STIGMERGY: The C4SS Blog
The Emptiness of “The Left”

Personally, I don’t think “the left” ultimately represents much of anything coherent, but rather constitutes a historically contingent coalition of ideological positions. Bastiat and other free market folks sat on the left of the french assembly, and while we might try to claim that as part of a consistent leftist market tradition, we should be honest that one’s position in that particular revolution — much less revolution in general — is hardly indicative of very much. There are always revolutionaries who desire systems far worse than our own, and similarly there have been many broadly recognized “leftists” whose desires were utterly anathema to liberation.

It’s popular these days to paint the left and right as egalitarian versus hierarchical. But not only is this an imposed read on a far messier historical and sociological reality, but it’s honestly quite philosophically contentless. No one is particularly clear on what egalitarianism means, or even hierarchy, and many interpretations are not only mutually exclusive, they reveal supposedly identical claims as actually deeply antagonistic. Does egalitarianism mean everyone gets precisely the same wealth (however that’s supposed to be measured)? Does it mean mere legal or social equality in the abstract realm of relations before The People or The State’s legal system? Does it mean equal opportunity for economic striving or does it mean equal access to the people’s grain stores? Does equality supersede all other virtues like liberty? Is it better to all be oppressed equally than to have some achieve greater freedom? I’m not being facetious. We paper over these deep issues with “well but common sense” and the wishful assumption that our comrades will come down on the minutia the same way we would, sharing our intuitions on various tradeoffs, but that’s empirically not the case. We constantly differ.

People talk about “collective direct democracy” as if something being the near unanimous will of some social body constitutes an egalitarian condition. And, sure, it does under some definitions. But the moment I see some collective body trying to vote on my life I don’t want to “participate” I want to chuck a bomb at it. Leftists use both the slogans “power to the people” and “abolish power” — this should be an intense red flag to everyone that completely different conceptual systems and values are at play. It’s delusional in the extreme to suppose that if we sat down and talked about things we’d all end up on the same page. The assumption of pan-leftist solidarity or a shared common goal is a comforting lie.

The left isn’t defined by some set of axioms in ethical philosophy that we can all agree on and than argue about derivations of strategy or implementation from. The left is a historical coalition thrown together by happenstance. As with revolution we tend to self-identify as the underdogs and build our coalitions from the classes we recognize as underdogs against the classes we recognize as ruling but this leads to all kinds of contortions. We are for the right to choose because women are the underdogs in patriarchy. But at the same time we’re pro vegan because animals are the (sometimes literal) underdogs in human domination. Wait, do we value all living things? What counts as a discrete living thing? Do we value them equally or is the level of consciousness/sentience important? Is it the level of dependence or strain it places on another person? Suddenly the responses we have in situations with family members versus the overdogs of christianity seemingly start to come into conflict with the responses we have in situations with disabled people (underdogs!). I’m not saying there isn’t a way to thread all these dynamics, to find a core ethical guide and nuanced attentive implementation — I think there is one (although my particular approach of ultimately recognizing a vast spectrum of sentience/consciousness between zygotes/nematodes and anyone remotely close to a conscious human is denounced by a number on the left as “unegalitarian”). I’m pointing out that our responses rarely arise from an ethical analysis but from instinctual responses to any appearance of an underdog. The left is rarely a philosophy, more often a coalition, with theory tacked on to serve the goals of binding that coalition together. One could easily imagine universes with different historical paths where outlawing abortion is a core leftist plank, seen as deeply interrelated with opposing queerphobia, patriarchy, ableism, etc. Or the left could oppose legal sanction, but support and build grassroots social and cultural sanction against abortion. (Again, for the record I’m pro-choice.)

Underdogism is a really dangerous approach to the world. It’s a good “rule of thumb” but if you know anything about me it’s that I abhor such heuristics and see them as the opposite of radical analysis. Underdogism is how you get things like zionism, leninism, poc nationalism, TERFs, SWERFs, etc. Its failures are manifold. There’s a good case the left is nothing but underdogism — in which case fascism is almost always leftist. MRAs don’t approach politics like a reactionary on the right side of the French Estates General, consciously seeking to preserve an established ruling structure, they see themselves as the underdogs. Sure, they’re not (in almost everything besides some fringe contexts like some bits of divorce law), but fuck it they’re potential underdogs, and that status is more than enough to reproduce much of the standard structures of underdogism.

One might interject that the problem with underdogism of the alt-right is not just their misidentification of underdogs but their hunger for power, and this is certainly broadly true (although a fraction of the alt-right actually seem less in it for power but more in it to drink outgroup/”overdog” tears). But this certainly applies to much of the left in good standing. Certainly many authoritarian leftists have hungrily latched onto underdogism as a potential ladder to power. I’ve met feminist writers who openly admitted to me they’d be patriarchal if they were men, or own slaves if they were antebellum rich whites.

Yes, any set of smart persons who recoil at clear instances of oppression are gonna broadly converge on a number of positions or analyses. But the way they reconcile or hold together these things may differ dramatically. Just because the left is a stable coalition in our present context doesn’t mean aspects of it that seem in perfect harmony won’t break in wildly different directions should certain conditions change.

I have repeatedly encountered leftists who’ve claim that valuing some things above other things is hierarchical and thus right-wing (leftism being in their minds representing something more like stoicism or buddhism). Similarly you find epistemic pluralism common in the most heads-up-their-ass sectors of left academia who think thinking some models of the world are more true than others is “unegalitarian” or even “totalitarian.” It’s tempting to just laugh about hippies and move on, but these sort of horrifically bad definitions of “egalitarianism” will sometimes come out of the mouths of smart people who generally have their heads on straight the moment they move to a context they’re unused to.

