Inevitable Next Steps

The moment arrives + an announcement.

To my readers working in the streets every night: I will return to my PSR series soon. I feel a pressing need to address this situation. This was written before I learned about the likely arson at Councilor Candace Avalos’s house. I hope she’s doing well, I’m glad Valentino made it out, and I hope they catch the perpetrator(s) quickly.

The “Horseshoe” Again

Six of Portland City Council’s twelve members make up a “caucus” (which probably shouldn’t exist in a non-partisan body) known as The Peacock. Four of those six birds are members of the Portland Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Let’s start with our old Portland Political Horseshoe:

Recalibrate Portland comes from a desire to move us back to a consensus reality. We have no conservative councilors. We don’t even have centrists. The “moderates” are mainstream Democrats. That horizontal line? It’s my personal threshold of authoritarian bullshit and acceptable rhetoric — the pale that something can be said to be beyond. We all have one, but the last two decades have been pushing the collective line further from center — shifting the Overton Window.

I don’t believe that window can move asymmetrically. It always expands downward, symmetrically, as the horseshoe slowly becomes a ring. Increased political violence and apologia for authoritarianism are the natural result. As the ends draw together, they resemble each other in language and action.

This is how we get “leftists” like Mehdi Hasan parroting right wing grifters like MTG and Candace Owens, the DSA’s Olivia Katbi attached to an organization funding white supremacists, or Bernie Sanders defending a man who (until recently) had a Nazi tattoo on his chest!¹

Writer Wesley Yang coined the term successor ideology to describe an “authoritarian Utopianism that masquerades as liberal humanism while usurping it from within.” This New-New Left can be found in groups like the Working Families Party (WFP), Local Progress, and the above-mentioned DSA. If you had positive associations with those orgs in the past, you likely missed the “usurping from within” phase.

These groups, especially the DSA, are very public about their goal of feeding off the Democratic Party, siphoning voters away, and discarding the husk once they’re big enough to survive without a host. Shades of MAGA. Are they a reaction to rising right wing authoritarianism? Is the reverse true? You’ll find I don’t care. Both the chicken and the egg are deadly.

The only thing to do is to begin lowering the temperature and shrinking the window. Part of that certainly looks like identifying and excluding violent lunatics. They want to purge “normies” and radicalize organizations. Good thing the normies can simply say “no.” These would-be successors have only the power we grant them.

Let’s cover what happened last Friday, then I’ll roll out part of my next big project.

The Israel Investigation

Last week Portland’s DSA held a little press conference, on a Friday, ahead of the No Kings March, right before the start of Shabbat. Probably the best time to drop a political pipe bomb, especially if you’re targeting Jews.

The DSA and friends are committing to an investigation into “local complicity with [the] Israeli military.” Brought forward by DSA co-chair Olivia Katbi, the pledge has been taken up by all four DSA councilors (Mitch Green, Sameer Kanal, Tiffany Koyama Lane, and Angelita Morillo) as well as Candace Avalos and Jamie Dunphy. The whole Peacock. What a surprise.

We’ve got ourselves an old fashion Jew Hunt; a little cosplay Dreyfus Affair. This moment was inevitable because of Katbi, BDS, and the true goals of the DSA.
This was always the plan.

Please read the following in your best Johnnie Cochran voice:

1. This is an unforgivable waste of Portland resources.

2. It’s antisemitic, ahistorical, and counterfactual. Henry Ford would be proud.

3. It’s part of a far-reaching, well-documented conspiracy to destabilize American politics and the safety of Jews worldwide.

That last one sounds big and scary because it is. It’s so big I won’t even ask you to read about it today. It’s too big to contain in one email. It’s too big to contain in one brain. There is so much I’m still pulling receipts for, so many strange questions and coincidences, so many hunches. It’s all been reported on, for decades, but it’s rarely mapped out for the casual observer in one place.

