There is only one person that can fix this mess.

It is not Barack Obama.

It is not John Boehner.

It is not the Tea Party.

It is not the present Democratic Party or the Republican Party.

It is YOU.

It is US.

We have stood on the sideline for years discussing what these folks are doing to our country. Well, they have finally done it.

We have to decide what needs to be done and we need to take action. We don't need to wait on the politicians in Washington. They are failures. They have no idea what needs to be done.

We know what needs to be done but nobody listens - not even our own Party.

We need to stop this so-called "global economy" from robbing us of our jobs.

We need to dismantle the hegemonic military industry that is robbing us blind.

We need to raise taxes on the wealthy and create a more progressive tax system in this country.

We need to stop the insurance and medical industries from making such obscene profits off sickness.

We need to rebuild our infrastructure to compete with the rest of the world.

We need to create government jobs because the private sector refuses to do so.

The only thing we have that they care about is our VOTE. We need to value our vote much more than we have in the past. It should not be automatic, no matter what dire consequences may befall us, according to those that want our vote. It is all we have.

We need to use our vote to change politics in this country. We cannot continue to be cowards that fall prey to political propaganda. Politicians in Washington need to understand that we are as serious as a heart attack.

But, isn't that what the Tea Party did? Yes, but their goals were negative and they did more harm to our country than good. However, their strategy was correct. Their goals were tragically wrong.

If you don't have the courage to do it, no one else will. We are doomed to failure and years of very difficult times. It is up to you and I. No one else can do it.

.

it means we need progressive candidates to run in every race including the presidential race

why do we keep voting for the same shit over and over again, and oh, if we don't vote for the Dems, it will be worse under the Repukes?

That is bullshit - our votes are our only way to change or are we ready for revolution? There are no other choices.

Our vote, let's think about that.

First there is some mysterious virus or illness that seems to have given our vote a RepubliCON tilt. I'm not sure how far back it goes, but our vote has been titling toward the right for some years now. And with all these new poll taxes and voter IDs, a lot of people will not be able to vote even if they want to.

Then there are those funny counting machines. Do we know if they are even counting accurately? Oh sure they test them. But machines can be programmed to do so many things that even a test wont catch a good rigged count.

Since the buhes rigged elections, no one seems to be doing exit polling much. Exit polling was a good way of catching fraudulent elections. But we don't do them now.

Then there is always the Supreme Court. If all else fails the RepubliCONS can bring in their Dancing Supremes and get them to over turn the vote and pick their own winners. Suppose we do get out there and vote and Obama wins, then Republicons bring in the Supremes and they overturn our votes. What are we going to do about it? Really think about it. What did we do last time the supremes overturned our Constitution and republic? We did NOTHING then and we will do nothing this 2nd time around.

There is only one thing left to do and it is not voting.

We have to get out in the streets and protest for days, weeks, and months. That is the only thing we have left.

Think about it, we are millions strong. The powers that be are at the most thousands. A handful of petty little men can not control millions of determined people. They only rule us by our consent. We outnumber them.

Voting is not enough. They have rigged the elections. Writing and calling Congress and the White House is not enough. They ignore our demands.

The only thing we have left is our Protest Actions.

We have to get out in the streets for months if we are going to change anything.

Join the fight http://october2011.org/welcome

We have got to rip that mask off. They have already secured the voting for the oligarchs. That we are willing to continue with the dog and pony show and not show voting to be the farce it is, is just mindboggling.

It's called 'having his back' until America's reality matches his rhetoric, as in the recent brilliant speech in Chicago at the birthday fundraiser. Find and watch that video, too. Sorry, no link.

See, I can make declarations of fact until proven wrong too. Only, mine actually has a little evidence supporting it but hey whatever.

Al Gore is correct

...With the former Vice President from last Monday: http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/al-gore-on-why-washington-is-broken


...and Tuesday: http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/al-gore-on-why-america-needs-a-non-violent-tahrir-square-part-one



For those interested, Keith's Special Comment on the subject:

http://current.com/shows/countdown/videos/special-comment-the-four-great-hypocrisies-of-the-debt-deal

We need you, Al. :D

keep posting about October 6. Keep encouraging the vast numbers of disenchanted, marginalized US citizens to participate in this event, for as long as it takes!