Now I hate the NAP, but everyone laughs at the NAP these days for being “unpragmatic” and this has increasingly become tied to a casual indictment of all ethical philosophy itself. A turn that has been encouraged by the twin interrelated scourges of the modern internet far left: tankies and nihilists. This makes sense if — as per social justice — you see the point of the left to create a social framework of etiquette and loose ideology that can bind a coalition of underdog classes together. Thus the increasing refrain of “you can’t compare!” that happens whenever someone tries to tease out commonalities or contradictions between various claims, positions or planks. There is, from this perspective, no common root or unifying ethos to the left and we should not look for one lest the whole project fall apart. Philosophy, ethics, and core values or principles become the enemies, as does both methodological individualism and universalism. There are neither individual experiences nor universal ones, just relatively simplistic classes of people with incomparable experiences. And we bind them together into common cause by badgering, social positioning, poetic affective appeals, and threats of violence.

The left isn’t unified by anything. Marxism is half discredited by idiocy and monstrosity and the half that survived became a wildly contradictory mess more preoccupied with obscurantism, irrationality and anti-realism to hide its own failures than getting anything done much less charting a path. Most of the concerns of the left refer to opposing mythologized superstructures that we are left flailing in the absence of or whenever their composition and behavior change. The left is, in short, utterly allergic to radicalism. Fending off its inadequacies with short puffs of extremism instead.

As social and ideological complexities compound through the runaway feedback of the information age these internal tensions and the laughably frail taping over we’ve done will only become more clear.

There is still hope for a radical anarchism that is willing to root its discussions of freedom and ethics concretely and explicitly. But this will necessarily involve casting off from many allies who we share some limited intuitions or momentary prescriptions with. Or at least dissolving the comforting delusions of a deep camaraderie.

The only reason the lie of “the left” has persisted for two centuries is that its grand Manichean narrative of two more or less uniform tribes — one enlightened and one indecipherably morally corrupt — enables a sense of community that provides psychological comfort to many. To many on the left (as well as on the nationalistic etc right) a hunger for “community” is actually their primary motivation. When chatting at the bar it’s better to not look too deep into why you both oppose capitalists lest you discover something that sunders rather than binds.

But the format of present internet technologies has had the reverse effect. Inescapable contact with The Enemy has led us to put up hostile discursive walls that naturally end up cutting out our traditional allies too, causing both right and left to fracture in desperate attempts to find purity, trustworthiness, or some kind of deeper binding. The happenstance points of unity that worked when we had little choice in who to befriend are now fracturing in all directions. This is largely a good thing, the last two decades have seen all manner of horrors lurking among our own ranks exposed. But the process that brings to light our lack of commonality with the anti-science leftist deep ecologist who wants to kill all humans is also a process that will ultimately rip “the left” to unsalvageable shreds.

This ship is sinking. And just because many of the rats are fleeing doesn’t mean we shouldn’t either.

On the Tactic of Burning Trash Cans

In the wake of the #DisruptJ20 protests in DC and around the world, there have been a lot of criticisms about tactics employed by various protesters. Fellow C4SS writer William Gillis previously tackled the issue of breaking windows and I have discussed the realities I saw in DC when it came to fighting back against the police. But there is one tactic I still constantly see being called into question which must be addressed: burning trash cans.

To an outsider watching these actions on video or in person, seeing a person or group of people rolling trash cans into the street and setting them on fire seems like pointless destruction. It feeds into the narrative that the left just likes to destroy things when they don’t get their way. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The tactic of utilizing trash cans and other objects like newspaper dispensers in such ways actually has a real and well thought out defensive purpose that has been proven to work.

See these trash cans aren’t being toppled and rolled into the streets for the fun of it. They are instead being effectively used as barriers against incoming cops. When the police swoop in to attack protesters with pepper spray, mace, batons, rubber bullets, and concussion grenades, protesters aim to defend themselves. Creating barriers helps slow the advancement of police and, when utilized effectively, can stop their advance altogether and even create police-free zones. The barriers are even more effective when on fire. An unlit trash can can merely be pushed out of the way but a pile of flaming trash cans, newspaper bins, and other materials leaves a lot more to be dealt with before advancement is possible.

After watching people being attacked in DC for protesting peacefully and seeing police kettle protesters in for mass arrests leaving little room for escape, I saw people employ these tactics successfully to push back the cops and give protesters a chance to recover and defend themselves against these armed foot soldiers of the state. So while I may make jokes about Antifa beating up fascist trash cans on K Street, I also understand the real reasoning and success behind utilizing such tactics as a means of self-defense.

Dear non-anarchists,

If we can urge you to do one thing in this spiraling crisis, please note the way the “checks and balances” of the liberal state are rapidly dissolving in the face of a demagogue president with near universal police support.

  • Many cops are just outright ignoring the court orders against Trump’s draconian ban.
  • Cops at Dulles are reportedly detaining and shipping people off to unknown offsite detention centers (ie black sites) to avoid a ruling saying those detained at Dulles should be granted access to legal counsel.
  • Cops have refused to talk directly with a sitting US senator and have in many places responded to legal/etc. requests with sneers of “ask Mr Trump.”

While journalists and civil rights lawyers can help apply broad public pressure, it is absolutely critical that you recognize at the end of the day popular legitimacy from a sheet of paper is not what ultimately empowers the state. Cops with guns are the ultimate foundation of the state, it could not exist without them and their violence.

Power is built on force, and while the crude measure of the 2nd Amendment at least recognizes this, the self-disarmament of liberals and the ideological capture of many armed “libertarians” by white identity politics and authoritarian national collectivism have together opened a window that Bannon is exploiting. You allowed an institution of incredible power to be formed, and to grow, and those at its helm have finally realized they don’t need to obey the rules or the norms you tacked onto it. They may yet be proven wrong in this instance, the variables may yet come out against them. But at this point it’s clearly a matter of chance. Please remember this.

If you want real checks and balances, then abolish positions of power like the presidency and dissolve centralized organizations with monopolistic control over means of violence. Instead of three branches of government in the US, why not three hundred million? Each of us individually taking responsibility for holding others in check, distributedly collaborating in ever vigilance to stop the emergence of thugs/cops and warlords/politicians.

