We have also setup Events for the Townhalls over in the TYT Official Discord. If you area member over there and signup for the Event; It will give you a reminder in Discord when the Townhall starts
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I got the email, too, thank you!
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Dear Kara, unfortunately I donāt think I can make the 4pm town hall. This past Friday I had surgery where they put in a block for my pain. It is temporary so this morning I awoke in much pain- Iām swimming in opioids so I donāt think I could make any salient points for Cenk. Please extend to him and the other participents my sorrowfulness of not attending. If I can rally , of course I will show up but in a non speaking role. Thanks , and is there a way of finding out what is discussed. Best, Jack
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Oh Jack - I am so sorry to hear that you are in any pain. Sending you love and light. We usually email the minutes and post.
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Really sorry to hear that, Jack. I hope the meds help with the pain at least.
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Hi Jack,
I hope you heal quickly! Im so sorry to hear about your pain.
-Dawn
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Notes from Maggie:
6/26/24 Discussion:
- Group calendar sent out via email - where meeting details can be found
- Trump Czar, Trump Madness - in progress
- Reframing Progressive Movement Strategies
- The āProgressiveā label may deter supporters due to biases. Reframing it as āEconomic Populismā could broaden its appeal.
- Simplified messaging can help communicate the movementās goals more effectively.
- Media bias can harm āProgressiveā initiatives. A new identity can control the narrative and mitigate this bias.
- Reframing promotes unity and inclusivity, aiding support mobilization.
- Current candidates: Corporate Stooge/Donor King or Disaster Fascist. We could reframe this: Voting for Biden gives a voice to democratic values, a chance absent with Trump.
- To counter media monopoly, we should support media reform, independent journalism, social media use, alternative platforms, and diverse outlets collaboration.
- TeacherStrength: Educator Empowerment Tools Update:
- The team, led by Lena Hamilton, has been focusing on developing and refining tools designed to empower educators.
- Recent efforts include enhancing user experience, expanding resource libraries, and integrating feedback from pilot programs.
- Future plans involve broader rollout and training sessions to maximize impact.
- Join the project here: Operation Hope - support sign up
- Members can submit their merchandise designs for the TYT store. Submit designs to [email protected] for consideration.
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To me reframing āProgressiveā as āEconomic Populismā is giving in. If we rename it then all they will do is shift to the new name being the ābadā thing and continue as they have been for the last 25 years. Instead of renaming it we should emphasize what being a āProgressiveā actually means. TO me that is to make PROGRESS for the good of the people not the good of the corporations. We should let them know that the DNC is NOT āProgressiveā and they are nothing more than Corporate Lackeys
And a big Thank You to @karaeastman for posting the Town Hall Notes for those of us that couldnāt make it
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Thanks , Kara , I really hate missing the town halls Jack
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Thank you so much , Dawn!
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Thank you for your support , it means a lot Jack
And we miss you, my friend.
Jack, please know that I am thinking of you and if you ever need to vent, talk, or whatever, I am here! 
Hopefully Iāll see you at the debate tonight on TYT (7:30 Central). Take care of yourself.
I understand what you are saying, and I wonder if the two are not really quite synonymous. If it gets more people together rather than opposing one another, I think itās a great idea. I do, though, prefer just Populist without any extraneous adjectives, as it simplifies and doesnāt further divide.
This weekās town hall!
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Andrea, sorry this is late {July 1] but thanks for your kind words. I hope to see you on the town hall Wednesday , Jack
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Thanks ,Anthony , hope to see you Wednesday Jack
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I agree with you overall @Galphar about not running away from labels. But in this case, I think progressive and populist are two different things.
Just thinking of a couple of examples.
Progressives would be for the Green New Deal but populists on the right not necessarily.
But both would be for taking money out of politics so that people had more power over their elected officials.
Iām having a hard time distinguishing between the two. This is what ChatGPT says, although Iām not sure I 100% agree, but like I said Iām not completely clear on the difference.
At some point, defining what we as Operation Hope (or TYT if it become a bigger thing) populism and/or economic populism would be important imo.
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To me TYT and Operation Hope are BOTH Progressive and Populist. But rebranding as Populist over the current Progressive would be a bad thing. All that would do is confuse people that we would like to join us. Keeping the brand of āProgressiveā is keeping it simple. But changing it because of a slight difference in definitions will drive people away not bring them in. Keep it simple and you will get more supporters. Itās the way that MAGA has been able to recruit so many and stay so big.
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I have to agree with personally being both populist and progressive. Reframing from progressive into economic-populist can leave so much out from our priorities, such as gender diversity, racial justice, anti-war peace, climate justice, etc. On the other hand, I do also see the point about how emphasizing our politically progressive stances of such cultural inclusivity does in a way play into the far-right culture war bs; we reduce our populist appeal.
Part of this dynamic is why I have argued for progressive~ish republicans in this thread. Ideally populist economics would become established as bipartisan, usurping obsolete establishment economic politics, (while other cultural politics may still be partisan).
Another aspect to this dynamic reminds me of how MLK responded to critiques on his widely inclusive perspective. Iāll quote an article I previously referenced in this other thread:
ā¦
It is difficult to overstate the political risk that King was taking when he stepped up to the podium at Riverside Church. Our nation had been at war in Vietnam for two years, more than 400,000 American service members were deployed, and roughly 10,000 American troops had been killed. The war had enthusiastic bipartisan support within the political establishment, and those who dared to criticize it were often labeled communists and subjected to vicious forms of retaliation. Many of Kingās friends and allies warned him that speaking the truth about the war would jeopardize the fragile gains of the civil rights movement. Little could be achieved, they said, by speaking up for people halfway around the world, and much could be lost. āWhy are you joining the voices of dissent?ā they asked. āArenāt you hurting the cause of your people?āKing acknowledged the source of their concerns but said that their questions revealed that they did not really know him, his commitment, or his calling. Indeed, as far as he was concerned, āthey do not know the world in which they live.ā King acknowledged that it is not easy for people to speak out against their own government, especially during wartime, and that the situation in Vietnam was complex. But he felt morally obligated to speak for the suffering and helpless children of Vietnam.
ā¦
MLK, I argue, was right to have such a perspective on the intrinsic interrelatedness of the perhaps seemingly disparate political issues. Especially, he was right to clarify that and how the issues are not disparate, in order to grow the perspectives which argued for appeasing (or argued from) narrow-mindedness. On growing mindfulness, I shared a video discussion in this thread.
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