To those of you gearing up to denigrate this planned event:

Are you scared? Me, too. But, I'm more frightened of what promises to happen if we do nothing!

Are you discouraged? Yeah, count me in here, too. The last decade has been a real downer, tempting me inexorably toward misanthropy. BUT, I'm digging in my heels and saying, "DAMMIT, we're worth it!"

Are you tired? Wow, walking right alongside ya... I am in my twilight years, with chronic back pain and a host of other challenges that sap my emotional and physical energy every single day. BUT, I can sit ensconced on my pity pot OR I can be a part of the change we desperately NEED to see in this world!

We can no longer indulge in armchair politics. We can no longer allow the minuscule fraction of humanity I call the Corporate Megalomaniacs to use and abuse us. We MUST act.

Gandhi and millions of his fellow citizens threw off the shackles of Britain's economic oppression using Satyagraha and non-violent resistance. We MUST do the same.

Remember:



Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

:thumbsup:

Did you know this?

that's why protests don't work like they used to. the media and politicians can ignore them- those think tank-coordinated radio stations are much louder. any provocateur work is much more effective. any violence or vandalism or trash becomes a talking point and molehills are turned into mountains in a day, pounded into the earholes of tens of millions people, 50 million a week. and the same old celebrity TV talking heads repeat them over and over with the same denigrating certitude used for centuries to assure us that the Earth is flat. obama will be asked to condemn it. if he doesn't the sound bite will be heard all over radio and Fox, and if he does he will piss off progressives.

that is how the heritage foundations and karl roves have been downgrading the importance of local and national protests for the last 20 years, just as they've been able to sabotage all democratic feedback mechanisms. if it's a local protest the local RW station can use the local talkers to attack the protestors, and lie about and distort the motives. same on a national level. if a politician or talking head has second thoughts about their part in destroying the American dream with irrational economics all they have to do is turn on the radio. and if limbaugh doesn't assure them they can sell it, hannity will follow.

if Wisconsin Governor Walker and his Republican cronies didn't know they could turn on the local Badger football radio station (or dozens of others in the state) and hear the national and local right wing radio hosts singing their praises and reinforcing their talking points they might have been hiding under their desks begging for forgiveness.

october2011 will be much more effective if it includes protests at appropriately located limbaugh/hannity/beck superstations. those can happen in every state in the lead up to a larger national protest and simultaneously on the local level. most may not be situated in good locations, but some are.

those stations are tea party headquarters, where most of them got their talking points. they've heard them over and over as if listening to foreign language learning tapes. sold with repetition and volume and unchallenged certitude. Americans need to show the media and politicians that are pretending the tea party is a popular movement what a real popular movement is. those coordinated radio stations were instrumental creating the alternate reality we hear all over mainstream media. they were instrumental selling the lies that got us into Iraq, deregulated wall street, limited healthcare reform, and enabled Tea Party congresspeople to claim in public that defaulting would be no big deal. it will be essential in blaming Obama and Dems for the credit rating downgrade and it will work once again unless the Left finally does something about it.

the new Republican leaders sit in offices behind microphones reading think tank scripted material on public air waves from stations licensed to operate in the public interest. when former senator Fred Thompson and his wife filled in for Sean Hannity recently they let slip that they were broadcasting from the Heritage Foundation. the limbaughs and hannitys are protected from real debate by call screeners and reinforced and prompted by paid callers. they are personally inconsequential (we shouldn't give a shit how much money they make) but they have a 1000 soapboxes and those stations bathe blue communities with a 24/7 attack on everything liberal and progressive. and as long as there is NO organized real time challenge to their lies they will continue to make those lies acceptable and dominate messaging in this country. a strong democracy can handle some money in politics and media but we can't have a strong democracy if the those 1000 radio stations get a free speech free ride and the 'Left' ends up reacting too late to the right's well managed media campaigns.

their local sponsors need to see protests at those stations and feel the shame and look for alternatives. professional and university sports teams that broadcast on those stations and have been endorsing the racism, sexism, homophobia, global warming denial, and threats to progressive politicians need to see those protests and feel the shame and look for alternatives. those stations need to become aware of how much damage they do to our democracy on behalf of multinational corporations selling war, deregulation, and tax breaks.

until the Left's organizations challenge talk radio it's going to keep kicking high speed internet ass or at least canceling much of it out, and the change we want will come a lot slower. it is canceling out and reducing the effectiveness of our volunteer hours and dollars as well as the efforts of good progressive movements and well-meaning politicians. global warming means we no longer have the luxury of ignoring right wing talk radio just because it gives us a headache to listen to it.