We might yet get through this crisis, in some form or another. And despite this brief bit of “we told you so” lecturing anarchists have your back in any substantive resistance you wish to undertake against tyranny. But please learn some lessons from this situation.

The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 156

Shemuel Meir discusses the recent U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.

Doug Bandow discusses the South Korean left and Trump on U.S. policy vis a vis Korea.

George H. Smith discusses self-ownership and abolitionism.

Christine Guluzian discusses the U.S. alliance with the Philipines govt.

Uri Avnery discusses the two state solution and the path to peace between Israel and Palestine.

Lucy Steigerwald discusses the wishful thinking behind expecting Obama to pardon Chelsea Manning.

Abigail R. Hall Blanco discusses police militarization and Donald Trump.

Jonathan Marshall discusses U.S. manipulation of elections in countries surrounding Russia.

William J. Astore discusses whether Trump will do anything to rein in the military-industrial complex.

Patrick Cockburn discusses the recent dossier on Trump and his experience with Iraqi defector tales of WMD.

Cora Currier discusses a collection of fiction by Iraqi writers.

Murtaza Hussain discusses abuse by border agents.

Alice Speri discusses a DOJ investigation of the Chicago police force.

Jenna McLaughlin and Ryan Devereaux discuss the nominee for the head of the CIA under Trump.

James J. Zogby discusses why the U.S. shouldn’t move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jersualem.

Vijay Prashad discusses the conflict in Syria.

Andrew J. Bacevich discusses the more of the same national security policy Trump will bring us.

Daniel Larison discusses Obama’s legacy of perpteual war.

Ivan Eland discusses the non-existent threat from China.

Glenn Greenwald discusses the accusations of treason being leveled at opponents of NATO tension with Russia.

Richard M. Ebeling discusses the ideas of David Ricardo.

Bonnie Kristian discusses the surveilance state and the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Jeremy Schaill discusses Erik Prince and his ties to the Trump campaign.

Alex Emmons discusses Chelsea Manning.

Derek Davison discusses foreign policy under Obama and the incoming Trump admin with two people.

Patrick Cockburn discussesd the parallels between Trump and the current Turkish leader.

David Swanson discusses the deep state.

Lee Fang discusses the possible conflict of interests of General Kelly.

Robert Koehler discusses the pointlessness of the F-35 figther jet.

Christopher Preble discusses a new approach to the military.

Media Coordinator Weekly Update: January 22-29

Howdy, folks. It’s been… a rough week. Trump’s been super busy with signing executive orders that futz with the rights of people to move freely between geographic locations, his lieutenants are acting all fashy to the press and the public, and basically we’re all doomed. On the upside, there’s a new Del Taco by my work AND C4SS has gotten some good publications out this week. Let’s take a look.

The Week* in Commentary

*So, I didn’t do a review of last week’s published content. Let’s get that out of the way.

Last week (Jan. 15 – 22), Kevin Carson’s “Right to Work and the Apartheid State” article got republished in Counterpunch and the Augusta Free Press. 

This week, we sent three articles out, all written by Kevin. “On Lemon ‘Free Trade'” got picked up by the Augusta Free Press, as did “#NoDAPL: Direct Action Gets the Goods” and “An ‘Open Source Insurgency’ Against Trump?

So that’s the stuff we’ve gotten in other places. Let’s take a look at everything else.

In addition to Kevin’s aforementioned pieces, we’ve also published two other spots by him: “Reason’s Ongoing Love Affair With Educational Cronyism,” and “Empires Don’t Practice ‘Free Trade’.”

I got a piece out as well: “Trump is keeping his promises. We must keep ours.”

The Week in Features

Edmund Berger wrote their latest feature, “Leftist Politicians Will Always Betray Liberty And Globalism” last week. We also have Kevin Carson’s “An Open Source Insurgency Against Trump?” C4SS Coordinating Director (I know how much you hate this title) William Gillis published “Responding to Fascist Organizing,” which has been republished at anarchistnews.org. And Grant Mincy published “Information Ecology: (fo)Rest In Peace.”

The Week in Studies(!)

Edmund Berger has published a new study connecting Deleuze and Guattari to anarchism. Go check it out!


We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on your tax-deductible donations to keep rolling along, putting anarchy into the hands of folks all over the world. Come say hi at ISFLC 2017, be like the generous individuals who have already donated this month, or follow us on Twitter at @c4ssdotorg.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? email me at trevor@c4ss.org or tweet at me at @trevor_c4ss.

Daily Molotov: January 27, 2017

Welcome back to the Daily Molotov, all the news that’s fit to make you hate the state. We took a couple days off because honestly, the news has been overwhelming for the last week and sometimes you just need to decompress. But we’re back now. Here’s today’s top news.

From the New York Times

After signing an executive order demanding the construction of a wall along the United States’ southern border, the Trump Administration has proven that it doesn’t know what the hell it’s even doing. First it called for a 20-percent tax on all imports from Mexico, then it said it didn’t – that the tariff was only part of a “buffet of options.”

Also from the New York Times: Of course, even the act of demanding the border wall has already strained the US’s ties with Mexico. President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a planned meeting with Trump after the order was signed, and former president Vicente Fox has taken to Trump’s online home turf – Twitter – to forcefully and repeatedly let the US president know that Mexico will not build the #fuckingwall.

One major issue Mexico is facing, if Trump is able to get everything he wants on the immigration front, is increased unemployment, poverty and crime. On top of the threatened millions of deportees from the US, just within the last few months Mexico’s population of refugees and migrants has swelled – first with Haitian refugees and then with Cuban migrants stuck in the country after former president Barack Obama stopped the “Wet Feet, Dry Feet” program. The Mexican government is currently trying to find ways to integrate everyone, but the system is already strained.

Republicans have already gladly thrown off their “small-government conservative” t-shirts in support of Trump’s proposals. The border wall is expected to cost anywhere from $15 billion to $25 billion, and that’s chill with conservatives in Congress. Trump has called for an increase in Border Patrol and military agencies, and nobody has raised the minarchist alarm. Senate Democrats attempted to bluff everybody by pushing forward a $1 trillion infrastructure program, and everyone – including Trump – is going along with it.