To the Portland Jews reading this, I’ve got you. This will not stand. Portland’s City Council will not be used as a platform to hunt “disloyal” citizens, investigate immigrants based on their country of origin, or spread antisemitic conspiracy theories.

To the Portlanders who may not know anything about this issue and usually skip my antisemitism posts (maybe you’re sick of hearing about Israel), I’ve got you too. This is a waste of your tax dollars, carried out by lazy assholes who are more concerned with wars both cultural and international than helping Portlanders.

We need to discuss what the DSA did last Friday because it’s a window into their true priorities, which have very little to do with Portland. We are serving as a test kitchen for grand plans and I’m sure you didn’t vote for that.

The Anti-Israel Pledge

A press conference was announced on Portland.gov by Green’s Chief of Staff Maria Sipin. She was also a delegate to that Socialism Conference where the DSA argued to abolish the family and Sipin spoke about using ARPA money to build out a Mutual Aid™ network for leftist recruitment and radicalization.

What’s in the statement, under the Official Seal of the City of Portland?

The pledge commits the signatories to investigate a range of city activities, including:

• The manufacturing of weapons and weapons parts for the Israeli military within Portland,

• City investments in or contracts with companies complicit in Israeli policies, and

• Diplomatic ties, including sister-city relationships, with Israel.

By joining this pledge, Councilor Green and his colleagues aim to leverage municipal power to disrupt the flow of weapons and funding, laying the groundwork for concrete policy actions to end Portland’s complicity.

First, this is insane. There are likely zero weapons manufactured in Portland that go to Israel. Even if there were, how would you find them? What power do you have to search the Port of Portland? Has anyone intelligent looked this over?

Second, what the fuck does “complicit in Israeli policies” mean? Which policies? Any of them? Wouldn’t that just mean complicit in the existence of Israel? They couldn’t mean that, right? Even Bernie and AOC are against that shit.² 🚩

Finally, how much is this going to cost?! Is this what Portlanders care about — a rifle scope made in Beaverton ending up in Israel? Good luck compelling businesses to show you receipts, especially if they’re part of a defense contract. Also, why are we going after local businesses? Shouldn’t we be supporting them? What impact will messing with the city’s investment portfolio have? How much do Portlanders need to pay in indulgences to cleanse their souls of complicity?

The Press Conference

The Zoom call was hosted by Olivia Katbi and the DSA but announced using city resources. Katbi is a registered lobbyist but that’s probably fine, right? Maybe it’s normal for a political party to be running the show on a nonpartisan council. Also, they’re not really a party… yet.

As I’ve covered, there is currently a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — but the DSA rejected it. “Until Palestinian Liberation” was their official statement. Meaning, essentially: this isn’t over until “all Arab lands” are “liberated.” Also notable that complicity and collaboration are terms Hamas is using to justify public executions of Palestinian civilians. Now that a ceasefire is in place, it’s time for a purge.
🚩🚩

You can watch the event here:

Katbi isn’t just a lobbyist and co-chair of the DSA. She’s also the North American Coordinator for the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. She opens with the assurance that BDS is a “non violent movement.”

From Omar Barghouti (the “founder” of BDS)’s Canary Mission entry:

In 2010, Barghouti stated [00:13:50] that “we believe that people under occupation, in international law, have a right to resist by any means, including violent means,” but not “indiscriminately.” He went on to say, “in the BDS movement we don’t say we’re against violent resistance.”

Damn. Remember Olivia Katbi herself openly celebrated October 7th, while the attacks were still taking place. Something’s off about this messaging.
🚩🚩🚩

Cast of Characters

Dr. Travis Melin, of OHSU, frequent media “expert” on the evils of Israel. War is hell, and Melin has seen plenty of it. I do wonder why this nice white guy from the US was on the Hamas-approved list to speak to journalists.³ Melin will be hosted at First Unitarian by Beaverton City Councilor Nadia Hasan. You may recall her October 7th denial controversy, claims of PTSD over the criticism, and finally standing among friends and supporters while they called to “Globalize the Intifada!” during the Beaverton Intifada debacle. All the usual ghouls will be at the event. Nice friends Doctor.

