Darkness Can Move Faster Than Light Without Breaking the Laws of Physics ZME Science
Climate/Environment
To get a bit more signal and a bit less noise, here are the global sea-surface temperatures, averaged by decade since the decade 1980-1989.
What do you think the 2030s will look like? The 2040s? pic.twitter.com/S5cHu4wyHt
— Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) May 4, 2026
Dr Freezelove LRB
Climate-driven depopulation and adaptation realities in America’s coastal ground zero Nature
Earth in 2050: A stark vision of environmental decline Climate & Capitalism
Emergency brakes: How to limit temperatures long before the last resort of geoengineering Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Pandemics
🛳️CRUISE SHIP OUTBREAK REPORT RELEASED—New crazy timeline data on cruise ship passengers who got sick and died of hantavirus (and 3 more sickened, including 1 critical). According to latest WHO report, index patient died within 5 days of symptoms. Crazier is that close contact #2… pic.twitter.com/ztCo8o8wEi
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 5, 2026
China?
China’s Slowdown and the Myth of the Middle-Income Trap Japan Economy Watch
An Equilibrium Model of Counter-Base War in the Western Pacific Policy Tensor
Southeast Asia
Fuel shortages hit Indonesia’s Riau, triggering long lines at gas stations The Star
India
Syraqistan
Rebuilding Gaza: No progress amid mounting costs, Israeli curbs, say experts Anadolu Agency
Israeli Forces Kill Three Palestinians in Gaza as Relentless Attacks Continue Antiwar
***
All Indicators Signal that Trump Will Restart the War Against Iran This Week Larry Johnson
US strike in Strait of Hormuz killed 5 civilians, Iran says TRT World
US military behind UAE oil zone strike: IRIB Al Mayadeen
US official says China is ‘funding’ Iran, urges Beijing to help open Hormuz Al Jazeera
IRGC touts capture, reverse engineering of advanced US military gear Amwaj
***
Israelis with dual nationality behind ‘large-scale’ acquisition of Syrian agricultural lands: Report The Cradle
Pakistani Nationals Allege Arbitrary Detention and Deportation From the UAE New Lines Magazine. And freezing their life savings.
European Disunion
Brussels bars Chinese-made ‘brains’ of solar panels from EU funding Euractiv
US to announce Norway’s inclusion in Pax Silica group with aim to counter China Semafor
Africa
80% of Africa’s fertiliser is imported: How food systems can adapt to Iran shock Down to Earth
Old Blighty
Starmer adviser’s secret meetings with US Big Tech The Canary
How Britain’s housing crisis contributes to its declining healthy life expectancy The Conversation
New Not-So-Cold War
New CSIS Report Highlights Major Russian Drone and AI Restructuring Simplicius
Assassination threats or coup: Why has the Kremlin tightened security around Putin? Firstpost. All based on anonymous European intelligence officials, so proceed with caution.
the Zelensky Family Events in Ukraine
Russian Ministry of Defence:
“Should the Kiev regime attempt to carry out its criminal designs with the aim of disrupting the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will deliver a retaliatory, massive…
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) May 4, 2026
Imperial Collapse Watch
US Imperialism Enters a New Stage: The Left Needs to Take a Close Look at It Venezuelanalysis
Easy to Join, Easy to Leave LRB
***
Have any lessons been learned from US failures in the Iran war? Asia Times
US quest for superweapons runs into reality Responsible Statecraft
BRICS
Is Russia Quietly Blocking the Development of the Middle Corridor? Intellinews
South of the Border
US Navy kills two more civilians in illegal boat strike in Caribbean Al Mayadeen
Trump 2.0
Trump administration sues Minnesota over attempts to rein in fossil fuel producers Minnesota Reformer
How the Executive Branch Is Reshaping AI Federalism Lawfare
“Trump’s sanity, Trump’s trap.” The Floutist
War Without Peace – The U.S. Strategy Has Little to Do with Trump Peter Hanseler
Democrats Suck
Scoop: Dems’ foreign policy group prepping for ’28 Axios. Yuck.
Why the Working Class has Given Up on the Liberal Establishment Les Leopold
Obama Legacy
Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump New Yorker. Hasn’t Obomba already played his role?