Trump is looking for a plan from the Pentagon to hit ISIS harder. He also called up the National Parks administrator demanding photos of his inauguration that prove he had the biggest inauguration of all time. Stephen Bannon, one of Trump’s chief strategists, told the media it should “keep its mouth shut” in an interview Thursday. Most of the Sanctuary Cities’ mayors flipped Trump the bird after Wednesday’s executive orders. Trump uses an old Android phone. For some reason the media is framing the upcoming meeting between Theresa May and Donald Trump as a “Reagan-Thatcher” relationship and I don’t much care for it.


From the Washington Post

Six cities tried making it harder for “illegals” to exist, and it didn’t work.

Also, Miami is proving to be the snitch among all the other Sanctuary Cities, which is super disappointing. The media is, as both Trump and his flunkies have made clear, “the opposition party” now. A white nationalist and student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison turns out to also be an arsonist, so that’s neat. The Doomsday Clock is now chilling out at two minutes and 30 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s been since the detonation of the hydrogen bomb in 1953. We now live in an era of “perpetual protest,” and I like that. A student in California who was forced to pee in a bucket by a teacher sued and won. Scientists aren’t able to talk to Trump. The chief of the Border Patrol was canned. Sean Spicer probably tweeted his Twitter password twice. And that’s probably enough major media news for one day.


From Infoshop NewsSyrian Kurds are rebuilding the city of Kobane.

From It’s Going DownWater protectors protesting the DAPL are resisting a grand jury and asking for solidarity.

From CrimethInc.The anarchists meet Trump in Philadelphia.

From JacobinJeremy Scahill: “No Quarter for Trump.”

From The NationFolks in Kensington are forming a grassroots anti-anti-immigration squad.

From The InterceptScientists from the government who are at the US Climate Conference are terrified to speak to the press.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

Want this directly in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to our mailing list below.




The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 155

Jim Lobe discusses public backing for the Iran deal.

Jesse Schatz discusses likely U.S. policy towards the GCC countries under Trump.

Nick Turse discusses special ops and the gray zone.

Jeremy Scahill discusses the real alleged target of a drone strike that killed a 16 year old teenager still being at large.

Robert Mackay discusses that most Israelis want a soldier recently convicted pardoned.

Zaid Jilani discusses the politics of embassies and moving the U.S. one in Israel to Jersualem.

Melvin Goodman discusses the dark side of the Obama legacy.

Robert Fisk discusses a journalist’s ordeal in an Egytpian prison.

Jim Lobe discusses an open letter to Trump from Iranian-Americans on upholding the Iran deal.

Uri Avnery discusses the Israeli settlements in the ooccupied territories.

David Swanson discusses torture and the Obama admin.

Robert Fantina discusses Kerry, the settlements, and Bibi.

Vijay Prashad discusses Algeria.

Neve Gordon discusses the recent conviction of an IDF soldier.

Laurence M. Vance discusses killing in war.

Laurence M. Vance discusses sanctions on Iran.

Sam Biddle discusses the weak nature of the declassified version of an intelligence report alleging Russia was behind the hacking of the DNC this past election season.

Jacob G. Hornberger discusses ditching the CIA, NSA, and Pentagon.

Medea Benjamin discusses the hawkish foreign policy of Obama.

Patrick Cockburn discusses how the Saudi regime’s bid to dominate the Middle East has failed.

David R. Henderson discusses Q and A with Robert Gates.

Richard M. Ebeling discusses William Godwin and Thomas Malthus.

Jacob G. Hornberger discusses the CIA being above the law.

Matthew Cole discusses the atrocities of Seal Team Six.

Abigail R. Hall Blanco discusses Obama as the drone president.

Michael Brendan Dougherty discusses the hypocrisy of Democratic Party folks on foreign policy and war.

Robert Fisk discusses time spent with a fellow journalist.

Kenneth Surin discusses the MLA and BDS.

David Swanson discusses the lack of evidence for the allegations against Russia.

Daily Molotov: January 24, 2017

Welcome back to the Daily Molotov, all the news that’s fit to make you hate the state. Here’s today’s headlines.

From the New York Times

Donald Trump told lawmakers that the reason he lost the popular vote was because of “illegal immigrants.” It’s not true.

Also from the New York Times: Trump gathered the CEOs of major corporations to the White House to threaten them with a “border tax” if they took jobs out of the country. The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Brexit needs Parliament to give it the go-ahead. El Chapo is being held at a prison that former inmates call “tougher than Guantánamo Bay.” The US has abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal. Sean Spicer had another press briefing; this time it wasn’t as confrontational.


From the Washington Post

Senate Democrats, in a ridiculous (and kind of hilarious) move, are mulling over a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Also from the Washington Post: A former mayor of Hiroshima has urged Trump to meet the remaining survivors of the bomb in an effort to make the President take nuclear weapons seriously. And yet, this is a man who named his own inauguration day the “National Day of Patriotic Devotion,” so I don’t know how serious he’s going to take survivors of a nuclear weapon strike. Julia Hahn is going to advise Steve Bannon. Hahn was a writer at Breitbart. And the CDC abruptly canceled a panel on climate change and its effect on public health, and no one knows why.


From Politico

Republicans are having a hard time keeping things together over the Affordable Care Act repeal.

Also from Politico: Donald Trump is assembling a shadow cabinet in order to keep the actual cabinet he appointed in line. Kellyanne Conway has a Secret Service detail because she’s afraid of the media. That’s super weird. Sean Spicer was bothered by being called a liar. In related news, the CEO of Dippin’ Dots tried to mend fences with Spicer. Spicer has continued to give the confectionery the cold shoulder. I’ll see myself out.


From Mic.com

As Trump signed an anti-abortion executive order yesterday, West Virginia became the newest state in the union to only have one abortion provider within its borders.