:kick:

might just get us out of this paralyzing "funk" I see permeating everywhere. K&R

We need to band together world wide by way of our cell phones and at the same time across the world we cry out DOCTOR!
Only "the Doctor" can fix the world again as he has so many times in the past!
tib

and I am willing.
The things I used to believe in didnt work. This was a blow. I actually thought we had won in 2008.

I'm ready to do whatever it takes.
I think we need to try something new. The old thing didnt work.


There is one thing that I admire about the far right: They believe in something!
Its something ridiculous, but that they actually take a STAND wins, even my respect.

Time for an unflinching liberal stand.
Obama aint in this picture.

Time for a party, and a president, that stands for the PEOPLE not the corporations.

GOP gave start up funding for the Christian Coalition in the 80's --

Richard Scaife funded Dobson's group -- Bauer's org. was financed by other rw wealthy.


GOP/NRA -- they radicalized NRA to target not only liberals and moderates in the Dem Party

but liberals and moderates in their own party -- thereby moving the Congress to the right.


GOP/"pro-life" was funded by the White Christian Militias though the Supreme Court would

not apply RICO laws against them! They also solicited volunteers to picket women's

clinics from the Methadone clinics -- and paid them.


GOP/T-baggers -- funded by Koch Bros. and run out of public relations firm which guarantees

them publicity


There is also much else to know how the RW is kept in place --

We've had 50 years of out in plain sight rw political violence -- it's the only way

the rw can rise --


We have a MIC -- intelligence complex, actually -- which guarantees perpetual wars --

OIL is a "national security issue" -- making clear that oil industry is also the business

of MIC/CIA --


CIA -- founded with Nazis from "Operation Paperclip" -- has taken money from every right

wing source -- including the KKK and Nazis.

CIA funded rightwing members of Congress to keep them in power --

two I'm aware of are Sen. Strom Thurmond and Rep. Gerald Ford.

Pat Buchanan has also gotten CIA money --


This is a liberal nation -- if it wasn't there would be no need for rw violence --

nor rw control of our corporate-press --

nor any of their fake organizations --





Additionally, there were times when our Federal school budget included secret funds for

the CIA -- as much as 50% of the school budget.

Nice post! Thank you!

We don't have progressive candidates to vote for, and not voting will elect a GOOP.

Don't fall for that trap once again.

the tea party has a nice safety net. For one thing they have conservative states and conservative districts to play with. Some in Kansas wanted Tiahrt to win the primary because he'd be easier to beat, but he wouldn't have been beaten just like Brownback and Kobach were not beaten. But in their worst case scenario, if their fringe candidate wins the primary and loses in the general, they still end up with a very conservative Democrat. So they kinda have nothing to lose. We, on the other hand, have a lot to lose.

We have been told by the likes of Rove, that liberals are polite. Not insistant. Not loud. Not angry Angry is bad. They say that if we dont climb in their cages installed for us, then talk to the hand.

AND WE DO SO. FUCK THAT. Get FUCKing PISSED. Risk jail, or death, if need be.

Oh, thats right, the tea party has all those stand up pols on their side. NOT

They also have media suuport from the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

Thats what they want, nothing. That is how 50 or 60 house members can inflict so much damage. Let's say we elected 50 or 60 socialists to the house, not much of their agenda would get done. Because they would have to cause action to cause change. The tea baggers want inaction. All that requires is inaction. This isn't a good path we are on.

involves risking the loss. Saying you have a lot to lose is not a reason to buckle and cling to mediocrity. No one ever won a thing worth winning without risk, without a lot to lose.
Imagine your method on the battle field. "Gosh, we'd better retreat or surrender, we have a lot to lose!" Well, yes General, loss is part of conflict potentially, but so is victory. Being willing to risk much is how to gain much.
Reality involves constant risk, that is the nature of life on Earth. A 'risk free reality' is pure fantasy, created as an awning over the status quo.

