Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[lpetrich]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "US sunscreens are far behind the rest of the world and our regulations aren’t necessarily making our sunscreens better or safer — but it doesn’t have to be this way! (vid link)" / X - what she said on Instagram

Some online left-wingers jumped up and down on AOC (metaphorically, of course!) about this issue. But I like these response to them:

Alexander McCoy on Twitter: "The AOC sunscreen thing is a good litmus test of who is actually a serious person on the Left and who is an annoying and unpleasant person." / X

Bhaskar Sunkara on Twitter: "People mad at this as if AOC was one TikTok away from solving homelessness but instead decided to do sunscreen " / X

Anders J Lee on Twitter: "AOC recently did a livestream promoting the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee which is helping thousands of ppl organize their workplaces. Doesn’t feel coincidental that vast majority of left Twitter has seen hundreds of sunscreen takes today and has no idea what EWOC is." / X

Jumping up and down on her like this: Ryan Knight ☭🕊 on Twitter: "You went from pretending to care about Medicare for All to hocking sunscreen." / X
then
James Medlock on Twitter: "Sorry, we're not allowed to have good sunscreen in the US until AOC presses the M4A button (link)" / X

Walker Bragman is also on BlueSky on Twitter: "“Leading Democratic socialist Congresswoman ..." / X

“Leading Democratic socialist Congresswoman advocates for deregulation” is not something I had on my 2023 bingo card.

If American sunscreens aren’t meeting European safety standards, deregulating is not going to fix that problem.

Wtf?

This is like a PragerU video

AOC: American sunscreens take too long to get to market while not even meeting European standards. They should therefore be regulated like other cosmetics, which face fewer hurdles.

Cosmetics in the US: (pix link)

The American left is just incredible…what a disappointment.

 

[lpetrich]

Midwestern Marx on Twitter: "American People: Can we please have free healthcare, you know, that thing you promised to fight for while campaigning?
AOC: Best I can do is sunscreen" / X

Living in the Heart of the Beast on Twitter: "if AOC had a great record I would just ignore this and write it off as a weird fluke but why the hell is she making videos with sunscreen influencers for the brave cause of...deregulating sunscreen?" / X

Living in the Heart of the Beast on Twitter: "maybe i'm missing something here it's honestly just kinda confusing" / X

Danny Haiphong on Twitter: "The problem isn’t that AOC wants more effective sunscreen.
The problem is that she makes cringe videos on this minor issue while supporting a deadly proxy war in Ukraine that includes arming literal Nazis." / X

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li on Twitter: "usual crowd of dipshits and dorks ..." / X

usual crowd of dipshits and dorks is lining up to criticize AOC for wanting americans to have safer and more effective sunscreen

maybe a moment to talk about my own experiences with the reflexive "all regulations are good and necessary" style of liberalism!

Young Samantha thought that the solution to every social problem was easy and straightforward: "the government should make a regulation." that was liberalism. if you were against regulations you were a republican--simple as.

this mindset requires a bit of mental sleight of hand distinguishing "regulations" from "laws," because laws include stuff like banning abortion, marijuana, immigration

"progressives like regulations, conservatives like laws, yes this is a deep and important distinction,"

one of the major turning points for me as a progressive liberal was getting into housing policy and discovering that, fundamentally, the regulations were the problem

that the regulations *purport* to be for the general good, but in fact are incredibly destructive

and that especially apparently neutral *process* regulations can have profound material impacts, and can't be automatically assumed to be worth the squeeze

everything backpack liberalism is the way to achieve nothing in practice!

Blueelectron on Twitter: "@perdricof It's truly amazing that Ronald Regan did some deregulation in the 80s and negatively polarized an entire generation of liberal boomers into fetishizing rules and process for the sake of having lots of rules and process for their entire lives." / X

NJ-Stop the Madness on Twitter: "@Blueelectron4 @perdricof What's amazing is that Carter also did some major deregulation and never gets as much flack despite the outcomes being bad." / X

 

[lpetrich]

AOC will be taking her second trip abroad this year. Earlier this year, she went to Japan and South Korea.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "US foreign policy in Latin America often goes ignored, but if we truly want to tackle issues of migration, climate, and democracy, we must chart a new path.
This week, I’ll be in Brazil, Chile, & Colombia with colleagues to start that conversation. (link)" / X
noting
A ‘different’ CODEL to Latin America - POLITICO

A congressional delegation of progressives will visit Latin America next week for what they stress is a “different” kind of visit — one focused on shared challenges, ideological kinship and transnational movements.

