Back from a sci fi con

[nadinbrzezinski]

and there are several things I noticed.

1.- The worm MIGHT (I use that qualifier now because I used to believe it, and now will only count on it when the final results are here) have turned. The amount of anti administration feeling was quite high

2.- Had conversations with FORMER DEMOCRATIC ACTIVISTS, who just like me reached the same conclusion a while ago... there is some level of collusion at the top. Sorry folks, but the gentleman I talked to, and his credentials are unimpeachable as a Dem (he, unlike me remains registered but is now highly apathetic about the party apparatus), reached the same conclusion I did after some folks thew in the towel after OH... I took longer to finally do such, and threw in the towel after Alito.

now here is here it gets scary, and I know many of the folks who are still in denial will not read to this point... just as me he has reached the conclusion that we are in pre-revolutionary times, or pre civil war times. Indeed all the mechanism of the state have failed, and as we both noticed, with the panels, discourse is impossible when you have otherwise intelligent people, seating across each other, using the same words... but alas the words mean a whole different thing to each individual. We are well past talking to each other.

Now for those of you who might decide to be a little scared, one of the panels was on whether Jefferson and Franklin were right regarding safety and liberty. Predictably, the programing person had two very qualified individuals (who did not count on the MA in History of the Enlightenment in the audience) speaking for the right. They had two less than qualified individuals speaking for the liberal position. Suffice it to say, things started to go south for the righties once I stated quoting chapter and verse of the US Constitution (I never knew I had memorized by now), the Alien and Sedition Act, and the US Patriot Act... yes I threw in the Enabling Act for good measure, as well as John Locke and Rousseau. Lets just say the two on the panel were not too happy, especially when I called all in the audience to either put up, or shut up, but if they don't stand up now beyond attending a stupid panel which was severely stacked mind you... then there is noting I can do, and I am shocked at how the citizens in this country are willing to give up their liberties.

Now going back to this conversation I had this morning with my fellow Dem... we both concluded that the point of no return is long past, and what form this revolution will take is a good question BUT, before the Denial is not only a river in Egypt crowd chimes in (which I am sure they will, they always do) The Demsn have not stepped into the breach. The Dems have not, with few exceptions and we know exactly who they are, cough conyers cough, raised the issue of elections, and the Dems are no longer acting like a bona fide opposition party.

Moreover, it was a fruitful discussion after all, here are the points the dems are refusing to do, or cannot do

We need to step away from what worked in the 1970s for mesaging... it worked then, but it ain't working now

Dems need to learn how to craft a message in a post industrial age... and they have not

Oh and the DLC is holding the dems down.

Suffice it to say... that was a very fruitful conversation for we also figured out why Bill Gates is buying property all over the world... can any of you say the words HEDGE BETS? That is what he is doing... for if this revolution turns into a very violent affair, a la French or Russian Revolutions he is making sure he will have a nice safe, and stable place to flee to.

Now there is more... he is a mathematician and we were talking about what the Bankruptcy Bill will do to the US Economy, can you say law of unintended consequences? Good, I knew you could. He, just like many others are seeing the clouds of another depression, and what we are seeing is (in case you needed to have this repeated to you) the greatest redistribution of wealth in US History and quite possibly the history of the world. Now here is another point that should worry all of you... the looting of the treasury is going to the Praetorian guard, who is no longer loyal to the Empire, but to one particular Caesar and yes we did make a comparison to Caligula and I am sure a Horse will soon descent on the Senate.

So enjoy it, Long live the Republic, for the Republic is dead...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. talking politics at a sci fi conference?

you rebel! :)

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. And global wamring and peak oil

you know them pesky issues

Now last con I went to ... I was the only one in the room it seemed aware of peak oil... now everybody was talking bout it. I hope I planted that seed... in fact

[Tesha]

12. Warm up another issue... The global water shortage

This week's New Scientist magazine had a
pretty-damned-alarming article about the coming
global water shortage.

The basic thesis of the article was that the Malthusian
collapse forecast in the '60s was only headed-off because
a vastly increased usage of artifical irrigation allowed
a steep ramping-up of crop production, and that the ir-
rigation is mostly done using "fossil water" stored in
deep aquifers that aren't being recharged nearly as fast
as they are being drained.

The upshot is that if nothing is done, we'll soon see
that Malthusian collapse. It didn't go away, it just
went into hiding for one more doubling of this poor
planet's population.

Tesha

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Water wars are gonna get fun

I might do this at the next con....

By the way, if I were to worst case this for humanity we are going to go extinct, but the next worst case is ANOTHER evolutionary bottleneck... with a die out of Billions... evolutionary bottlenecks require a population to go down all they way (depends who you read) between 10,000 and 50,000 people. Think of the potential for one.