Not voting and supporting the Democrat here in Wisconsin last fall has had disastrous consequences as it allowed Republicans to take total control and they moved quickly to consolidate and wield their power.

The inescapable reality is that the next president will either be Obama or the Republican candidate. It's a good bet that Republicans will take the Senate next year and hold the House. Give them the presidency along with the Supreme Court and they will then move quickly to dismantle anything that remotely relates to the Democratic Party. That will make what is happening now seem like a Sunday school picnic.

They - ESPECIALLY congress - can influence the executive actions. Get active, stop whining!

when the feds were obviously the only ones that could fix it and when handling it would have preserved a lot of jobs. What was that? She had a GFO to really make a difference and she punted. Color my skeptical.

they re-released that movie. I remember it freaked me out when I was a kid. When the wife and I saw it again, we were like "meh".

The ball will be back in the People court in November of 2012. However, they have it before and failed to score. And then, when it continues to be business as usual, they blame everyone else but themselves.

Indeed, it is amusing to watch as each side, endeavors to blame the other for our problems. Even so, both sides are right; for both sides are responsible for consuming that which they stole from the future. Likewise, both sides were on board when the proposal to loot the SS Trust Fund was put on the table.

You were right when you wrote, "there is only one person that can fix this mess." Likewise, there is only one person that created this mess.

Our government represents a manifestation of corruption--morally corrupt Representatives representing a morally corrupt and/or ignorant electorate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcuX0CiXA04

Plus, my vote is not all I have. I have my voice. I have my money. I have my time. I have my website.

Most importantly, I've got my hair (although I cannot find the right video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5ikeaYH8Q

Identify the DLC ers,"New Democrats" and "Third Way ers" and primary them or vote against them so that they ARE defeated - if that means a GOP gets in - there was one there already IN the person who was DLC "New Democrat" or Third Wayer

That's how the Tea Party won - they took on their incumbents - made them respond or defeated them - and here we are.

We need an OPPOSITION that FIGHTS their agenda not one which seeks compromise with that agenda.

It is crystal clear

and that's why it's flooding in Austin today, 'cause Rick Perry prayed for rain.

justifies the means crowd have dismantled our ability to do so. Our unions are being busted and made toothless and our Party has been taken over by business friendly corporatists. Other than getting out in the streets and risking being shot at by police or national guard we are pretty helpless.

and they do nothing. They are worthless in their present incarnation. We keep giving them our votes and expect things to change. It ain't gonna happen. Not until they see the same thing the Republicans saw when the Tea Party gave them an ultimatum. They have to be forced to change.

GOP into office. only solution?primary the lot of 'm

But we all know there's not a dime's worth of difference anyway. :sarcasm:

The classic definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results.

October 6, Freedom Plaza. Activism this world has not seen since Gandhi and his followers threw off the oppressive shackles of Britain's economic hegemony. Please, pledge to be there, for as long as it takes.

by the time we get to vote (discounting WI this week...), so many of us will more than likely be out of work, working for half of the pay that we used to get, buried under debt, etc., that i am afraid that people won't give damn about voting (a "what's the point?" kind of attitude). I wish that i knew what we could do NOW - this week, this month - to get these fuckers to start doing what is right.

We will no longer accept the status quo from our Party. Change or else.

I will see if my rep or senators are having town halls. I have called, e-mailed, wtc. but to be honest i feel like that is a waste.

do hope that most thinking voters now realize the flaw in that kind of thinking. :eyes"

They also ran for office -- completely hiding their real agendas.

:applause:

In the primaries, the Party gives us the choice between Corporate Candidate A and Corporate Candidate B, in most instances. Any progressive candidates are marginalized and/or underfunded. How much funding did Feingold and Grayson get from the Party in 2010? I seriously don't know, but wouldn't you think the Party would give top priority to funding those seats that are in danger?