Police State Watch
Internal ICE records reveal widespread use of force in detention centers WaPo
Trump Administration Closes Watchdog Office For Immigration Detention Abuses Huff Post
Groves of Academe
How a University’s Censorship Conference Got Censored 404 Media
So the University of Michigan has apologized for these comments being made, promised a review of their processes so it doesn’t happen again. No, seriously. pic.twitter.com/BX63yE9qu6
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) May 4, 2026
The Accelerationists
Palantir Q1 revenue jumps 85% on booming US business yahoo! Finance
Zuckerberg Trying to Simulate Human Biology at the Cellular Level Futurism
AI
The growing AI backlash Gary Marcus
A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat Wired
AI’s Hottest Private Companies Have Booming Crypto Shadow Market Bloomberg
Our Famously Free Press
NATO accused of courting professional writers in ‘propaganda workshops’ The Canary
Economy
California braces for uncertainty as last shipment of Persian Gulf oil arrives in Long Beach Los Angeles Times
The world has plenty of oil, but a different shortage is emerging Business Insider
Abortion
US Supreme Court issues temporary stay preserving nationwide abortion drug access States Newsroom
Agriculture
CSA boxes get people buying fresh from farms, but will customer convenience hurt the mission? Harvest Public Media
Class Warfare
Tax on big business for housing has been a huge success 48 Hills
“It turns out voters really, really care about their nursing homes” Working Class Stories
There’s a method? The Fundamentals of Organizing
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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“The Price India Paid for Abandoning Iran”
This is amazing to read. Modi has caused catastrophic damage to India in the past few years. Not long ago people talked about how India was a rising power that might one day rival China. But in foreign policy he has bolted India to the US & Israel while souring relations with actual neighbouring countries. And the worse of it is that the US has told him point blank that they will never allow India to be a rising power meaning that they will always spike India’s development. That’s a heckuva job, Modi. And yet his has increased his share of power in the Indian elections just finished. Go figure-
https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/west-bengal/west-bengal-assembly-elections-2026-modis-charisma-prevalent-throughout-india-madhya-pradesh-minister-sarang-as-bjp-surges-ahead-3990145
Banerjee losing by such a margin is a very big deal. I don’t think it’s all down to the disenfranchisement efforts but they had to have a chilling effect. I’m sure that it’s a glum day in Kolkata.
The left alliance lost to a Congress-led grouping in Kerala, which was not a big surprise. There was a scandal around some stolen temple gold that was so flagrant that even supporters gave up on CPI (M). That said, BJP got nowhere.
Hindsight is a great thing but it would surely have been wiser if, decades ago, the US had selected Iran to be its special friend in the Middle East rather than Israel. Probably nearly everyone would have been better off bar US Congressmen.
It did. Under the Shah, Iran was by far the most important regional ally of the US until that unfortunate business in 1979. It was precisely because the relationship was so close that the US was so detested subsequently.
Today’s Antidote du jour got my curiosity up. The attached tweet says-
‘Onah Janet
@Lagos_comer
5 Feb 2025
Pine marten
The pine marten, more familiarly called marten or marten, is a species of the Mustelidae family. It is a small carnivorous mammal that is found abundantly in the forests and woods of Eurasia. This marten does not approach human habitations much unlike the beech marten. They are small but very dangerous.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_pine_marten
Rev Kev: I also got curious, and I suspect a mixup. See my comment below.
Antidote du Jour. Onah Janet seems to have the photos backward. What is shown here is a beech marten (stone marten), which she describes as very dangerous. Hmmm. This is an animal that weighs up to 1.8 kilo = three pounds.
They have many endearing habits, according to Wikipedia. An underlying article to the Wiki entry explains that they like to attack cars to bite cables and tubes. It may be exploratory behavior — or they may know more about Elon Musk than they are willing to admit.
And Wiki sez, and links — by channeling their inner Einstein, two beech martens shut down CERN / the Large Hadron Collider:
https://cds.cern.ch/journal/CERNBulletin/2016/20/News%20Articles/2152720?ln=en
At least one of which got itself fried.
Their cousins, the pine martens, are slightly less invasive.
Thanks for that correction. I was wondering how they could be considered dangerous.
Like killer rabbits I suppose …. Big, sharp, pointy teeth.
But they look so cute-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg (2:07 mins)
Dangerous to their prey? A fearsome hunter if you’re small?
