Mayumi (new here)

Maybe don't treat rent strike organizing like some letter petition signing campaign. Maybe a nonprofit (beholden to their funders) shouldn't be leading tenant organizing. Maybe don't ignore what Black & Brown public housing tenants having been saying about nonprofits & electeds.

The only way to have dignified public housing, healthcare, environmental healing, food for all is for this imperialist empire to crumble. The progressives with seemingly "great" domestic views but has interventionist international views overall cloaked in leftist slogans aren't going to save us.

Especially white folks...

If you've been going to these anti-ICE protests but have not once checked in on your immigrant neighbors or neighbors of color who could be targeted by ICE, then you should pause, reflect on that, and change your ways.

It's literally the bare minimum you could be doing.

It's 2026, people need to mentally upgrade from "I hate Trump / Republicans" to "Death to USA"

It will be interesting to see the inevitable contradictions that will arise from the YIMBY (market fundamentalist housing) and Democratic Socialist collaboration in NYC.

Four photos of red northern lights in the night sky

This is the coolest thing I saw in Minneapolis this year.

#northernlights

Sometimes in cooperatives, it'd be like:

"I went from dealing with one boss to a collective of 50 bosses who now extract from me 🙃"

Or like "I just went from dealing with one landlord to a collective of landlords who extract rent from me and have the eviction power over me 🙃"

Social media: "Ewww! Punish these pedophiles in the Epstein files!"

Also social media: *Idealizes beauty standards rooted in pedophilia & white supremacy: lighter skin / hair, no body hair, smooth soft skin, wrinkleless, no sagging, no grey hair, have full hair, petite. Treats aging as a flaw.*

Public housing tenants should not be kicked out of their homes even when their income goes up. Public housing shouldn't be treated as a revolving door.

"But we need them to move out so that others who need them can move in."

Then spend more on expanding public housing instead of military/police.

The subscription empire needs to crumble. This includes rents.

I'd rather remain a renter and fight for the abolition of landlords/private property relations than participate in wealth building property investment via homeownership. Fearmongering ppl into homeownership w/ "if you don't own property and build wealth now, your future will be bleak!" needs to stop

White chauvinists lack object permanence. They assume the work towards liberation isn't happening unless they are present in that space.

I don't know about other cities, but it's strange to me that I'm not seeing a single socialist org in the Twin Cities proactively fight for the protection and expansion of public housing.

Intention: "We'll have to make compromises if we want to build towards the changes we want to see."

Outcome: "Let's not change / challenge anything."

It is disturbing to watch people develop a soft spot for Trump after the Mamdani x Trump meeting and jumping onto the meme train. Trump isn't some innocent kitten. He has a lot of blood on his hands and the blood continues to flow. People are continuously being thrown into cages.

I hate the meme culture as it often creates humor out of even dire situations, thereby drowning out its urgency. I think as time goes on, the overconsumption of memes end up rendering the human minds numb to atrocities. To me it's a very unhealthy and regressive coping mechanism.

WE NEED AN EVICTION MORATORIUM NOW!

Also, he doesnt even make close to $5100/mo 🙃

Goes without saying.

Also, protect and expand public housing. Organize towards the abolition of rent.

Should be considered a crime everywhere for landlords to charge deposit, 1st month rent, and last month rent upfront in order for ppl to move in. My dad's new landlord is asking for $5100 upfront and unfortunately it's the cheapest rent ($1700/mo) he could find in the area. #abolishlandlords

You know how when you meet someone new you ask them about their values (ie: BLM, Trans rights, unions) before deciding to connect further? Nowadays, I mostly come across "leftists" so now I just ask their thoughts on labor aristocracy to see if I want to go get banh mi with them.

Zohran had already strayed away from DSA's values and is making it more clear now. His campaign is built on a coalition of SocDems, Democrats, YIMBYs, carceral reformists, labor zionists, etc. A mish mash of visions born out of that is just progressive liberalism and that's what he will answer to.

Progressive Dems: "I'm against genocide but I support Israel's right to exist"

Translation: "I support the fascistic zionist settler colonial state's right to carry out their oppressive agenda as long as they do it quietly and in piecemeal."

"Good" landlords are ultimately bad bc landlordism is inherently bad for our quality of life.

Photo of molted snake skin on the edge of gravel path and grass.

Ooo s-s-snake s-s-skin at Mni Owe Sni (Coldwater Spring) in Minneapolis.

Close up photo of base of a tree covered in moss, sprouts, and other vegetation with a focus on the pixie cup lichens.

We found these cool pixie cup lichens at Maji ya Chai Land Sanctuary in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

Image of a vintage style bookcover titled "Unequal Exchange and the Prospects of Socialism" Communist Working Group, original introduction by Arghiri Emmanuel, new prologue and epilogue by Torkil Lauesen, and new preface by Henry Hakamaki & Nemanja Lukic

This is a must read. No matter which issue area you organize in, it's always good to bring internationalist perspective into the struggle. Free pdf version on Iskra Books if you don't have the means to purchase.

"Unequal Exchange and the Prospects of Socialism"

www.iskrabooks.org/unequal-exch...

When I lived in NY, my friends and I took our broke asses around town collecting cans/bottles to deposit at local stores for money. We'd use that money to buy cheap beer and pizza. It was a weekly routine. I was shocked when I moved to MN and learned that this isn't a thing here.

The self-described leftist electoral "pragmatists" punching down on those who are rightfully criticizing their candidates for backpedaling are more defeatist than they are pragmatic.

Abandoning principles and resigning to the interests of liberalism and zionism is not pragmatic.

It's funny seeing some white Democrats say how wonderful Minneapolis is to get back at the Republicans, but then they post photos of mostly white ppl enjoying al fresco dining and parks as proof. It just shows the two different flavors of racists / classists on both sides.