On top of that, there's always the fraud of electronic voting... These days, I tend to think that voting is an illusion created by the real owners of our government to make the rest of us think we still have a government of the people.

Great post, though, kentuck. Rec.

...where Progressives fielded a legitimate Pro-LABOR candidate against the virulently Anti-LABOR, Anti-HealthCare DLC Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln (who crowed about derailing Healthcare) in the Democratic Primary,
the White House threw the whole weight of the White House endorsement and financial help of the DNC and DSCC behind the Blue Dog Status Quo.

The White House got so mad at us for Speaking Up and fielding a Progressive Candidate, that they even sent the Old Dog back down to Arkansas to help out poor Blanche,
and then ridiculed us for "wasting $10 Million Dollars" by supporting a Pro-LABOR candidate.

Fuck Them!

progressives. She couldn't be bothered supporting Dems in So Florida, but rather supported "friends" with an R label. And she is the chairperson!

Wonderful, eh? :banghead: :banghead:

enough votes..they buy scotus and scotus makes their declaration...I'm an old guy, I've seen it before..
and all the good intentions don't change anything....until the powerful get scared of losing their power.
You can read into that anything you want...:smoke:

What good does it do to keep voting these so-called Dems into office? Hold my feet to the fire, he says. Pffft. Oh, you liberals just sit down and eat your peas. Or whatever.

What, a repuke would be worse? How? Let's see, massive unemployment (most of us not even counted, we've been out of work so long), corporate welfare, S & P downgrade, prices going up, wages going down, two wars and who knows what to come, pollution, lack of healthcare (don't even start with that slop that got passed -- if it helped you, great, but most of us won't get any benefit). Etcetera, etcetera.

So, I'm bitter, you betcha. And I didn't get my sparkly pony. Boo-hoo.

And also too, this is the perfect time for progressive candidates to come out swinging and shake this "two party" system up. Ralph Nader, I'm NOT looking at you. Forgeddaboudit.

I'll vote next November. Never doubt that. I just won't be voting for Obama or any Dem who doesn't do what's right for this country. Or at least fight for the damned platform he/she signed up on.

Fuck. Rant over. I'm just so sick of this shit.

work on campaigns, get in the game as unpaid lobbyists, get involved in local politics

The Republican Party has no interest in fixing it, and too many in the Democratic Party don't either.

That leaves us with only one solution. People acting alone can't fix these things. We can only do it through government. Which means that we need a new government. Which means that we need another political party.

I was born in 1952 and I just retired. I am a product of the 60s and the fight against the Viet Nam war. I saw resistance and change. While I was working we were taught about "continuous improvement" as a way of improving business practices, reducing time wasted on recurring problems and incrasing productivity and revenue. I had written a note one day to the head of security regarding a practice I considered a waste of money. To my surprise the people who were 10 years my junior warned me that I would hurt my career and they would build up charges against me and I would be fired if I persued my course of action. this kind of thinking bothers me when people say, "You can't fight cith hall." you sure can!!! We did it in the 60s and 70s and it's what's going on in Wisconsin right now. To coin a phrase, "I believe we've awakened a sleeping giant." The middle class needs to wake up and realize that no one is going to rescue us. We need to band together and start to kick ass. President Obama has tried to show that fair play in negotiations is the gentleman's way but we can't negotiate with those who will not join in the give and take. Now we need to send the President our letters and tell hin that we are pissed off and he should take no prisoners. He needs to let the congress know that their job is to make life better for the American people and if they don't start doing their jobs then we'll start by voting the GOP out of office then rebuild the unions and stop the misappropriation of funds by corporations that support the wealthy. Nobody is going to do it for us people!!!! Let's get the payola and coruption out of congress and the supreme court!!! Where the hell are our oversight committees??!!

heartfelt
concise
inspiring

thank you.

count on me. :)

Really, is there ANYONE you can depend on anymore?

Thank you!

Billy Jack

whatever it is called.

After catching up with Randi's podcasts this evening, she makes some interesting points about Obama's potential longer term plans. Randi tends to be largely right. If the triggers which were put in place has the effect that she believes, the upcoming political season will be fascinating to watch.

