jacobwren

[jacobwren]

"In our internal process, candidates submit questionnaires on their policy positions to the Electoral Working Group, then attend forums with the membership of the geographic branches they hope to represent in government. In these forums, rank-and-file members ask candidates questions. After this, the membership has an internal discussion (without the candidate present) to debate issues of organizational capacity, alignment with our principles, and any issues members might have with their questionnaires or answers. One of the unique reasons our field operation is effective is that we don’t do “paper” endorsements, meaning that our endorsement is a commitment to an all-out field organizing effort aimed at winning the election. In these discussions, one of the perennial questions is whether we have members who are willing to regularly volunteer or become a canvassing lead. This means that we largely avoid the problem wherein a candidate receives an endorsement from an organization but the rank and file don't fully and materially support the effort. This also means that connected insiders aren't able to game the process easily because of individual personal relationships and obtain endorsements without being largely accountable to our membership. These organizational structures have been built by our now nearly 10,000 citywide members. By incorporating the lessons from each cycle, we continue to expand our ambitions to the scale of our abilities. This organizational culture and structure is the incubator from which the Mamdani campaign grew. Mamdani filled out his questionnaires, spoke at a citywide town hall at the Church in the Village, and we voted to endorse him last October. He won endorsement with around 80% of the vote, with a turnout of around 6,000 people. As the campaign’s often-mentioned 50,000 volunteers started to sign up, a ready-made, citywide network of experienced field organizers were ready to help train them, dispatch them, and manage the logistics that made them so effective. It’s notable that, in Mamdani’s questionnaire, he said that he would not run at all if he did not receive our endorsement. While the coalition that coalesced around his campaign was much broader than NYC-DSA, in this very direct sense our organization is responsible for his mayoral run. In making this commitment, Mamdani’s organizational discipline points toward one of the most important parts of this organizing machine: the big, scary “S” word, socialism. A membership-run democratic organizing machine works best because all of us are accountable to a specific approach to politics, a specific ideology of democratic socialism, and an ongoing historical tradition much broader than any individual. Our members insist that our candidates identify as democratic socialists not as a purity test, but as an accountability test. We largely avoid the issue of a charismatic person with vague positions and ideals hijacking our organizational power and betraying us, because they must remain accountable to our membership's collective understanding of what democratic socialism means and how it should be practiced. Because we stand for specific principles, we can mobilize members to act en masse for those principles. Our volunteers aren’t told to come out: they want to come out because they believe in our collective political project and they participated in the process that led to the candidate’s endorsement. Our collective wisdom has decided that while certain compromises need to happen in government, the candidate will fight hard for us and our movement while communicating the reasoning behind their decisions." - Michael Thomas Carter, To the Field First, Comrades!

[jacobwren]

Paintings of hammerhead sharks depicted in the "Oki National Products Illustration Notes". From Japan, Edo Period, 1735 CE

[jacobwren]

The 2026 FSG Writer’s Fellowship is “an annual program designed to give an emerging writer from an underrepresented community additional resources to build a life around writing—including $15,000 in funding, editorial guidance, and support from the FSG community.” You can apply here: https://fsgfellowship.com/apply/

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Neighborhood Gods Unlimited by Open Mike Eagle

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[jacobwren]

EMBROIDERED ‘PEACOCK FEATHER’ CAPE QING DYNASTY, LATE 19TH CENTURY

The long cape entirely constructed with layers of overlapping peacock feather shaped panels, each panel finely worked in satin stitch, the silk threads in tones of ivory, yellow and blue on the eye of the peacock feather, and the surround intricately worked in peacock feather filaments, with one cloth button on the collar and another near the waist, finished with Imperial yellow lining

Christie’s

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Rəhman Məmmədli - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

[jacobwren]

Pink Industry - What I Wouldn't Give 

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Miriam Makeba - Welela (Official Video)

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Miriam Makeba - Ibabalazie (European TV Performance, 1969)

[jacobwren]

Miriam Makeba - When I've Passed On (European TV Performance, 1969)

[jacobwren]

Next Wednesday, 5pm, join us for a popular gathering at métro Mont Royal, at the square, a live speak out and recording for broadcast on Radio alHara of poets, political activists and musicians speaking out and playing for Palestine! Thank you to Léon Lo for working on this poster design!

At this gathering we will hear poetry from Alejandro Saravia, community activist Summer Alkhdour, educator Sarwat Viquar, poet Jacob Wren, an anarchist marching band project Fanfare d'occasion featuring many awesome folks, plus many more, I hope to see you there!

[jacobwren]

“Use your doubt to fuel your conviction.”

[jacobwren]

"I want you to think of critique as a point of generosity."  - Vievee Francis

[jacobwren]

THESE NEW PURITANS - A SEASON IN HELL