Democratic Reps. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ and NYDIA VELÁZQUEZ of New York, JOAQUIN CASTRO and GREG CASAR of Texas, and MAXWELL FROST of Florida, along with the chief of staff for Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) are headed to Brazil, Chile and Colombia. There they’ll hold discussions with the presidents of those nations, fellow legislators and civil society leaders, NatSec Daily has learned.

Why are they going?

What’s “happening there” is Brazil having its own Jan. 6-like insurrection, the far right gaining influence in Chile and a fight for racial justice roiling Colombian politics. There’s increasing concern among left-leaning American politicians that all these issues are connected by a conservative backlash to democracy. Brazil’s former president, JAIR BOLSONARO, who refused to concede his election loss to leftist LULA INÁCIO DA SILVA and went into self-imposed exile in Florida, spoke at CPAC, the conference of U.S. conservatives, this year.

The lawmakers expect to compare notes about these trends, among other things.

...
“It’s long past time for a realignment of the United States’ relationship to Latin America,” AOC told the Los Angeles Times this month. “The U.S. needs to publicly acknowledge the harms we’ve committed through interventionist and extractive policies and chart a new course based on trust and mutual respect.”

 

[Gospel]

On average, Black and mixed-race Brazilians face economic disparities, earning less and encountering fewer educational opportunities compared to their white peers. Additionally, they experience higher unemployment rates and are disproportionately impacted by crime and police aggression. As for political shifts, it seems Brazil's 'far-right' movement is increasingly aligning with American values not the other way around. I think she meant to say strengthen misalignment with American values.

 

[Derec]

On average, Black and mixed-race Brazilians face economic disparities, earning less

How much of that is due to discrimination rather than just being different outcomes?

and encountering fewer educational opportunities compared to their white peers.

Is that really true? [citation needed]
That claim is made in US as well, even though blacks have MORE educational opportunities than their white peers. Up until now, there was so-called "affirmative action" (which will probably continue in more covert forms despite the SCOTUS ruling, esp. as colleges abandon objective metrics like SAT scores from admissions), black-only scholarships and even have very predominately black colleges (so-called "HBCUs") that are >90% black.

Additionally, they experience higher unemployment rates and are disproportionately impacted by crime and police aggression.

Kinda similar to the US. Most crime is intraracial. So if blacks are disproportionally impacted by crime, that is mostly by their fellow blacks. And those higher crime rates explain why there is higher impact of police actions. No discrimination necessary as an explanation.
In the US blacks commit 5-6x as many murders per capita than whites. Should they not be on the receiving end of similarly disproportionate levels of police interest?

As for political shifts, it seems Brazil's 'far-right' movement is increasingly aligning with American values not the other way around. I think she meant to say strengthen misalignment with American values.

The problem is that you only have extremes any more. Bolsonaro in one extreme corner, Lula in the other. Where is the sane middle?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

AOC and Sunscreens for one's Skin - with Charlotte Palermino, a "licensed esthetician"

And the evidence that our stricter standards aren't for a reason? Thalidomide!

 

[lpetrich]

AOC is Instagramming about her trip to Brazil. She met a lot of officials and activists there, and she often spoke Spanish there, even though the national language is Portuguese. She could be understood because Brazil has to do business with the rest of Latin America, and as a result, many Brazilians learn Spanish.

I saw fellow Congresspeople Nydia Velazquez, Greg Casar, and Maxwell Frost with her.

 

[lpetrich]

Assim como o SUS, … | Instagram
todandara
Dandara Tonantzin
️ Deputada Federal por MG
Vice-líder do PT na Câmara
Coordenadora da Frente Parlamentar Mista Antirracismo
Pedagoga e mestra em educação
www.todandara.com.br
️ Federal Deputy for MG
Deputy leader of the PT in the Chamber
Coordinator of the Mixed Anti-racism Parliamentary Front
Pedagogue and Master in Education

Autotranslated:

Like SUS, the policy of quota is a cause of pride to us and inspiration to American lawmakers like Texas Congressman Greg Casar and New York Socialist Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the heart of international capitalism.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is in Brazil for a long term and is one of the youngest American congresswomen in the US. His leadership is critical to fighting the far-right, for a fair and democratic climate transition and fight for the taxation of the super-rich.