So, as of tonight, I rate O at AA+ with possible future downgrades until the 6 Dems for this are picked.

:popcorn:

look for Jack Kraft

https://www.facebook.com/ultraliberal

No, the only thing they care about is our labor.(cheap labor)

So, I cast cast a vote that may or may not be counted for a politician that said all the right things (they always do) but then when they are elected they decide they need a billion dollars to get reelected or that the forces against them are too great to follow through on those promises, then what?

We have been heading in the wrong direction for decades and I seriously doubt we can change it with a vote.

Chris Hedges : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x606521

But apparently we didn't listen quite close enough.

Peoples Ten City in D.C. works for me.

I'll fucking hitch-hike to get there,
if I have to.

What are we going to do about that except completely overturn the Congress -- ??

DU'ers have to wake up to the reality that the GOP didn't do this alone!

According to Wm. Greider in his 1992 book "Who will tell the people?"

Democrats colluded with the GOP in 1978 -- with Dems in full power -- and

long before Reagan -- to break the tax code for the benefit of the rich.


1978 -- !!


We've also had 50 years of out in the open rightwing political violence --

Violence is the only way the right wing can rise and the only way it has ever rise -- !!

Meanwhile, the greatest threat we face is Global Warming -- !!

We've also had 50 years of lies and disinformation in the ExxonMobil propaganda --

$10's of billions of it -- over the last 50 years to confuse the public on what is

actually happening.


We've just had a Democratic president in complete betrayal of the voters and there is

very little discussion of how this happened -- !!!

And how we prevent it from happening again --

We need to know what's left of the Democratic Party -- if anything -- after 20 years

of infiltration and influence by the Koch Bros. DLC -- also funded by Pfizer and

Chevron.

I'm with you -- it's a good post -- but we really have to understand where we are and

how we got here -- and most especially -- how in the hell we got Obama !!

1. Get the MSM out of Corporate control. The spin machine works everywhere, including here;

2. Someone needs to take an honest look at why highly-regarded politicians like Alan Grayson and Russ Feingold lost their seats. They had their pulpits and LOST them. Someone who's serious about wanting to change things should think about why that was able to happen.

1. Get the MSM out of Corporate control.

What do you mean by this?

What makes you think Progressive efforts are going to get fair coverage?

DU is as susceptible to their distorted coverage as anyplace else.

Don't be deluded that they'd actually CARE about a Dem primary. Their interest would be to play it up for all it's worth and maximize the Dem party schism to improve the GOP chances.

Disgruntled lefties need to think bigger than some primary poll threads here. The media is owned by GE, Viacom, and Time Warner. If anyone thinks their ideal progressive candidate will get help with their "bully pulpit", think again.

I asked how you intend to get the MSM away from corporate control. Your response is a sort of rant/anti-liberal diatribe about Dem primaries.

How to achieve this? That is the question. President Obama has agreed to complete removal of all traces of this rule. I do not know if he has done it yet or not.

If Americans were honestly informed about the honesty inducing effects of an enforced Fairness Doctrine on our MSM, I think that just like most of our important issues, they would demand it's reinstatement.

The polls Show that the majority of Americans agree on very important issues like universal health care. The politicians refuse to vote the "will of the people," only the wants of the elite.

problem...M O N E Y

Let's face it the Tea Party wouldn't be if it weren't for an influx of money and it didn't come from grass roots.

We need to make it crystal clear....no change= no donation, NO VOTE. The only thing they really care about is getting re-elected. MAKE THEM EARN IT!

You have to wonder how many people in our society grew up in very dysfunctional families, with child abuse going on.

(In my day, it was called "discipline." I still see a therapist on account of it.)

Some who have been abused are totally into autonomy, but others seek someone to follow and to worship.

Back in the late 70's when Jimmy Carter held the presidency he had many great ideas. He was pro-peace and pro environment and was doing a pretty good job. Then some of his own Dems in office went against him. Hostages had been held captive in Iran for months. Enter Reagan who's team of republican thugs made sure that those hostages were held and released the very moment he marched up to make his inaugural address.(Not a coincidence that). So Carter was "Jimmied" out of office, Ronald Ray-gun "the great communicator" was in.