Have you tried raising chickens with these adorable rascals around? If even one gets into the hen house, you are in for a rude clean up job the next morning. They don’t just take one and disappear into the night.
Re; AI, Syraqistan, Our Famously Free Press…
The intrepid Caitlin Johnstone laid this one out about a week ago:
Three Recent Examples Of AI Being Used For Empire Propaganda
Firstly, an Israel-based company called Generative AI for Good has been creating deepfakes of supposedly real women who say they were sexually assaulted by government forces in Iran…
…
Secondly, users of the graphic design platform Canva have been complaining that the company’s AI service has been translating the word “Palestine” to “Ukraine” without prompting or permission. Complaints went viral, compelling Canva to address the issue…
…
Thirdly, a Spanish-language tweet about Israel from user @maps_black was auto-translated into English by Elon Musk’s AI Grok in a way that added entirely new sentences to the social media post to frame the Zionist state in a sympathetic light…
I’ve all but given-up on video as evidence because AI-generated imagery has advanced so rapidly– even over the past year– that it is now all but impossible to discern phony from real. Gone are the good old days of six-fingered hands and missing torsos (those are so last year!) back when viewers stood a chance at knowing when they were being taken for a ride.
Now, video may have some credibility more than a “maybe” when it is supported by credible first-hand reports, and for these I find myself seeking media local to the event rather than the re-reporting as usually practiced by establishment media or MSM. The alternative sources being frequently other than Enqlish-language, Johnstone’s third-point of discussion really bothers the heck out of me: the falsification of auto-translate features or apps.
Not only are we being robbed of our eyes, but language-barriers themselves are now being deliberately fortified by the masters of AI in further attempts to keep us in ignorance and within the confines of “acceptable” thought, within the version of “reality” that is intended to keep us docile, obedient and compliant… this seems all too-Soviet in all of the wrong-ways… I hate this timeline.
Shout-out to Lambert, wherever you may be: Everything is Going According to the Plan
And he be here: https://thejackpot.blog/
Ahh… and so he is!
Thanks for that– it looks like he has been busy.
This makes my day!
Goooooooood Moooooooooorning Fiatnam!
The plan to turner joy into despair was the prevailing scuttlebutt among the grunts in the platoon, Tonkin if you ‘gottem.
Fish or cut bait!
Lieutenant Epstein’s platoon says: “Catfish or jail bait!”
“IRGC touts capture, reverse engineering of advanced US military gear”
of course the Iranians will be able to reverse-engineer those weapons and incorporate their lessons into their own designs. But also of significance is that they will be able to use them as a great bargaining chip with both the Russians and the Chinese. I’m sure that the later two countries will be keen to get their hands on those weapons designs if not access to actual samples.
It seems daft to me that munitions with secret sauce don’t have a secondary, independent detonator that operates by a separate trigger. For a dropped munition, perhaps 30 seconds after the altitude has stopped changing.
Remember “this message will self-destruct in 15 seconds.”? Would it not be common sense for high tech stuff to melt itself (or something) if it senses something going wrong? Those chips likely are decodable even after exposure to the explosion of the device. Are we really that stupid? sotto voce “Don’t answer that.”
Polymarket currently has Thomas Massie at 77% to win his primary on May 19th. I am bookmarking the date, and if it holds, I will definitely be hitting some good scotch, maybe with a cigar that evening to celebrate the neutering of Taco.
Politico piece (archived) on Taco’s May of Misery:
https://archive.is/TnthZ
His brand is running low on fumes.
He has always used the courts to quit via bankruptcy, so how does he acquit himself out of this quagmire of his own making?
Like how Bondi and Noem were thrown under the bus, I think we can expect to find Hegseth there sooner or later for this Iran debacle. But who after that? Vance? He’s not exactly too popular. Bessent? I don’t know how his macho tough guy image he’s trying to play is being received. Rubio is noticeably absent from most things and Lutnick seems to be keeping relatively quiet. Trump always seems to throw his most loyal guys under the bus but I’m not sure the message of the king being deceived by corrupt advisors is going to be well received
Bessent keeps on making macho man statements in competition with Hegseth. He just came out and said that the US had total control of the Strait of Hormuz which is just bizarre. Where is he getting all this from? Heard an interview today and it mentioned that Bessent gets his info from a think tank – that is a virtual extension of the Israeli foreign ministry and originally had a Hebrew name. That would explain a lot.