Hoje a congressista americana @aoc … | Instagram
Fernanda Melchionna
4ª parlamentar mais bem votada do RS
Mulher deputada federal mais votada do RS
Obrigada pelos quase 200 mil votos
fernandapsol.com.br/naoacassacao + 2
4th best voted parliamentarian in RS
Most voted female federal deputy in RS
Thank you for almost 200 thousand votes
Fernanda Melchionna (@fernandapsol) • Instagram photos and videos

AOC spoke Spanish, and the video was subtitled in Portuguese -- and was very close.

Today the American congresswoman @aoc was present at the activity organized by her @celia.xakriaba at the Commission of the Amazon and the Indigenous and Traditional Peoples. I'll leave here for you a little of what went on there!

 

[lpetrich]

Mais um pouco da agenda … | Instagram
Célia Xakriabá
1ª Deputada Federal indígena eleita por MG
PSOL-MG
'Antes do Brasil da coroa, existe o Brasil do cocar'
linktr.ee/celiaxakriaba
1st Indigenous Federal Deputy elected by MG
PSOL-MG
'Before the Brazil of the crown, there is the Brazil of the headdress'

X pronounced like "sh" here, I think.

Autotranslated:

More on the agenda with the members of the United States Congress.

We received the Delegation of members of the United States Congress, we received Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congressman Joaquín Castro, Congressman Greg Casar, Congressman Maxwell Frost, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and the cabinet of Senator Bernie Sanders.

We had an important technical meeting, discussing indigenous guidance in Brazil, reshaping US policy for Latin America and strengthening democracy.

Parliament goes beyond our geographical boundaries.

It was a greatfull joy … | Instagram
In English and Portuguese:

It was a greatfull joy receiving the delegation of the United States congresswomen. Among then, was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( @aoc ), who gave me an emblematic gift. It was wonderful to meet her, as well as the entire delegation.

I hope the relationship between Brazilian parliamentarians and congressmen of the United States Congress keep closer and even friendlier.

Greatful? Emblematic gift? Something was gained in translation So I took the Portuguese part and used Google Translate:

I had the immense joy of receiving a delegation of members of the United States Congress. Among them, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who gave me a symbolic gift.

It was wonderful to receive her, as well as the entire delegation, and I hope that the relationship between Brazilian parliamentarians and congressmen of the United States Congress will be closer and even more friendly.

 

[lpetrich]

More meeting in Brazil. Someone with this Instagram account posted some:
Duda Salabert
Deputada Federal mais votada da história de M.G
Vereadora mais votada da história de BH
Professora de literatura
Vegana
Mãe da Sol
bit.ly/votedudacf
Most voted Federal Deputy in the history of MG
Most voted councilwoman in the history of BH
Literature teacher
Vegan
Mother of the Sun

A vegan? I notice that Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy doesn't talk much about his being a vegetarian.

Hoje tive a honra … | Instagram
lunazarattini
Luna ela/dela
Vereadora de SP pelo @ptsaopaulo
Presidenta da Comissão de Direitos Humanos
Advogada e Cientista Social
Educadora Popular @cursinhoelzasoares
linktree.com/lunazarattini
Councilwoman of SP by @ptsaopaulo
Chairman of the Human Rights Commission
Lawyer and Social Scientist
Popular Educator @cursinhoelzasoares

So she stated her pronouns.

Today I had the honor of meeting North American Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@aoc)!

In 2020, I was a young candidate for councilor and @aoc was one of the big inspirations for our campaign! Young, woman, left-wing activist and progressive, @aoc was elected for the first time in a campaign with little financial resources, but a lot of fight, courage and militancy! A campaign with many volunteers who saw themselves - a young woman, Latino immigrant descendant, community leader and former boy - a way to be heard and represented. Occasion inspires us all! And it was elected successfully and a expressive vote, facing great opponents who for years represented the old, conservative politics.

