The POWER Matrix

THE POWER MATRIX illustrates the relationships among key factors in the dynamic balance of power.  POWER comes from the informed consent of the governed – WE, THE PEOPLE, are sovereign.  However, since POWER abhors a vacuum,  WE, THE PEOPLE, must ORGANIZE locally to store our power for use in the good offices of HUMANITY.  When we do not keep OUR POWER local, it creates a vacuum which sucks OUR POWER away from local HUMANITY and sends it to remote centralized bureaucracy.  WE, THE PEOPLE, have superior NUMBERS, and, IF ORGANIZED, superior POWER.   The way to sustain HARMONY, HUMANITY, & DEMOCRACY is via ORGANIZATION of, by, & for the people!

This means nothing can stop us without our consent!  EL PUEBLO UNIDOS JAMAS SERA VENCIDO!

NO NEW PARTIES!

NO NEW PARTIES!  

We have MORE than enough, already!

Really?  Start a new party?  Just like that?  Sure!  Why not!  WOW! WTF?!?! Ask the Libertarians!  Ask the Greens!  

It's TOO LATE to run as an Independent!  Ballot DEADlines - past, passing, soon-to-pass!  Failing success on JULY 25, we each have an excruciatingly painful decision to wrestle with - even as we share the workload of a REVOLUTION! BUT! DISengaging will not hurt either Clinton OR Trump!  It will help them BOTH!  All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing (Burke)!

BERNIE could have already taken over the Democratic Party as part of the campaign!  But, IF they even considered it for a split-second, the BERNIE-PAID EXPERT STAFF failed to do a tiny bit of preparation in advance to have BERNIE people run for party posts.  It's excellent training in & of itself for our future battles!  The Democratic Party is top-heavy, bureaucratic, big, slow, & stupid!  It is a sitting duck!  With our STRENGTH of NUMBERS all we lack is STRENGTH of ORGANIZATION.  Why?  Because NOBODY TEACHES US about ORGANIZATION!  Those who figure this out & learn on their own become useful to existing pols & get purchased & then they have something to lose and then they drink the Cool-Aid to get along to go along.

But, BERNERS are not for sale!  We don't need another hero or another party!  All we need is ORGANIZATION!  

FOCUS the BERN ! (Super) Delegates JULY 25 ! THEN ! ORGANIZE ! ORGANIZE ! ORGANIZE ! 200,000 PRECINCTS ! 50 STATES 

FOCUS the BERN ! BUILD a NEW online infrastructure to support, facilitate, & sustain a NETWORK of citizens in 200,000 PRECINCTS in 50 STATES + TERRITORIES!

We, the people, HAVE the STRENGTH of NUMBERS!  We NEED to gain the STRENGTH of ORGANIZATION!

We can EITHER build something brand new from the ground UP, - OR - we can SEIZE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY and commandeer it for the Next American Revolution and SHOW them what democracy looks like!

AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, our elections must be made thoroughly INDEPENDENT & PARTY-FREE!

This will take some time.  IN THE MEANTIME, as the Republican Party disintegrates into a zombie-party, it will still be part of our two-party election process.  The Democratic Party will become an even more centralized & unchallenged party as the other party to our two-party election process.  

FURTHER, if Clinton wins, it will have this even more centralized & unchallenged & EVEN-LESS Democratic Party to do its evil bidding!

If we TAKE it, we can take it down!  

If we TAKE it, we can make it the party to end all parties and remove both parties from the peoples' election process.

If we TAKE it, we can make it into an infrastructure of democracy in 200,000 PRECINCTS in 50 STATES + TERRITORIES!

If we TAKE it, we can make sure it can never wreck another election!

If we TAKE it, we can make sure it can never threaten to foreclose on a FUTURE TO BELIEVE IN!

If we DO NOT TAKE it, then we must NOT TAKE THE BAIT of a new party!

A new party will be a new TIME-SUCK, ENERGY-SUCK, & RESOURCE-SUCK!!!

IF you want a party, THEN TAKE the one that is ALREADY ORGANIZED in 200,000 precincts in 50 States and that is already plugged into the 2-party power grid and that is a sitting duck unable to resist massive attack of young smart angry BERNERS!

FOCUS the BERN

FOCUS the BERN!

The NEXT PRESIDENT will be EITHER:

A. Democratic Nominee (JULY 25)

! COULD still be BERNIE !

B. Republican Nominee (JULY 18)

! COULD still NOT be Trump !

FOCUS the BERN on the (Super) Delegates!

AFTER THAT,
no matter WHO is President, 

IF we, the people,

fail to organize as active citizens, 

THEN there will be no change.  

200,000 PRECINCTS

50 STATES + TERRITORIES

! ORGANIZE ! ORGANIZE ! ORGANIZE !