Stephen Miller seems to have slithered away in the grass…
If I had to guess, either Bessent, Hegseath, or maybe both get defenestrated during the Summer of Rage ™.
That’s when the mid-term polling numbers and the resultant Pachydermapocalpyse will be baked in, and the abject failure of Epstein Fury will be undeniable.
Establish his own Court?
Kangaroo?
Hop to it!
I’ve never heard of inverters being called the brains of solar panels.
Some months ago Chinese inverters were declared free of illegal remote control after a few years of being accused of having it.
Just more demonizing of all things Chinese.
The US used to be head, shoulders, and belly button ahead of the rest of the world on advanced inverter technology. It was just hostile to the entire concept of renewable energy for a generation, tepid about it for a decade, hostile again now.
And here we are.
Actually no. Name me 1 large US inverter company? Or solar panel company.
The big inverter guys have been German, Austrian, Japanese, Italian and for the last 10-15 years the Chinese. Which now hold most of the top 10 spots
Some companies do have US assembly plants.
Enphase is probably the largest US company but most of its production is overseas.
Santana singer dies at 79, sang on many 80’s hits, including “Winning”:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/santana-singer-during-live-aid-era-dies-at-79/ar-AA22nCvz
Alex Ligertwood RIP. Not a household name, but what a sweet, soulful voice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FmPg4lrBKc&list=RD0FmPg4lrBKc
Sadly, the obits are when I find out the names of members of bands that I didn’t really follow, rest in peace music makers.
Our regatta of a dozen or so were having dinner outside at a Boulder City brewery before braving the Colorado River the next morning, and one of our group mentioned that Vince Gill was seated at the next table over about 10 feet away, and none of us knew who he was aside from perhaps name recognition.
Brussels bars Chinese-made ‘brains’ of solar panels from EU funding Euractiv.
Well this provides for a long discussion IMO. Here the reason, excuse, whatever given to back this measure is fear. Fear that “someone” might put out simultaneously many inverters in a given country, provided these are internet connected. Though this is possible and there has been an incident there involving Deye inverters, the solution, IMO, is not changing brands to non-chinese but changing requirements for inverter providers and other equipment as well. Another problem comes when you want coordination between different appliances. Let’s say the inverter, batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps… Companies make their own stuff compatible trying to make you buy all from the same brand, but when you have different brands dialogues are difficult. They all talk in different codes i guess. This is something that should be changed by law too.
IMO opinion the objective here is protectionism. Help European manufacturers. At some point I understand it but it may have, as usual, unintended consequences. The price of Fronius (Austria) inverters are about twice as much as that of Chinese (Saj, Huawei, Sungrow) equivalent inverters. Others like Kostal (Germany) and Ingeteam (Spain) are somehow intermediate but i think here the big question is to kill neoliberalism and make codes of this stuff open so that compatibility with other appliances can be guaranteed. Local WiFi connection might be required for communications between appliances but this should be made, if possible, in ways to ensure that these can only be turned off by the users and only the users. [This apart from the necessity and obligation to physically disconnect the inverters/batteries from the grid when the grid is down for safety reasons]
“Have any lessons been learned from US failures in the Iran war?”
I have read a few of Stephen Bryen’s posts over time and he is very much a supporter of the Empire. You can see it here where he makes out that the US has only lost two AWACS aircraft and three F-15 fighter jets which is just ridiculous. Like any author, he does have his biases.
County owned or operated nursing homes. My mother was negligently killed in a nursing home (for-profit) and I have a continuing interest in long term care. The for-profit sector is the source of recurring stories of abuse and fraud. Donald Trump has included convicted nursing home operators and owners in his growing list of pardoned white-collar felons. A Copilot search revealed 32 states have county-owned nursing homes and 40 states have county supported ones with Indiana and Texas each having 100 county owned homes. Nationally the reported numbers by year vary, but a recent total has 758 county-owned or operated facilities per the National Association of Counties (NACo). 72 percent of U.S. nursing homes are for-profit. My home state of Michigan has 34 medical care facilities in all 83 counties. https://www.naco.org/resouces/county-role-long-term-care There is the 55-year-old Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council to support and advocate for these facilities. https://www.mcmcf.org
It is gratifying to see that the Sauk County voters held their elected officials accountable for acting against their voters’ interest. Democracy works best at the local level. Washington and state capitals get the publicity and special interest money, and function independent of the popular will.