We've been going down the tubes ever since. I know what your talking about as far as no one doing it for us. We realize that now. Think of it though, if we do make sure that progressives get the majority in Congress, and President Obama would still be our President. He has been forced into countless corners by T-pubs from day one. They have said it often enough that they want him to fail. With his own team behind him he would then have to listen to the people around him that we elected. He would not be forced to cow tow and "compromise" with the GOP, or the teabaggers anymore, but work with strong progressives.

I won't rule out a massive peaceful March on Washington to let them know we mean business right now. And also take it state by state and keep that momentum going. This country will move forward again. There are too many people who really care and I have faith in their wisdom strength and perseverance.

Nothing like it. Wait, you hadn't heard that we've been marching at least once a year since 2003 and that many of them were close to or quite a bit over one million people?

We have a lot of things to fix. Our fake media is a big one, because, well, if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it..............

You might think we haven't had massive marches on Washington since the 60s, huh?

A nice rant, but meaningless. Our vote is being taken away (see WI). And the teabaggers have billionaire backers including the entirety of Big media on their side. That's why they win, not because of any "sound strategy". Well, that, and because the president doesn't take them on (he's the only Dem with media access).

Unrec

...maybe kentuck has a plan. (see my next post).

frankly in essence i think he is correct. but the question is: do what?

if you want to talk third party along with vote reform, ok.

if you want to talk protracted mass demonstrations,ok.

i'll listen to any suggestion that does not involve relying on the democrats or the system per se.

is the whole of the media. I dig what you mean, what it meant, but the temptation to groove on that has gotten out of hand, in my opinion. Fact: the 'media' is not just 'the news'. Fact: 'the news' is a tiny portion of the media. Fact: Cable News is a tiny sub-segment of TV news, fewer than 1% of Americans see it at all.
The vast bulk of 'the media' is not journalism or news, it is entertainment and cultural content. The fact of the matter is that the aspect of the 'media' with the greatest impact is on the cultural side, not the 'news' side. And good for us, the Republicans and conservatives in general do not do well in that territory at all. We, the liberals, rule that entire world. Rule it. This is why the peers to say, Jon Stewart are Bill Maher and Colbert and the Onion News and Infomania and of course, their very famous conservative counterpart...oh, that's right. No such thing. Dennis Miller? Kelsey Grammar?
So let us at the very least try to acknowledge that the news is the last place to go to get the word out, the right has absolutely no toe hold in the larger, more powerful areas of media. They have no access to it. We do.
It is old and tired to define 'the media' as those three cable news outlets or even those plus network news. That is the 'television news media'. Not The Media.
And before you start sputtering that only 'the news' influences politics, I'll say that I can see Russia from my house, and that Tina Fey did more to comment on and elucidate Palin with her sketch comedy than any 'news' reporter did, even more than the good ones, who really tried. All the 'Special Comments' in the world just do not match what Tina did in those sketches. The 'news' never 'goes viral' nor does it become a part of our culture. Some, many even, think Palin said that line about see'n Russia. It was powerful, truthful satire, and it cut her to shreds. Trust me, if KO could do it that way, he would.
Just somethings to think about. The 'news' is not the whole of the media, and in the bulk of the media, the right has no power, no standing, no contacts and no lexicon.

I'm talking about the 1200 radio stations that blare coordinated propaganda and hate 24/7, choking out truth and news. They're the reason the tiny cabal of teabaggers get to run a country of 320,000,000 people. Fox Lies, ConNN, and ConNBC are certainly part of the problem, but Hate Radio is much worse. And excellent target if and when we decide to fight back. But kentuck's premise that the teabaggers' message is somehow presented better than ours is absurd.

I do disagree on tactics. I am one who gets upset with DU progressives, like you, that advocate blowing up the democratic party and President Obama because of perceived conservative bent. A saner course is to work our asses off to identify local leaders and citizens that will carry forth a rational, progressive message and rath of policy proposals. If each of us do the latter, you will have your progressive country soon and I could not be happier with that outcome. I fear the inter-fraternal fights that I see on sites like DU will set back progress for decades if we do not stop the fights and agree to disagree for the time being, while having and working for the same intermediate objectives.

