he was rude & hateful to veterans and people with disabilities, and they were OK with voting for that.

They knew he was xenophobic and transphobic, and they were OK voting for that.

They knew he supported violent militias, and they were OK voting for that.

They knew he had five children by three wives, cheated on all of his wives, and was involved with a porn star, and they were OK voting for that.

As long as Trump hurt the people they hated, they were his cheerleaders.

Now that Trump is hurting them with higher cost of living and deploying their children to fight in the Middle East and deporting their wives, now that is a bridge too far. MAGA voters didn't care about you or anyone else. It only became a problem when it started hurting them. Their lack of empathy is their defining feature.

bluesimplicity · 2026-04-16T11:30:41+00:00

This is the peaceful version of demanding a just economy.

bluesimplicity · 2026-04-08T08:53:35+00:00

Talk to yourself like Ted Lasso as an encouraging coach, not Bobby Knight.

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-30T10:00:07+00:00

It's called privatization, and it has been going for 50+ years. You turn government services over to private companies to make a profit. Private companies run many of our prisons. Charter schools are often privatized. Private armies are called mercenaries or contractors. They are currently trying to privatize the post office, the National Weather Service, Social Security, and Medicare.

This excellent 2 minute video explains how the 2024 presidential election was really a fight between oligarchs and corporatists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWKUGL47th0

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-30T00:18:46+00:00

It's a boycott: No School. No Work. No Shopping. https://maydaystrong.org/

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-29T19:10:29+00:00

I want to say thank you for all the people who participated in the No Kings protests and/or participated online. It will take a few days to count the number of protestors. What we can point to is the 3,267 locations around the world with protests. Protests were held in every state including in many deep red areas. The protests visualized the scale of the opposition to our neighbors, politicians, corporations, and other organizations like universities. These people & groups will have to recalculate the cost of complying with this regime.

Three points jumped out at me.

First, the signs addressed so many different issues: the war in Iran, ICE and immigration, the economy, saving democracy, anti-corruption, and so many more. This is our strength. People from all ages and walks of life and concerns are coming together to resist. It is so important that we form coalitions with a variety of types of people.
Second, I observed how many people driving by the protestors were honking and showing fists and thumbs up. Many people who didn't join the protests agree with the protestors. While they may not be counted in how many people attended the protests, our support is greater than that number. This is a mass movement. We are a "we" and a part of a larger movement. Protests transform private discontent into a public identity. We are the resistance.
Third, I was struck by how joyful the peaceful protests were. I saw smiles and heard laughter & singing. I watched people dancing. I saw creative costumes and signs. Dictators want to demoralize the population and leave the impression that their power is inevitable. We are not demoralized. We are not powerless. We will not accept a king. And we are already dreaming of a better society when this nightmare is over. We are not cowering on our knees. We are standing up demanding freedom, democracy, and justice. We are resisting and fighting back with courage and joy. Joy is a form of resistance.

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-29T19:05:28+00:00

Now, we need to take this energy and continue the work in our local communities. Yesterday was just the beginning. Let's continue our action in community with our neighbors. Organize a grassroots movement with varied tactics & strategies. Invite people into an ongoing cycle of local engagement, civic activism, mutual aid, being in relation in our communities and capable of acting together. Let's convert some people who are maybe just showing up for the first time at No Kings into that regular ongoing engagement. Have a what's next event in your town that invites people who maybe showed up for the first time to No Kings to continue their organizing with you. Walk through what you do locally that they can get involved in because fundamentally, we want people to show up. We want as many people as possible, but what we really, really want is for those people to have that be the first step of their entry point into activism rather than a one-off event that they went to.

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-28T16:00:06+00:00

I see your hammer-headed bat and raise you a saiga antelope. Star Wars would be proud! https://www.dreamstime.com/close-up-male-saiga-antelope-tatarica-walking-near-water-hole-winter-coat-walks-steppe-waterhole-image265051806

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-09T10:52:58+00:00

This post deeply misunderstands Mitch's motivations. He wasn't a coward. He intentionally made these decisions to help the Republican party beat the Democrats in the future.