Councilor Sameer Kanal thanked Palestinian and Jewish Americans who had “spoken out.”

 You deserve to live without fear, not only here in Portland, but around the world.

Sameer clearly doesn’t mean Zionist Jews — the vast majority of the world’s Jews. We can get fucked I guess. He means JVP Jews who agree with BDS.

Councilor Mitch Green cried. He repeated his⁴ claim that there are other councilors who would side with this pledge if they weren’t cowards. I’ve covered my feelings on how Mitch uses concepts like cowardice and bravery previously. The idea that AIPAC (or some other “Jewish money” group) are cowing politicians into silence is a familiar claim Katbi returns to often. Her boy Mitch is well trained.

Maxine Fookson, the AsAJew. The JVP representative and proud terrorism supporter. Fookson has been publicly accusing Israel of genocide since at least 2016⁵. She told KOIN 6 she wanted the “occupation” to stop in 2013. Israel left Gaza in 2005. Maxine means the same thing all BDS activists do by “the occupation.” The Nation of Israel.
🚩🚩🚩🚩

Here’s Fookson’s Canary Mission page if you want to learn more about how she views the world — not someone I’d call a peace activist.

Angelita Morillo focused on ICE. Israel is beta testing weapons on Palestinian children so Trump can use them on your children. Then she dropped this gem:

The time for a ceasefire was seventy seven years ago during the first Nakba.

- Angelita Morillo

She claimed that the demand has shifted. Ceasefire cannot be enough. If we don’t act now, she is afraid this time “we are going to lose an entire people.”

Tiffany Koyama Lane seemed like she didn’t want to be there. She scooted as far from Israel as possible. It’s about “economies of violence.” Tiffany was clearly coerced into this. She was the only DSA candidate to block me for asking about the celebration of October 7th. She’s embarrassed by this stuff. She just wants to be a good progressive but made bad friends. She’s dumb. Please clap.

Several councilors claimed that “the terror our government inflicts abroad” is always imported back home to be used against our own people. Remember that this is not about Trump. Green said these things about Barack Obama. These kids believe the US is a terror state — a grinding machine designed to “kill brown people.” Trump winning was part of the plan, because it heightened the contradictions.

No Zionists Allowed

They also kicked out the only Jewish reporter.

Jewish newspaper shut out of Portland city councilors’ press conference on Israel - Oregonian

Of course they did.

Rockne Roll, editor of The Jewish Review, registered to attend the virtual press conference hosted by the [DSA], but someone removed him from the virtual meeting after he logged on and wouldn’t let him back in.

You can read Rockne’s comments, as well as additional coverage here. Councilors claimed they had no idea Jews were being blocked from the press conference. Rockne claims he ‘‘cannot say with certainty who did this.” Let’s look at their conflicting messaging. First, the DSA was proud:

It’s no big deal! Rockne was a Republican at one point.

Kevin Foster of the Portland Mercury⁶ (also producer of anti-Israel documentaries):

A sloppy, irresponsible headline by The Oregonian. An attempt to paint DSA city councilors as antisemites when they didn’t even host the event.

It’s debatable if this is even news, especially when it’s just some guy’s claim and he wouldn’t even comment after DSA gave an explanation.

Taylor Griggs (also of the Mercury):

The headline of this article makes a serious and incendiary claim that is not backed up by the facts presented in the story.

So, it’s fake news and The Oregonian is stretching the truth. But then the DSA messed up their own earlier story with:

It was inadvertent! Lots of volunteers. Trolls. The Palestine Exception. We didn’t mean to. No comment on dunking on Rocke in their previous version of events — post deleted.

The Mercury writers had to alter their narrative. Here’s Foster again:

Update: DSA said they removed Rockne Roll because they were worried about trolls and assumed this was a fake name. They sent him the recording after the meeting when they realized the mistake.