Also from Mic.com: Trump’s nominee for labor secretary called Carls Jr. employees “the best of the worst.” Not quite sure how to take that from a man whose last name can be modified to read “putz,” but whatever.


From Infoshop News

Here is a running global tally of the Women’s March.

From It’s Going Down

What Counts as Violence? Why The Right Can Shoot Us Now.” Also, here’s an interview with Alexander Reid Ross.

From Jacobin

Kenzo Shibata has an article on the Women’s March up. Also, “We Can Make the Nazis Back Down.”

From The Nation

Dave Zirin was at the inauguration. It was tiny.

From the Intercept

Lawmakers in eight states now have proposed laws that would criminalize peaceful protest.

From Antiwar News

The United States has vowed to keep China from claiming islands built by China.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

Want this directly in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to our mailing list below.



Daily Molotov: January 23, 2017

Welcome back to the Daily Molotov! It’s been… an interesting weekend, but it’s time to get back to the daily grind. Here are today’s top headlines from across the media landscape.

From the New York Times

President Trump’s first weekend was… fairly goofy. And not in any sort of endearing way. Against a backdrop of protest demonstrations taking place on literally every continent, Trump’s (and his administration’s) gaffes looked more like the mad scramblings of a tinpot dictator than a peaceful transition of power. From a press secretary who spent his first press briefing yelling at the press about crowd sizes, to a counselor who peddles “alternative facts” on political talk shows and who announced Sunday that Trump unequivocally will not release his tax returns, this weekend was wild.

Also from the New York Times: Foreign payments to Trump businesses violate the constitution, according to a new lawsuit. The Women’s March protests around the country (and world) gathered nearly 2.5 million people into the streets of major cities and small towns. Now people want to know: what happens next? Cervical cancer is killing a larger number of people in the US than originally thought. And tornadoes ripped through the Southeast US.


From the Washington Post

Margaret Sullivan comes in with the sharpest hot take, of course. Sean Spicer has ended the old way of reporting on the president. From Sullivan: “White House press briefings are ‘access journalism,’ in which official statements — achieved by closeness to the source — are taken at face value and breathlessly reported as news. And that is over. Dead.” Good!

Also from the Washington Post: An historic concrete ship was smashed to bits by California storm waves. Marco Rubio might not approve Rex Tillerson. But he probably will. Gambia’s former president took off with literally all of the country’s wealth. France is moving to the right, politically. The field failure analysis has come back from Samsung over why its Note 7 blew up last fall: “the battery components in the Galaxy Note 7 did not properly fit in the battery’s casing,” and “several manufacturing issues, including inadequate welding at the battery manufacturer, as the company raced to produce those new phones” in the second batch. So that’s unfortunate.


From PoliticoFederal workers are upset by Trump’s hiring freeze. Trump gives FBI Director James Comey a pat on the back for being “more famous than me.” And Wikileaks has called Trump out for not releasing his tax returns.

From Antiwar NewsThe cost of the air war between us and ISIS has reached $11 billion.

From The InterceptThe new CIA director-nominee is into torture. ALSO: Jeremy Scahill is starting a new podcast, first episode out on Wednesday!

From The NationScott Pruitt is not super great on the environment, which is a thing you know if you live in Oklahoma.

From It’s Going DownTexas prisoners are being punished for revealing horrid conditions. Also, IGD has a whole slew of protest reportbacks from this past weekend. Check them out here.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

Want this directly in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to our mailing list below.



Daily Molotov: Places to find ongoing coverage of anti-Trump protests

Donald J. Trump has been sworn in as the 45th President of the United States amidst a backdrop of citywide protest actions from various groups.

Check out Infoshop News and It’s Going Down for ongoing coverage of the action, and if you’re on Twitter, make sure you’re following #disruptJ20.

Infoshop News

It’s Going Down

Some thoughts in the final hours before life under Trump

Well, here it is. The final hours before Donald Trump takes his place at the head of the United States. Starting at 12:00 pm Friday, Trump will control the military, influence domestic and foreign policy, and lay the groundwork for future generations.

We’re all fucking doomed, but I’ve come to terms with this.

I’m not ready for tomorrow. Nobody I know is. The future has never been as uncertain in my memory as it is right now, and maybe it never has been. What I do know for sure, however, is that we have to fight.

What am I fighting for? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot over the past 70+ days since the election. Who am I fighting for, and more importantly, with?

I look at my friends and loved ones who are going to be hit hardest by Trump’s policies. I’m fighting for them. I look at the people the last president unfairly imprisoned for a variety of reasons – whose lives are about to get that much worse under Trump. I’m fighting for them. I’m looking at a door that is steadily closing on a free world for everyone. I’m fighting to keep that door open.

Part of me is motivated by fear, but underneath that thin peel of fear is a thick core of love. I fight for the people in my life who are set to be destroyed by the incoming administration because I love them. I can’t fucking explain to you how much I love them. I love everyone I work with here at the Center, I love my friends, my partner, my parents… I want them to come out of the next potentially horrendous four years and be okay.

I am determined to make sure they are okay on the other side of this nightmare.

Let’s begin.

 

Burn Them Prisons

It’s just kinda weird how there’s one person who somehow has the ability to sign off on Chelsea Manning being continuously imprisoned in, or released from, a monitored, regimented, surveilled life in a cage. I don’t know what it feels like to have another adult human’s very existence as a free individual in the palm of my hands and I don’t really want to. Feels sort of unnatural to me.

All the appreciation towards the person who held the key to her cage, to her life and happiness, for seven years, but didn’t do anything, is even stranger. I have no idea what magic can give someone the right to hold not only Chelsea’s key, but the key to millions of others locked away, rotting in cages, the domestic collateral damage to Democracy and Progress.

I don’t have much anger or disappointment directed at the man who happened to hold her key the past seven years, though. He is ultimately a cog in the machine, twisted into the evil scum that he is because of his role as the Leader of the Free World. This dastardly role will soon be handed over to someone else. Someone much scarier.