Today, myself and other young parliamentarians and leaders of @aoc as MPs @camilajarams, and @nataliabonavides met with @todandara, for a very powerful conversation, full of exchanges and much learning.

In addition to inspiring us from those and those who came before us, we also need to look for references in our generation, in whom our side fights. So today's meeting was emotional and much needed.

Former boy? Google Translate: ex-garçonete -> ex-waitress.

Participamos hoje … | Instagram
Natália Bonavides - "Lawyer and federal deputy (PT). Most voted in Rio Grande do Norte, the youngest and only woman on the potiguar bench."

We participated today in the meeting of the Minister of Institutional Relations Alexandre Padilha (@padilhando) with the delegation of congressmen from the American Democratic Party, who are in Brazil for a political exchange agenda.

It was a great meeting to meet each other, tell some of our trajectories and discuss common challenges we currently have on the global agenda.

Welcome and welcome to Brazil!

 

[lpetrich]

AOC then talked about how she met with MTST (Homeless Workers Movement), an urban counterpart of the rural MST (Landless Workers Movement).

She explained how they work.

Brazilian constitution and law states that land must have a social function and purpose. Tark L4260

When a community of homeless or landless workers finds an area of unproductive land, they will occupy it for social use, or to direct its use.

In this area of Sol Nascente, homeless workers began to organize and occupy empty plots of land. The Brazilian government then granted the plots and a fund. The workers then learned & taught each other how to build their own homes on the new plots. This kitchen was built by the organizers by hand.

Sol Nascente -> Rising Sun

AOC visited some homes that these people built for themselves, and also a community garden where they grow enough food for 200 - 300 people. One person had a plaque that say "My address was won with struggle" (Meu endereço conquistei con luta)

Homesteading on vacant property ... hmmm ...

 

[lpetrich]

AOC mentioned that Latin America also has a history of racial discrimination and racial problems. From what she mentioned yesterday, I discovered  Ministry of Racial Equality (Brazil)

Ministry of Racial Equality of Brazil is a department of the direct public administration of the Federal Government responsible to plan, coordinate and execute public politics of promotion of racial equality and fight against racism on a national level.

... A lot of you have been sending me messages that it's been a) nice to see US representatives communicating in other languages and b) encouraging to see fellow first/second gen Latines working to improve their Spanish and be okay with speaking imperfectly. So here is an example!

Latine? She's mentioned that in the past, and she mentioned Puerto Rican activist Bianca Graulau mentioning it also. I must say that it fits into the Spanish language better than "Latinx".

She once taught some fellow Congresspeople how to use social media.

Also side note: the Brazilian political social media game is absolute fire. I've never seen anything like it. We'll do a meeting or event and all these reps will have fully cut montages posted to reels or tiktok within an hour of the event ending with soundtracks and captions and everything. Like how??? And it's EVERYWHERE, not just a few people. It's really awesome.

Do they have staffers who do this job?

 

[TomC]

She met a lot of officials and activists there, and she often spoke Spanish there, even though the national language is Portuguese.

Everyone knows how to speak south american.

Speak loudly, put a vowel on the end of all nouns, have cash in your fist.
Tom

 

[lpetrich]

She also attended a big rally that was a pre-rally for the upcoming Marcha das Margaridas - "March of the Margaridas" - named in honor of Margarida Maria Alves, a union organizer who was killed in 1983. This march happens every 4 years in Brasilia.

It's really beautiful to witness mass movement building in Latin America. Especially as a Boricua, a Latina, there is a profoundly homelike feeling to it. There is a lot to say about comparative lefts between the US and other parts of the world, but this is definitely an organizing culture I often feel more familiar with. It is amazing to see a space that is so politically committed, yet SO nonjudgmental, supportive, and welcoming at the same time. There is big vision and refreshing practicality.

She met with Environment & Climate Minister Marina Silva and Racial Justice Minister Arielle Franco. "Minister" is a head of a government department, not a religious leader. That's the usual term in much of the world, like the UK.

Com muita honra … | Instagram

It is with great honor that we receive in our Ministry this Tuesday (15) a committee of American lawmakers, made up of Congressmen Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (@aoc) and Nydia Velázquez, and Congressmen Maxwell Frost and Greg Casar, and Misty Rebik, Chief of Staff of Senator Bernie Sanders, in addition to their teams.