I did mention evolutionary bottleneck at several pannels by the way....

[FloridaPat]

3. Wish I hadn't read this before going to bed. Now I'll have nightmares.

I had the USA mortally wounded after the 2002 election and officially dead with the invasion of Iraq. My goal this year is to learn how to plant enough food to survive on.

If you could, please say more about the bankruptcy bill and wealth redistribution. And who is the particular Caesar?

[nadinbrzezinski]

Caesar is bush

Junior that is... he is Caligula

Now with the tax laws et al that have been passed wealth is going from the working class to the wealthy at a very much accelearted rate, while the middle class is under attack, constant attack

The bankrupcy bill, in a nutshell, prevents you from declaring Chap 11 and cancelling your credit card debt...

Here is more info, the net worh of the bottton 20% during the Clinton years was Zero... the net worth today is -3000... so once you are forced to buy groceries using your credit card, but you cannot declare bankrupcy, yuo are in a postion that you will nto be able to buy shinny baubles, which is the engine of the US Economy... and yes this is very simplified.

[Uncle Joe]

14. Speaking of credit cards and groceries,

one minor and yet mildly distressing sign of the times is when I pull in to a Sonic fast food restaurant and they ask me if it will be cash or charge for a frickin hamburger!

[fearnobush]

4. Blessed are the Ori.

Non believers shall be destroyed.

I'm with ya, So long the Dem so called leaders remain quite about Diebold, ESS, Jeb and Blackwell, I will not give one damm cent to the party.

[FormerDittoHead]

5. Could I get my money back if I had gone? (Jefferson and Franklin?)

Was the "Alien and Sedition Act" the segue to Sci-fi?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. That was ONE of the panels over the weekend

there were panels on writing, there was some anime, hell there was some RPGA... and by the way, have you ever read CLASSIC science fiction like I don't know, Starship Troopers by Heinlein, or Revolt 2100 by the same author? Perchance Aldous Huxley (Brave New World), maybe 1984 by George Orwell (Yes kiddies, it IS sci fi)... no, it is not just about Godzilla and Anime... oh and by the way, some of those Japanese shows, ARE very political (Appleseed)

[salvorhardin]

8. I know I've said this on DU before

But Heinlein seems more and more right every passing year, and it sure feels like Nehemiah Scudder has taken the White House.

[SheilaT]

7. Which con was this?

Thank you for your post.

I'm somewhat active both in my local (Kansas City) science fiction community, and in Democratic politics.

I agree that we are in a time of great change -- whether pre-revolutionary or pre-civil war I can't tell at this point. Read the book Generations and The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe and you will become even more convinced. We probably have about ten years, maybe more, of things getting worse until the real crisis finally peaks. It's not going to be pretty.

added on edit:

I just checked my copy of The Fourth Turning and here's the part I want to quote. It comes in the chapter called "A Fourth Turning Prophecy" in which they talk about possible scenarios for the Crisis, and suggest ways in which it might be triggered.

"Soon after the catalyst, a national election will produce a sweeping political realignment, as one faction or coalition capitalizes on a new public demand for decisive action. Republicans, Democrats, or perhaps a new party will decisively win the long partisan tu-of-war, ending the era of split government that had lasted through four decades of Awakening and Unraveling. The winners will now have the power to pursue the more potent, less incrementalist agenda bout which they had long dreamed and against which their adversaries had darkly warned. this new regime will enthrone itself for the duration of the Crisis.

Clearly there's more than one way this can actually play out. But I'm personally inclined to see that the Republicans consolidated the power they grabbed in 2000 with further gains in 02 and 04. They control all branches of government, and without free, fair, and honest elections, they will continue to control all branches for some time to come.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. One of the san diego local cons

I am blessed that I have three (not conting Comic Con) within driving distance evry year

Now that book, I will have to go get it... but god I loaded up in used books this week... I cannot stand the swill comming out of the big publishers no more. Hell, they wuould not produce Heimlein today.. I am convinced.

[wyldwolf]

9. I remember that episode! It was the one when Captain Kirk...

We need to step away from what worked in the 1970s for mesaging... it worked then, but it ain't working now

We need to step away from the policies of the 70s that lost us votes then and won't win us any now. Dressing up the same old same old in different "messaging" isn't going to fool anyone.

Oh and the DLC is holding the dems down.

Sure. How much have the Dems won since the McGovern-Fraser Commision? In this period? 1968-1991. Remind me.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. how much have the deocrats won in the recent past

and are the DLCers now willing to admit we have a problem with the voting machines? (In this of course we are talking the whole party)

We WON in 2000, we WON in 2004... in 2000 Gore did put a fight, in 2004 Kerry threw in the towel