But it’s vital that we not confuse an institutional problem for a personality problem. Neither of these men would hold those keys if not for their role. It is not the existence of either of them that is evil, but the fact they are handed the keys to others’ freedom.

The prison guard and prisoner have the potential to be cooperative, joyful people, interacting for mutual benefit. But we will never see if that world is possible as long as we take for granted the absolutely bizarre notion of one person deciding who remains caged and who goes free. There’s no time to wait for the prison guards to decide. Let’s burn the prisons down instead.

Daily Molotov: January 18, 2017

Welcome to the Daily Molotov, all the news that’s fit to hate the state. We’re finally back on schedule and at our regular posting level again after a tumultuous – yet exciting – couple of days. Let’s check out some of our latest headlines from across the media.

From the New York Times

The biggest story right now is still that Barack Obama has granted Chelsea Manning clemency, reducing her sentence to end on May 17, 2017. The fact that Manning will be a free woman almost seems like a dream. With Billionaire Freddy Krueger about to take office, my fear is that he’s going to make Manning’s remaining few months in prison a living nightmare. There’s still work to do.

There’s definitely more news, though. Edward Snowden’s asylum in Russia has been extended. The Trump transition team has barely communicated at all with the National Security Council. Eighteen million people could lose their health insurance with the repeal of the ACA. Gambia’s current president has dug in, refusing to accept the results of a recent election. Israeli security forces fatally wounded a Palestinian teenager on Monday and it was caught on video, sparking outrage.


From the Washington Post

Secretary of Education pick Betsy DeVos has been in hearings to see if congress will confirm her for the job. So far, that road is looking kind of rocky. Yesterday, the hearing devolved into a full-on shouting match.

Thirty members of the House of Representatives are boycotting the inauguration, but no senators are following suit. They’re chasing power. Apparently one of Donald Trump’s heroes is… uh… well, read this. A buildup of hydrogen sulfide and methane gas under a manhole in Key Largo, Fla. killed three workers and severely injured several more.


From Politico

Trump claimed he would “drain the swamp” under the Beltway by removing lobbyist influence. He didn’t. Also, he will be entering the White House without much of his cabinet, and apparently he “doesn’t like tweeting.” Finally, the transition team is looking at “retooling” the State Department to focus primarily on terrorism. You know, like the other four departments that do that.

From Slate

Rex Tillerson’s confirmation may be in jeopardy. Also, Tom Friedman doesn’t know anything – but you knew that. Betsy DeVos says guns are necessary in schools to fend off grizzlies, which, I mean. Finally, student data  security at public schools is unsurprisingly bad.


From The Nation

Symbolic protest is not enough. We need to “throw sand in the gears of everything.”

From Jacobin

Joe Soss responds to a terrible New York Times article on food stamps.

From Anarchist News

Here’s a letter from a French anarchist in prison about justice.

From It’s Going Down

Denver Anarchist Black Cross has called for support of a political prisoner in Colorado, Coyote Acabo.

From CrimethInc.

“Five Principles of Direct Action,” an analysis of the 2001 anti-inauguration protests.

From the Libertarian Institute

Erik Prince’s mercenaries are bombing Libya.

From Antiwar News

Douchebags think Chelsea Manning’s freedom is a national security risk.

From the Intercept

Erik Prince has been covertly advising Trump.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

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Daily Molotov: January 17, 2017

Welcome to the Daily Molotov, all the news that’s fit to hate the state with. 

Chelsea Manning, the whistleblower who was arrested in 2010 for leaking documents about the Iraq and Afghan Wars to Wikileaks, will be released in May after outgoing president Barack Obama commuted the remainder of her sentence.

Excuse us while we celebrate instead of post a normal blog post. Congratulations to all of the activists and supporters who pushed for Manning’s release. We’ll see you tomorrow.

From the New York TimesObama commutes the bulk of Chelsea Manning’s sentence.

Daily Molotov: January 16, 2017

Welcome to the Daily Molotov, all the news that’s fit to hit the state with. Here are some of today’s important headlines.

From the New York TimesHey, listen, we’re all screwed.

Also from the New York Times: One of the Samsung heirs might be going to jail. And Trump’s connections to Russia go back three decades.

From the Washington PostSome members of the Deep State were “NeverTrump” folks, and they’re probably gonna be ignored.

Also from the Washington Post: Monica Crowley won’t take the National Security Council job because she plagiarized from a foot doctor. Over 30 Democrats will be skipping the inauguration.

From PoliticoDonald Trump is by no means a uniter. Also, Gene Cernan, the last person to walk on the Moon, has died at 82.

From SlateThat whole overtime raise thing didn’t happen. Also, Trump at one point called Russia “our biggest problem” before running for president.


From Infoshop NewsDisruptJ20 was filmed by some nerds called “Project Veritas,” and have released a statement accordingly.

From Anarchist NewsHere are some resources for #DisruptJ2o.

From Antiwar NewsShockingly, Iran doesn’t want to renegotiate its nuclear deal.

From CrimethInc.A history of counter-inauguration protests.

From LibcomA look back on Obama’s deportation regime.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

Want this directly in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to our mailing list below.



Media Coordinator Weekly Update: January 9-15, 2017

Howdy, folks! It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for me to share with you all sorts of fun stuff related to the work we do here at C4SS.

MORE NEWS DIGESTS!!

In addition to the Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review, last week we launched the Daily Molotov. Here’s what we’re doing with that. For now, what you see is what you get: a daily digest of “All the News That’s Fit to Hate the State With,” but we plan on adding other stuff, including podcasts, original reporting and more. This is part of our ongoing efforts to expand what the Center does and how it functions.

The Week in Commentary

Kevin Carson’s “No Right to Free Water – Except for Nestlé” got picked up by Counterpunch, the Augusta Free Press, Dinâmicas Sul-sur, MB3-org.com, Abundant-hope.net, and mvprogressives.org. Logan Glitterbomb’s “Combating hate: A Radical Leftist guide to Gun Control,” got picked up at the Augusta Free Press.

