Revolution is necessary

This Logo makes its appearance in my deck in the Magician card, but its inspiration comes from someplace far more familiar. 

If you look on the back of a dollar bill, on the left you would see the unfinished pyramid, above which floats the capstone, and in that we find the all-seeing eye. Above the all-seeing eye reads “Annuit Coeptis”, which means, “He approves our undertakings”, or, “He has approved our undertakings”, or simply, “Favor our Beginnings”. Below the pyramid it reads, “Novus Ordo Seclorum” which translates to, “New Order of the Ages”. I created this modified Great Seal because I feel that the New World Order is actually Out-of-Order, so I have redesigned that image as a revolutionary statement. On the wall, behind The Magician's pendulum, is a black Capstone and a black all-seeing eye, which is surrounded by black flames. Above we still see “Annuit Coeptis”, because during these dark times we really do need to start again, but beneath it now reads, “Carpe Noctem”, or, “Seize the Night”.

The other bit of Latin that appears in the Magician card, and on the back of the Magician's coin, is seen written along the length of the telescope that is directed out the window at a total solar eclipse in progress. It reads VIDE FINEM AB INITIO, which means, See the End from the Beginning. Here I allude to the feeling I had when Trump was elected President. This was not a good feeling, as it was the beginning of dark times to come. 

During dark times The Magician implores you to stare into that darkness and not flinch. Resist that darkness with the lamp of truth and the dagger of a penetrating mind. Start a personal revolution by educating yourself. In this way we will begin again. The Magician admonishes the Seeker to pay attention to what is going on around them, take part in the body politic, protest for progressive causes, and learn from the lessons of history to hopefully not repeat the mistakes found there.  

• The Republicans’ Crimes Against Democracy

"... At the heart of the problem is the Republican Party itself. Over the past decade, and especially since Trump’s victory in 2016, conservatives have increasingly seen American democracy as an obstacle to their goals instead of the means to achieve them. The GOP owes much of its current power in Washington, D.C., to structural flaws in the republic: the disproportionate influence of smaller, rural states in the Senate, for instance, or the anti-majoritarian effects of the Electoral College. In states like North Carolina and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers spent the 2010s entrenching themselves through partisan gerrymandering at the state and federal level. All too often, Republican elected officials choose their voters instead of the other way around. ..."

• Conservatives Want a ‘Republic’ to Protect Privileges

"... Some specific examples beyond the defense of the Electoral College come to mind that reflect the conservative tendency to use “republican” limitations on democracy to justify and even expand privilege. ..."

... “I’m getting a little tired of being lectured to by my Democratic colleagues, that all of this is Trump’s fault,” he told reporters at a press conference announcing a Republican police reform package. “You had eight years!” 

• The narrative that Obama and Democrats did nothing is not true.

"President Donald Trump expressed the same sentiment on Tuesday, when he signed an executive order focused on police misconduct. “President Obama and Vice President Biden never even tried to fix this,” Trump said. “The reason they didn’t try is because they had no idea how.”

"In fact, the Obama administration and Democrats—as well as some Republicans—did embrace some criminal justice reform efforts in those years. ..."

• 'No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults.

ABC News found several cases where pro-Trump defendants were charged with targeting minorities, or where speculation online suggested the defendants were motivated by Trump, but in those cases ABC News found no police records, court proceedings or other direct evidence presenting a definitive link to the president.

Neoliberal market strategies have done wonders for millionaires and billionaires, but that hasn't worked out so well for the rank and file worker. 

But people are waking up to this fact, and even more importantly there are some billionaires who are not only woke to it but are actually trying to change it to the benefit of all. 

The link to the left should be shared widely. 

"Political scientists have historically been bad at foreseeing the most important developments. Few of us guessed the end of the Cold War; almost no one saw the Arab Spring coming.

"In defence of my discipline, there is a reason for that.

Before a momentous event occurs, there are numerous possibilities and different ways events can unfold. After it happens, however, it will appear inevitable. And after it happens, we will be very good at explaining why it had to happen.

Very few of us are now predicting the socio-political situation in the United States, which now features an impeachment probe into President Donald Trump, will lead to an uprising.

"But after years of teaching on protests, uprisings and revolutions, it seems to me the U.S. is currently showing all the signs political scientists and historians would identify in retrospect as conducive to a revolutionary uprising. ..."

Founded in March 2016 and based in Berkeley, CA, ORBI specializes in developing innovative hardware and software that unlocks extraordinary new ways to capture and share life's most cherished moments. The world of video recording is changing and people demand more from their realities. Leveraging the power of 360˚ video, ORBI is embedding four 1080p HD cameras into eyewear – the world’s first, first-person 360˚ video recording glasses.

Protestors wearing such a device can record everything that happens around them for up to 4 hours. On play back they will be able to identify bad actors within the protest group, as well as what activities the police engaged in, even if the person wearing these innovative glasses hadn't see it them at the time.

Appeals court suspends protections for journalists, legal observers covering protests

• Article by OPB
• ABC News

Chilean Protesters Used Lasers to Bring down Police Drone, and It Worked

Some of the Most Clever Approaches to Protesting

ACLU APPS TO RECORD POLICE CONDUCT

These activists use makeup to defy mass surveillance

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few. We are a political and activist organization, not a party; through campus and community-based chapters, DSA members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.