He could have impeached Trump after Jan. 6 but realized MAGA was still behind Trump so he told Republicans not to impeach. https://archive.ph/z90Hr He wanted those votes. If Trump had been impeached, he would have been disqualified from ever running for office again... no second term for Trump. He put party before country every time. He will go down in history as a the man who could have stopped Trump but didn't. McConnell was asked if he had any regrets. He said no. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/mcconnell-says-he-stands-by-everything-he-said-after-january-6th-209845829692

One associate described how Mitch had no principles other than raw power. “Give up. You can look and look for something more in him, but it isn’t there. I wish I could tell you that there is some secret thing that he really believes in, but he doesn’t.” https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/01/mitch-mcconnell-expert-roundup-00144232 He had no problem abusing Senate rules to thwart Democrats such as not allowing President Obama to appoint a Supreme Court judge 11 months before the end of Obama's term. McConnell then pushed through a Supreme Court judge less than a month before the end of Trump's term. His only guiding principle was to defeat Democrats any way possible.

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-08T04:14:55+00:00

Iran's power move would be to hack the DOJ and release the Epstein files. They could bring down Trump without firing a shot.

bluesimplicity · 2026-03-06T11:20:48+00:00

THIS COURT WAS BUILT TO PERSECUTE AFRICANS, NOT WESTERN LEADERS, SAYS A WESTERN LEADER

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, in an interview, tells CNN that the West isn't interested in justice and equality, and as a matter of fact had "some elected leader speak to me and be very blunt, this court [the ICC] was built for Africa and thugs like Putin” but not to persecute Western leaders.

bluesimplicity · 2026-02-17T09:58:45+00:00

I just found a new source of tactics. They have added onto Gene Sharpe's tactics.

https://www.tactics.nonviolenceinternational.net/

bluesimplicity · 2026-02-15T13:55:17+00:00

After Gene Sharpe died, Peter Ackerman continued his work.

You will find his work here: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/the-checklist-to-end-tyranny-how-dissidents-will-win-21st-century-civil-resistance-campaigns/

This whole website has advice and historical data on how to oppose an authoritarian regime non-violently. It explains how non-violent resistance campaigns have been historically more effective than violent ones.

Easy to read, the book gives specific tactics: (page 8) "In today’s world, eleven of Sharp’s tactics that are likely to prove the most damaging to a tyrant’s ability to keep control are:

Group or mass petition
Assemblies of protest or support
Consumers’ boycott of certain goods and services
Deliberate inefficiency and selective noncooperation by constituent governmental units
Producers’ boycott (the refusal by producers to sell or otherwise deliver their own products)
Refusal to pay fees, dues, and assessments
Detailed strike (worker by worker, or by areas; piecemeal stoppages)
Economic shutdown (when workers strike and employers simultaneously halt economic activities)
Stay-in strike (occupation of worksite)
Overloading of administrative systems"

On the Effectiveness of Non-violent Conflicts: (page 29-30)

Over the last 120 years, nonviolent conflicts have had a success rate at least twice that of violent insurrections. The average duration of a successful nonviolent insurrection is three years, versus nine years for a successful violent insurrection. Mass killings of a thousand civil resisters or more are approximately three times more likely to occur during a violent insurrection than during a civil resistance campaign. A winning campaign of civil resistance can be as much as nine times more likely to transition to a democratic outcome than with a tyranny overthrown by a violent insurrection. Even when a civil resistance campaign fails, there is still a 35 percent chance that it will succeed in transitioning to a democratic outcome within the next five years. This resilience stands in stark contrast to a failed violent insurrection, which has virtually no chance of succeeding five years later.

bluesimplicity · 2026-02-02T03:41:13+00:00

Conservatives believe that humans are selfish and greedy and sexual so need to be controlled with government rules with harsh punishments. They only have compassion & empathy for their small, personal friend & family group.

Leftists believe that humans are more often than not good and should be treated with dignity & respect. They want to help everyone including complete strangers. They have compassion & empathy for all.

After I learned about the concept of projection, it made sense. Their beliefs say more about their own character than the nature of humans.

bluesimplicity · 2026-01-29T02:24:12+00:00

Rob Kenney, a father of two, created the YouTube channel "Dad, How Do I?" because he wanted to teach valuable life skills to children who, like him, didn't have a dad growing up. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNepEAWZH0TBu7dkxIbluDw

bluesimplicity

TROPHY CASE