This has so far been a really good month for commentaries, but I’m already late as is SO I’m going to wrap this up. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that relies on your tax-deductible donations to keep rolling along, putting anarchy into the hands of folks all over the world. Come say hi at ISFLC 2017, be like the generous individuals who have already donated this month, or follow us on Twitter at @c4ssdotorg.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? email me at trevor@c4ss.org or tweet at me at @trevor_c4ss.

The Weekly Libertarian Leftist Review 154

Robert Parry discusses bad news for neocons and liberal interventionists.

Luis Gómez Romero immigration policy.

Binoy Kampmark discusses the U.N. vote on Israeli settlements.

Cesar Chelala discusses the recent absention of the U.S. from a vote on Israeli settlements.

Marjorie Cohn discusses U.S. foreign policy developments in the year 2016.

Medea Benjamin discusses the U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen.

Gwynne Dyer discusses the U.N., Bibi, and Obama.

Glenn Greenwald discusses a false story in the Washington Post about alleged Russian hacking of the electrical grid.

Vijay Prashad discusses what the Israeli govt fears about the recent U.N. condemnation.

Uri Avnery discusses Trump’s cabinet and anti-semitism

Glenn Greenwald discusses false claims made about Wikileaks by a Guardian reporter.

Doug Bandow discusses why Russia today is not the USSR. I disagree with some of it, but it is useful for showing how the alleged present day Russian threat is inflated.

James Risen discusses how Obama’s war on press freedom laid the groundwork for a potential Trump admin war on press liberty.

David Swanson discusses how war erodes civil liberties.

Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man discusses the possibility of annexation of the West Bank.

Grant Smith discusses how military aid to Israel leads to incentives for war.

Ray McGovern discusses the Afghan quagmire and Obama’s lack of political courage.

Jacob G. Hornberger discusses foreign policy interventionism and blowback.

Laruence M. Vance discusses Taiwan, China, and the U.S.

Norman Solomon discusses the Democratic Party and the latest controvsery over Russia.

Lucy Steigerwald discusses Trump and the war on privacy.


Ramzy Baroud discusses the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Trump admin.

The New York Times editorial board discusses where secret arrests were stand procedure.

A. Barton Hinkle discusses big government.

Laurence M. Vance discusses the Small Business Adminstration. I am not a fan of his angle on minimum wage laws or anti-discrimination laws, but I appreciate the anti-corporate welfare push of this article.

Owen Jones discusses U.S. interference in foreign elections.

Phillip Smith discusses deaths from the War on Drugs.

Jacob G. Hornberger discusses charity vs the welfare state.

Jacob G. Hornberger discusses the only solution to the healthcare crisis in the U.S.

Michael Rieger discusses early Japanese liberalism.

Daily Molotov Weekend Overview: January 13-15, 2017

Welcome to C4SS’s Daily Molotov, formerly News Bits, All The News That’s Fit to Hate the State With. This is a recap of the top news from this weekend as well as a look back at last week’s top stories. Podcast version here to come.

From the New York TimesScott Pruitt, outgoing Oklahoma Attorney General and buddy of the oil and gas industry, is shockingly antipathetic to attempts to regulate on environmental grounds. Related: here are 14 examples of this.

Also from the New York Times: SpaceX launched its first rocket since that launchpad explosion back in September 2016. Also, we’re not doing super great on that whole “police reform” bit. Here’s a really good series on the challenges and rewards facing Canadians as they accept refugees from Syria. This is how Chelsea Manning has been living since her conviction in 2013. Both Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses are closing down for good.


From the Washington PostDonald Trump went after Democratic Rep. John Lewis (who called his presidency illegitimate) toward the end of last week. It did wonders for Lewis’s book sales.

Also from the Washington Post: Protestors at UC Davis disrupted a “debate” between horrible person and pharmaceutical exec Martin Shkreli and horrible person and Nazi Milo Yiannopoulos. Dog poo was allegedly involved. Police in Evanston, Illinois violently arrested a man for stealing a car. The car was his. Mike Pence sure didn’t have any contact with Russia. No sir no ma’am.


From the US edition of the UK GuardianDonald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet in Reykjavik after the inauguration. So that’s fun.

Also from the US edition of the UK Guardian: Jennifer Holliday canceled her appearance at the inauguration. Protestors in Louisiana are fighting Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for the Dakota Access Pipeline, over a new pipeline in the bayou. Immigration activists are making final preparations for Trump.


From PoliticoTrump has been slow to vet candidates he’s chosen that are part of the mega-rich class. CIA director John Brennan (who OU Students for a Stateless Society protested in 2014) called Trump’s “Nazi Germany” comment “outrageous,” which, I mean, true. Peter Thiel is considering running for California governor. Democrats from red states gunned for Jeff Sessions.

From Mic.comProtests against Trump’s inauguration have started, with a march dubbed the “We Shall Not Be Moved” march garnering a gathering of hundreds on Saturday. Donald Trump is not going to visit a black museum after he fought John Lewis. A Republican public official in Greenwich, Connecticut was arrested after grabbing a union worker in the genitals.


From AnarchistNewsWe have some updates on prisoners in Chile and Italy.

From Infoshop NewsA new indigenous and popular resistance group has been formed in Guerrero.

From It’s Going DownA call for militant femmes to march in Washington DC this upcoming Friday has gone out. Also, Mike Peinovich has been outed as the head of The Right Stuff dot biz.

From CrimethInc.Here are ten reasons to go hard in the paint on inauguration day. Also CrimethInc. has a new website and it looks so goooooooood you guys.

From Antiwar NewsTrump will be keeping sanctions against Russia “for now” after the inauguration.

From The InterceptThe Intercept has put out a call for submissions to any public official concerned about working under a Trump presidency.


Thanks for reading the Daily Molotov, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

Want this directly in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to our mailing list below.



News Bits: January 12, 2017

Welcome back to News Bits, All the News That’s Fit to Hate the State With. This is going to be kind of a quick one! Here’s what’s happening. 

From the New York TimesDonald Trump had his first press conference yesterday. It didn’t go too well.