We discuss important issues of interest to the black population of the two countries, such as tackling police violence, access to education, and Japer, the Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination, which is a partnership between the Brazilian and the US governments.

We present the structure of the Ministry of Racial Equality and some of our policies such as the Black Youth Alive Plan and the civil society building movement.

Let's fight inequalities in Brazil and throughout the continent together!

They both talked in English, with the video having Portuguese subtitles.

 

[bilby]

AOC is Instagramming about her trip to Brazil. She met a lot of officials and activists there, and she often spoke Spanish there, even though the national language is Portuguese. She could be understood because Brazil has to do business with the rest of Latin America, and as a result, many Brazilians learn Spanish. Portuguese is basically just a dialect of Spanish, and so the two languages are mutually comprehensible, though speakers of neither like to admit it

FTFY.

Portuguese is a different language from Spanish in the same way that Glasgow English is a different language from London English, or New York English is a different language from Alabama English; Speakers of one might occasionally find speakers of the other rather obscure, and frequently comical, but if they put in a minor effort, they can usually work out what is being said.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC met transwoman Erika Hilton, a member of Brazil's legislature.
DIÁLOGOS INTERNACIONAIS … | Instagram

INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUES

We received here in Congress a delegation of US lawmakers led by Congresswoman @AOC.

We can talk a bit about common challenges affecting both Brazil and the U.S., such as deep inequality, the climate crisis, police violence, and the far-right attacks on LGBTQIA+ people, and the advancement of fascist rhetorics.

Let's always keep working on relationships and joints for common goals that can benefit everyone.

#ErikaHilton #Politica #LGBT #VidasNegrasImportam #Latinas #Brasil #EUA

 

[lpetrich]

She Instagrammed

First off, let's make something clear:
Brazil is a Black and Mixed country. 56% of Brazilians identify as Black or mixed race

Then mentioning similarities and differences in race-relations history.

However, despite that large number, Black Brazilians still face very high levels of economic marginalization, structural racism, and police violence.

Police violence is an especially extreme crisis, with killings happening at alarmingly high rates with no recourse or accountability.

Anielle shared with me that 40 Black men and boys have been killed by police in the last two weeks alone. And those are just the numbers they have counted - many others go uncounted.

(Brazil was the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, in 1888.)

A common kind of race prejudice in Latin America is "colorism", preferring lighter-skinned to darker-skinned people, whatever their ancestry might be.

On this subject, a few years ago, right-wingers got very worked up when she said that "Latinos are black", but she then went on to say that Latinos are a very mixed population, and that Latinos have to face up to their own racial problems.

She also mentioned that in Puerto Rico, people distinguish between "good hair" (straight) and "bad hair" (tightly curled). That reminds me of when Madonna described in early 1989 how she wanted to be black as a little girl, how she'd weave wire into her hair to make braids that stick up. So

 

[lpetrich]

About reclaiming abandoned land, AOC mentioned this in the US: Mothers who occupied vacant Oakland house will be allowed to buy it | California | The Guardian - "Intervention of California governor helps Moms 4 Housing group score victory in fight against state’s homeless crisis"

How did they get so many young women elected? very inspiring

Two major factors:
1. Brazilian women organize together in major way for economic and social rights. Women have built a massive solidarity, movement structure, and political consciousness. have noticed they mostly organize around economic/labor rights and gender violence. Of note: abortion is still illegal in Brazil.

2. The US system of campaign finance is basically illegal in Brazil. Big money, dark money, corporate lobbying - all this stuff that runs our US system does not exist in Brazil. That has paved the way for WAY more people from grassroots movements and humble backgrounds especially women to win seats in the National Congress.

Another factor is proportional representation, I must note.  National Congress of Brazil - two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, with the CoD being elected proportionally by state and with the FS being elected from one-member or two-member districts. There are several parties in each chamber, parties that form a government bloc, an opposition bloc, and an independent set.