We need an online infrastructure 

to support & facilitate 

a network of citizens in 

200,000 PRECINCTS in 50 STATES + TERRITORIES !

PLAN for a Future to Believe In!

PLAN for a Future to Believe In!

ASSUMPTIONS

1. REAL CHANGE = GOOD Elected Officials + WELL-Organized Local Citizens .PERIOD. simple equation 

+ No matter WHO holds an office, if we, the people, fail to organize as active citizens, then there will be no change.  We have occasional pockets & instances of successful citizenship.  We NEED SUSTAINED CITIZENSHIP!  The current system makes it nearly impossible to sustain active & effective citizenship. We, the people, must build an entirely new system designed, built, and operated OF HUMANITY, BY HUMANITY, and FOR HUMANITY! This is a BIG, BIG JOB!  No matter WHO holds an office - Dog Catcher to President - the power grid must be replaced. OUT with the money & corpocrats! IN with organization & humanity!

2. NEXT PRESIDENT will be EITHER the Democratic Nominee OR the Republican Nominee.

3. FBI seems to be investigating ALL Clinton scandals

+ BIG SERIOUS JOB ... tall grass, big snakes, lots of them!  One case of potentially many might actually make it past AG Lynch on to Grand Jury & into court WITHOUT hauling in half of Washington, DC with it.  Surgical precision necessary to excise (& exorcise ?) the giant tumor metastasizing throughout our body politic.  With some expert care and many hours of micro-scraping they may be able to separate the cancer from the human being(s). Whether before July 25 or not it will be a tough decision for the (super)delegates!  At least, with Bernie, they WILL have an alternative live option who is a strong, tested & vetted candidate who will beat Trump!!!   

4. WARREN as VP (Nominee) 

+ As VP (Nominee), Warren is installed as our insurance policy for when when Clinton's toxicity takes its final toll. We could do far worse!  While such "happy-sappy" compromise is revolting to watch... so is lancing a boil, cleaning up vomit, caring for those who cannot care for themselves, scrubbing toilets, and changing diapers.  It's a dirty job, but, some strong adult must assume the risk of getting their hands dirty and do what needs to be done.  While I have never questioned her authenticity, her conspicuous absence, I have attributed to wise reserve.  From last year & earlier, we all knew this would get ugly and that, come July 25, 2016, we will need someone NOT TOO bruised & bloodied who is FULLY battle-ready for the general election.  Whether as a fresh horse for President or as a fresh face as VP.  I still give her the benefit of the doubt.  


PLAN A ! ELECT BERNIE & take back America !

PUT PEOPLE FIRST by building a civil, civic infrastructure to develop & sustain an active, vital citizen network in 200,000 precincts in 50 states (+ territories +).

• Work with President Sanders.
• Work for a friendly Congress.
• Work for stronger communities & better neighborhoods.
• Work for sustainable economy, environment, & education.
• Work for new domestic policy & foreign policy of the people, by the people, and for the people.
• Work for open & transparent government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
• Work for a Future to Believe In!

PLAN B ! BACK BERNIE & take back America !

PUT PEOPLE FIRST by building a civil, civic infrastructure to develop & sustain an active, vital citizen network in 200,000 precincts in 50 states (+ territories +).

• Work with Senator Sanders.
• Work for a friendly Congress.
• Work for stronger communities & better neighborhoods.
• Work for sustainable economy, environment, & education.
• Work for new domestic policy & foreign policy of the people, by the people, and for the people.
• Work for open & transparent government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
• Work for a Future to Believe In!

GROUPTHINK is Deterioration of Mental Efficiency and Moral Judgement

GROUPTHINK

What is Groupthink?

Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (p. 9).  Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups.  A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.

References (also see annotated bibliography of books, articles and websites below)

Janis, Irving L.  (1972).  Victims of Groupthink.  New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Janis, Irving L.  (1982).  Groupthink: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascoes.  Second Edition.  New York: Houghton Mifflin.

SOURCE:  Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSYSR) | GROUPTHINK

Symptoms of Groupthink

Janis has documented eight symptoms of groupthink:

1. Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
2. Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
3. Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
4. Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
5. Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
6. Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
7. Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
8. Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

When the above symptoms exist in a group that is trying to make a decision, there is a reasonable chance that groupthink will happen, although it is not necessarily so.  Groupthink occurs when groups are highly cohesive and when they are under considerable pressure to make a quality decision.  When pressures for unanimity seem overwhelming, members are less motivated to realistically appraise the alternative courses of action available to them. These group pressures lead to carelessness and irrational thinking since groups experiencing groupthink fail to consider all alternatives and seek to maintain unanimity. Decisions shaped by groupthink have low probability of achieving successful outcomes.

SOURCE:  Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSYSR) | GROUPTHINK