Also from the New York Times: Volkswagen pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to violate the Clean Air Act, customs violations and obstruction of justice, and six executives are being specifically named. And Eric Holder is leading a partisan redistricting committee designed to fight Republican gerrymandering.


From the Washington PostDonald Trump said during his press conference that he has nothing to do with Russia. But it isn’t true.

Also from the Washington Post: The Senate is coming closer to being able to repeal Obamacare. Ben Carson’s HUD Secretary hearing is set to happen soon. Experts say that Amelia Earhart didn’t die in a plane crash. Which, I guess is good news, but where did she go?


From the Los Angeles TimesTwo LAPD cops who shot and killed a 16-year-old in Boyle Heights, CA last year didn’t have their body cameras on. But hey, they’re great deterrents!

Also from the Los Angeles Times: California is REALLY getting wrecked by storms. And the produce industry has announced plans to eliminate abusive conditions for Mexican farm labor.


From the Chicago TribuneCory Booker went hard after Jeff Sessions, saying he should not be Attorney General.

Also from the Chicago Tribune: The Justice Department is set to announce that it has found major constitutional abuses from Chicago law enforcement. Major cellular providers are set to remove unlimited plans from existence once and for all.


From National Public RadioOffice of Governmental Ethics director Walter Schaub is asking Donald Trump to completely divest from his businesses.

Also from National Public Radio: Elaine Chao is coasting to her nomination as Secretary of Transportation. The Supreme Court is examining how schools deal with students with disabilities. And several states are considering raising gasoline taxes in an effort to fill up budget holes.


From PoliticoChuck Schumer is going to vote against Jeff Sessions’ nomination. Also, Mike Pompeo will be grilled over whether the CIA will remain independent, and Rex Tillerson didn’t have a super great time at his hearing for Secretary of State nomination.

From SlateAlabama representative Mo Brooks calls criticisms of Jeff Sessions’ position on racial issues the result of a “war on whites.” Also, the ex-wife of one of Trump’s cabinet appointees, Andrew Pudzer, has allegedly appeared on Oprah to accuse him of physical abuse. And the law firm that Trump uses was named “Russia’s law firm of the year” in 2016.

From SalonThe Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, called Trump to let him know he condemned yesterday’s leaked report. Kellyanne Conway says Trump was “very happy” to receive that call. Also, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a Paris summit “rigged” against Israel.

From Mic.comBlack activists plan a week of actions from MLK day to the inauguration. Also, here’s how Wikileaks went from a government transparency outfit to a mouthpiece for the Trump administration.


From Antiwar News55 people were killed during heavy fighting in Yemen.

From The Anti-MediaThe United States dropped three bombs per hour in 2016.

From The InterceptHomeland Security nominee John Kelly didn’t disclose his links to a lobbying firm.

From It’s Going DownMapuche activists in Chile are still protesting for their freedom.

From The GuardianChelsea Manning is on Pres. Obama’s “shortlist” for commutation. Edward Snowden called on Obama to release her via Twitter, saying “only you can save her life.”

From JacobinWho put Trump in the White House?” asks Kim Moody.


Thanks for reading News Bits, curated for C4SS by Trevor Hultner. You can submit news tips to trevor@c4ss.org, tweet at us either at @c4ssdotorg or @trevor_c4ss, or leave a comment below. Your continued support of the Center for a Stateless Society means we can continue to roll out new features like this.

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Farewell Obama

Obama using his farewell address to make a sales pitch for political activism and running for office as the solution to people’s problems pretty much sums up modern liberalism. Snake oil politicians trot out this tired bullshit whenever they see the religious zeal surrounding them and their policy initiatives fading away.

Does Obama really see his remarkable political ascendancy as part of any realistic aspiration for marginalized people? Power doesn’t just corrupt; it blinds you to the reality of your words while building you a throne atop which you can sit, privileged enough to avoid being victimized by the excesses of state capitalism.

While change and diversity were the main themes of Obama’s address, he remains arrogantly intolerant of people who have no interest in the reality show of American politics and repeats the same old conservative pleas for faith in his failed institutions. The fact is that most eligible voters chose nobody for president. The number of people who would rather spend time with their family, read a book, have sex, get high, burn a flag, see a movie, work, or just sit there and stare at a wall rather than cast a meaningless vote for one of two aspiring murderers outweigh the backwards, out of touch, “politically engaged” citizens.

Obama should recognize this trend and use his platform to channel it into true civic virtue and mutual aid, not beg the productive members of society for their time, attention, or, worst of all, moral license while he uses their money to blow up children in the Middle East while paying lip service to “democratic values” from his cozy position.

The more people who take the outgoing president’s advice, the less their voice actually matters on the margin — so goes the systematically under-provided public good of intelligent political activity. But I guess this cruel irony of politics is easy to ignore when your voice actually does matter but you want to deflect blame onto those damn lazy, selfish voters for your legacy of mass deportation, unaccountable drone killings, and bulking up the surveillance state and executive power just in time for a megalomaniac to be elected by your precious democracy. The entire speech was practically one big exercise in absolving himself from any guilt whatsoever and doing the political equivalent of victim blaming.

The pervasiveness of this laughable narrative really is a big reason why Trump won. After all, if your leaders just keep telling you to vote harder and faster, but continually abuse you, then a strong man who bucks this trend and offers instant gratification seems like the only sensible way to play the game of politics. Unfortunately the prospect of moving to alternative ways of organizing society that are more peaceful and horizontal, that don’t so easily reward people who crave power over others, is lost on Obama.

The biggest arms dealer in the world insisting that “citizen” is the most powerful office in the United States as he rides off into the sun on wings of moral superiority and blamelessness for his many war crimes in Yemen and Pakistan is so tone deaf and emblematic of Obama’s self-congratulatory and downright contradictory underdog Americanism that it makes the most fitting end to his presidency. It disgusts me to remember that over the next four years we will be looking back on the Obama years with nostalgia. There’s never been a better argument for burning it down.
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