Then several DSA supporters weren’t happy with the final statement. A sample:

Screw Rockne, we did this on purpose → it probably didn’t happen → it did happen, but it was an accident → obviously we are pro democracy and would never do something like this → now our base is mad at us for not just doing the thing on purpose. A DSA rendition of The Narcissist’s Prayer.

Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Marc Blattner responded. He nails it:

The Portland DSA could not even muster an apology! In fact, at the end of their message they turned it on the victim. The “important issue” the Jewish Federation is calling out is freedom of the press and the Portland DSA excluding a reporter from The Jewish Review at their press conference with Portland City Councilors.

[Morillo] re-posted the Portland DSA’s message on her personal social media account and added this commentary:

“Also, just want to add that members of the Jewish Federation were allowed on the call, and their org is very pro-Israel.”

This is shameful and offensive! The Jewish Federation does not have “members.” Yet, how welcoming and reassuring that a public official says we (people in the Jewish community) would be “allowed on the call,” even if those individuals are connected to a pro-Israel organization.

This won’t be the end of the story, but I’m glad the Federation is hitting back. I think Portland’s Jewish orgs are realizing that this has been allowed to go on for far too long. If the DSA wants to have this fight, they’re going to get one.

Remember this next year when thousands of hours get wasted on this shit — all paid for with your money — and these clowns are running for re-election.

I would like to shout out the only candidate for City Council next year who I saw condemn this: Eli Arnold.

This is where the announcement comes:

The Project

It’s time to take all of the research and journalism that has been done on the DSA, JVP, SJP, WFP, and all the other three letter acronyms (TRAs) poisoning the left wing of American politics and put it in one place. Time to draw the maps, link the organizations, and explain the how and why.

These are the maps you aren’t supposed to draw because “it would look insane,” but when has that ever stopped me? I’m going to do a little of that today, with some bonus content! Think of it as a director’s cut.

If you’d like to go further down the rabbit hole on this piece and find out more about the process that turned the DSA (a party founded by liberal Zionists with an average membership age of around 70) into a terror supporting, pro-authoritarian, anti-Israel hate organization with an average member age of 33...

You should click here:

Inevitable Next Steps - Additional Context

If you’re fine knowing less about this subject, you don’t have the time, or just don’t want to spend your evening pissed off, stop here. Knowing your city councilors are targeting Jewish and Israeli Portlanders with an investigation into “complicity” should be enough. Maybe you trust me and don’t want to know about Michael Harrington, the Philadelphia Meeting, the Barghouti Clan, or Neville Roy Singham. That’s totally understandable.

You are allowed to not know things, but you aren’t allowed to sit back and think of the DSA as a cuddly pro-union org who canvasses for parks and preschools — that level of ignorance is no longer tolerable. It has become dangerous.

The rise of AI is creating a bit of a search and research crisis so it’s never been more important to present a true history of this movement. This will always be free information and I’m working with a crew to make it available to a much wider audience. We’ll start with Portland, but the movement didn’t.

Portland didn’t elect four DSA councilors because voters are simply stupid. This is part of a much larger story. Maybe even part of a “a decentralized network of ideological actors and activities that [could] permeate American institutions.” But that’s a preview of the additional context.

1. It was a fucking Nazi tattoo. Stop playing.

2. Probably why they’re both on thin ice with the DSA.

3. Interview with France 24
Guardian article
CNN interview
If you don’t think there’s a Hamas-approved list, you don’t know much about this conflict.
Al Jazeera’s Gaza coverage directed by Hamas, Israeli research center finds - JPost
Captured Documents Show Al Jazeera Ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad - FDD

4. Actually Olivia Katbi’s

5. Worth noting that JVP, BDS, etc all subscribe to the 70+ years of genocide language. It’s always been genocide and it always will be to them. Truth doesn’t matter and they won’t stop until Israel falls.

6. The DSA’s Propaganda Arm at this point