{Members, Parties, Effective Number of Parties}
CoD: all: {513, 16, 9.07}, gov't: {225, 8, 4.57}, oppo: {188, 6, 2.77}, indep: {100, 2, 1.94}
FS: all: {81, 13, 8.93}, gov't: {42, 6, 4.05}, oppo: {32, 6, 4.1}, indep: {7, 1, 1.}

Raw numbers:
CoD: {{81, 43, 43, 18, 15, 14, 7, 4}, {99, 49, 18, 15, 4, 3}, {59, 41}}
FS: {{15, 11, 8, 4, 3, 1}, {12, 7, 6, 4, 2, 1}, {7}}

The effective number of parties was calculated as 1 / sum over f of f^2 where f = (number of party members) / (total number)

 

[Derec]

P

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "US sunscreens are far behind the rest of the world and our regulations aren’t necessarily making our sunscreens better or safer — but it doesn’t have to be this way! (vid link)" / X - what she said on Instagram

Some online left-wingers jumped up and down on AOC (metaphorically, of course!) about this issue.

I just read this Granuaid article about that:
Sunscreen socialism: AOC divides the left with call for better skincare options

The burning debate on the American left this week: is sunscreen socialist?
It was sparked last Thursday when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke out about the poor quality of sun creams in the US compared to elsewhere. “I was in South Korea earlier this year and it is so clear how far advanced the rest of the world is on sunscreen, and we deserve better in the US,” the congresswoman said in a social media video filmed with Charlotte Palermino, a skincare brand CEO.
[...]
But AOC’s video touched off a surprisingly fiery reaction from some elements on the left, who accused her of a pale imitation of the anti-capitalism she promised.
On Monday, the Rhode Island chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America torched Ocasio-Cortez, the DSA’s most famous member, over the sunscreen video. “A true tribune of the working class,” the chapter wrote sarcastically on X, formerly known as Twitter.
When the United Farm Workers union replied in a comment that “protection from the sun is absolutely a working-class issue”, the Rhode Island DSA shot back: “Even if this is a workplace safety issue, her analysis is not socialist, but soccer-mom consumerism, complete with her ‘brand owner’ partner.” The DSA chapter also reposted a meme by the leftwing podcast Due Dissidence that said anyone who wasn’t “triggered” by AOC’s sunscreen videowas “not a leftist”.

I thought getting "triggered" by aything challenging one's world view went out of fashion. I guess not.

The chapter was joined by other voices on the left, including Margaret Kimberley, executive editor of Black Agenda Report, who wrote that Ocasio-Cortez was the “most unserious member of Congress”. The Marxist party Socialist Alternative, which launched its own caucus within DSA last year, published a two-page tirade blasting AOC’s video: “The beauty industry is fundamentally sexist, racist, and anti-worker,” it wrote. “Anyone who’s comfortable working within this system is not on our side. It’s past time for the left to say, once and for all, no more sellouts!

Of course Margaret Kimberley is not concerned about sun screen, but what about those of us with fairer complexions?

The article then notes that it's not really about sunscreen, but about greater disillusionment on the far Left.

This month, tensions flared at DSA’s annual national convention in Chicago, as hardline factions including Socialist Alternative proposed that DSA should only run third-party candidates and should enforce party rules on members who win public office, like Ocasio-Cortez. These kinds of proposals, which were both voted down, “should not be top priority”, says Turnquist.[...]What’s fueling the tensions is uneasiness about how that broader project is faring. Anders Lee, a self-described Marxist and DSA member in Brooklyn, has noticed an “ebb” in leftwing enthusiasm since the collapse of Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign. “From 2017 to 2020, it really felt like there was an opening for social democratic policies to be implemented in the United States,” and for many leftists, “that was a really exciting time.” Now, he says, “the post-Bernie moment can feel very dark. We’ve lost a central organizing force.” It’s true that figures like Bernie Sanders and AOC don’t talk as much any more about big proposals like Medicare for All or a Green New Deal, “and I think that people are disenchanted and frustrated by the lack of progress.

 

[Derec]

About reclaiming abandoned land, AOC mentioned this in the US: Mothers who occupied vacant Oakland house will be allowed to buy it | California | The Guardian - "Intervention of California governor helps Moms 4 Housing group score victory in fight against state’s homeless crisis"

There is only one thing standing between these squatters and a $500k house.

Good thing for the squatters that Gov. Goodhair is on their side and there to force the sale to them. At a price much less than market price, surely.