RE: Celebrity COVID
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/music/articles/leann-rimes-details-her-severe-011708631.html
The KCUR article on CSAs is worth a read. It takes a look at the evolving mechanisms required to get small farm production to market. I find it amusing that customer convenience is a focus considering that near term global food shortages seemed to be baked in.
One observation, the smaller organic and permaculture farms should be more resilient to the closure of the Strait and resulting fertilizer shortages.
Should be. Could be. In the event, niche distribution channels like CSAs and small farm direct to retail sales got thrashed just like everything else when COVID kicked in. It takes conscious effort to build resilient local supply chains in advance of the crunch.
Agreed. The likely upcoming carnage brought on by the immoral and illegal war on Iran ain’t just fertilizer shortages.
On a long enough timeline…
Trump looks like a man trying to fish a big gooey turd out of the punch bowl, using a butter knife.
We currently have a family of Pine Martens nesting between our very old stone cottage and adjoining timber utility shed.
We live in very remote Highlands of Scotland on the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the edge of an old Scots Pine forest.
It is a treat to watch them develop. They are naturally timid but also curios often scurrying around the place peering in the windows.
There is only around 4000 in Scotland, so having the mother and 2 Kits is a honour.
A little more rain yesterday and today in the Wine country, with temperatures predicted to hit 80 degrees over the weekend.
This is usually addressed by the vineyards using huge portable fans and spraying fungicides, sulfur is a common choice.
The Wine grape crop is not looking good right now, fertilizer either not available or very high priced and fungicides the same.
Tourism dead, Agriculture on the ropes and home construction still going strong because the financing is in place…for now.
Between rising rates and an economy circling the drain it is going to be a rough few years for Home sales in Sonoma County.
thought copper was used for fungus? – it’s what i use on my fruit trees –
How are your fruit trees? Early flowering here with the plum trees opening on April 15, seventeen days earlier than last year. Knock on wood, we’ve seemed to have dodged any late killing frosts so far, and the yard is alive with pollinators.
The asparagus is two weeks ahead of schedule as well, no complaints there.
As for fungus/mildew, pruning/thinning the interior has served me well.
Peace.
just harvested asparagus myself yesterday – used to travel the back roads here in Michigan and find feral asparagus, inspired to do so after reading Euell Gibbons in my 20’s – lost a nectarine to fungus and did some serious pruning of all trees – there are 32 – apples and pears are setting soon and looks like the plums, peaches and remaining nectarine are next – cherries are going strong, just have to compete with the birds when the fruit shows up – still waiting for action beyond flowering for the apricot trees, lots of pollinators at the flowers each year but they have never set fruit – fingers crossed japanese beetles aren’t bad this year – been a battle for the last 5 years and the only thing that works is picking them off by hand and dumping them in a pail of soapy water, been fewer and fewer each year and the voles like to much on their grubs before they emerge – have a row of Filberts/Hazelnuts hoping to see nuts on this year – blueberries flowering – planted a couple of honeyberries and will probably pick up a few more, also have some serviceberry trying to make it despite the deer, will put them within our deer fence soon – going down to Eastern Mkt in downtown Detroit this Saturday, the Saturday before Mother’s Day is always a kick-ass day to go – here in southern Michigan we have been lucky to have rain, not as much in the northern part of the mitt – as soon as things dry out a bit more will apply the copper – been a joy to have something to take my mind off the catastrophes we discuss here – thanks for asking mrsyk –
Sounds pretty good! Same here on the mental well being that comes this time of year. I imagine you’ve written a poem or two under a narcotic pollen buzz. And lol, same technique with the Japanese beetles. Avoid those traps with the scent bait.
All the best from the southern Greens of Vermont.
beautiful area – visited a friend going to Franconia college next door in NH back in my hitchhiking days – then passed through Montpelier on my way to Montreal – NH & VT are beautiful states – took a train from Montreal back to Windsor, but stopped in Toronto for a couple of days for Caribana – fun time –
From The growing AI backlash
At the root of it all, is the largest theft of societal public commons in the history of the world, and the largest infringement of copyrights in recorded history.
Gen AI is rotten to the core.
Hantavirus: the we do not learn edition.
Details gleaned from the official channels and virus hunter crew on X thus far:
Cases 1 and 2 were likely exposed in Argentina as hantavirus cooks for 5-15 days before symptoms show. Case 1 began showing symptoms on board on April 6. He died on board April 11. Case 2, symptomatic, disembarked with husband’s body at St Helena April 24. She died on a medical evacuation flight April 25-26. Case 3 medically evacuated to South Africa and currently in ICU. Case 4 died on board.
7 cases 5 suspected 2 confirmed 3 deaths so far.
WHO has stated no rats on board.
Human to human transmission has occurred in South America prior to this outbreak and the WHO is saying human to human transmission has occurred on the boat.
Correction (it’s worse) case 2 was on a commercial flight April 25 from St Helena to South Africa. They are currently tracing over 80 passengers.
And, just like that, suddenly not being able to afford air travel became a positive.
I wouldn’t go on a cruise if it was free. Not worth dying for.
The ship will go to the Canary Islands from Cape Verde. Though there, in Cape Verde, all passangers are being analysed and those needing treatment will be evacuated there. It is not being disclosed in which port in the Canary Islands the ship will dock. In Argentina the virus has gone from Patagonia to Buenos Aires (I believe for the first time) and now Milei has to collaborate with the WHO to monitor the disease, after he, following Trump steps, decided to get out the organization. Miserable Trump, miserable Milei how do we manage to get this types to govern us? Because available alternatives are equally imbecile?
Yes, the Andes strain of Hantavirus (ANDV) has shown ability to transmit human to human in airborne fashion probably., or almost certainly if you prefer.
File under Big Brother: Jimmy Dore, utube.
Here Are All The TERRIFYING WAYS Your Car Is Monitoring You!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8nlQ28WZeU
This! But expand it to include so much more of the American lived experience:
Why Only Rich Kids Make It In Music Today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJrR1OdAIg
You can no longer just work a job to make a living and do more like make music or do physics on the side:
Albert Einstein and The Patent Office
https://www.historyonthenet.com/albert-einstein-and-the-patent-office
Once upon a time, I started a little war
Government MIC went along
Before I could blame it on you
Still, you are the only one
Now I can’t let it slip away
So if the Chairman of JCS with the alibi
He tries to take it
Well this is what I’m gonna say
Blame it on Dan Caine
Don’t blame it on me
Oh, oh, it’s all my fault
But we need somebody to burn
Well if I was a saint with
A silver spoon
And the polls got low
We could always heat them up
Or fade them out
But then the gal on Fox says that heaven will be your reward
And then you can run down the country
Coast to coast, hand in hand
Bad to worse, curse for curse
Don’t be dissatisfied
So you’re not satisfied
I think I’ve lived a little too long
On 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in DC town
I think I’m going insane
From talking up myself for so long
Oh but I’ve never been accused of honesty
When they step on your face
You wear that good look grin
I gotta break out one weekend
If I do 9 holes in
But every single time
I feel a little stronger
They tell me it’s a crime
Well how much longer?
Blame it on Cain, by Elvis Costello
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHaI7rVp9g&list=RDHfHaI7rVp9g
Les Leopold still seems to hold out some hope for the Democrats righting the ship and getting pro-worker candidates at lower levels, but I think the party apparatus is too entrenched to permit something like that to happen on any meaningful scale. To me it seems like the only path is to start a new party, using the internet and its various tools to publicize and fund it from the grass-roots, and run write-in candidates heavily identified with the new party across the nation. Write-in because the two parties have made it next to impossible for a serious alternative party to get on the ballot. We need a party that is all about the economy that ordinary people experience (that advocates taking back the wealth that the 1% have stolen from us for decades), corruption in business and government, reaffirming and strengthening all our (actual human citizens, not AIs or corporations) Bill of Rights protections, ending US involvement in foreign wars (including via proxies) and eliminating foreign military aid to all other countries. No stupid culture wars nonsense from either side of that ruling class-instigated divide. Stop playing by their rules and upend the board. Now is the time to do it, both the Republican and Democrat “brands” are in total disrepute.