Liberal was killed, now you're helping to feed the attack on "progressive"?

I suppose the conservatives winning when you do that is okay.

what, exactly, are we going to do now that we haven't done before?

Did you see the fear in the Republican Party when the Tea Party made their demands. They got off the dime. They went in an insane direction but they moved. The Tea Party changed the Republican Party. How did they do that? I think their strategy, not their ideas, should be instructive to all of us. So long as you are taken for granted, nothing gets done, no matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican.

please specify.

That would be the place to start.

Yes I did. But a Tea Party created and funded by the Koch nazis, promoted by Faux News and RW talk radio. A group of 100 Tea Partiers gets more national media exposure than 100,000+ progressives and liberals. The Tea Party organizers put candidates in place and funded them to primary centrist conservatives. That is how those tea Partiers got in congress to scare the Republicans. Not to mention Grover Norquist who had the Republican Congresspeople sign a pledge which evidently superseded their oath of office, not to raise taxes. The progressive left has no big money bags organization behind them, no one to seek out and fund candidates to primary right leaning Dems or Blue Dog Dems, no national media outlet to promote their cause. Their strategy is brilliant. If only we could duplicate it.

and the Rethugs needed the teabaggers. (Even if the GOP might be a bit sorry now).

The Dem party does not NEED the liberal wing. They have demonstrated that over and over.

We really do belong in a third party. But a third party can never win.

So we are disenfranchised while the tea party is able to jerk the Rethugs around.

We are not in the same position as the tea party. It's logical to say that we should put our allegiance to the Dem party on the line like the baggers have, but we really are not equivalent to the baggers. We are much more on the outs.

http://www.normangoldman.com/blog/blog-details.asp?BID=180

Thus, we have launched a four-part plan to act to save America.
1) One is simple but very important: Encourage people to run for office. Now, this is not for everyone, but we need to find people, from the pool of us, who can enter the political realm and displace these career politicians who have screwed up everything. If you cannot run for office, consider volunteering for a local elected official or party committee. You will get to know key people and the feeling of empowerment is AWESOME! Just 3 hours a week is plenty - like a Thursday afternoon, answering phones, working on the computers; writing letters. ALL of this is needed work and you WILL be appreciated! Chances are good you will meet the politician and maybe this will help get you to run or be appointed to local office!

2) The second thing is to have a radio home for whistle blowers; a place where people with knowledge of scandals and wrongdoing (public and private) can leak documents and information to expose scandals. This is a "WikiLeaks for radio" and can be accessed by sending e-mails to norm@normangoldman.com and putting "Radio Leaks" in the subject line. As I said on the radio, I will do my level best to protect the leakers; it helps being a lawyer! Using software like TOR or I2P, people can hide their identities, if they so choose, and leak anonymously. Or, people can use Internet cafes and public libraries (make sure not to leave your real name) to send material. I will fight all lawsuits and subpoenas and gather up other lawyers to fight efforts to discover identities of leakers, of course at no charge. I will claim the journalist privilege and while I cannot guarantee anonymity, if the whistleblowers take steps to hide their identities, I can help as well.

3) The third thing is to use state ballot initiatives to put our agenda before the people. I am tired of waiting on Washington. Something like 24 states have citizen initiative provisions; we should turn the tables on Karl Rove and put our agenda on state ballots - just like Rove did to swell turnout in the 2004 election, with "ban gay marriage" initiatives.

4) The fourth thing is the most ambitious but perhaps most vital: To create or find a quarterback to knit together the progressive infrastructure and get a coordinated message out in the public. Raising money to place billboards by highways ("Tax Fairness Balances The Budget" and "Outsourcing is a Job Killer - Bring The Jobs Home") and running TV and radio commercials constantly (not just at election time) to issue advocate, not candidate advocate, would counter "The American Crossroads" campaign of Karl Rove and his corporate sponsors. We would need an Obama-style base of small donors, plus a group of middle and larger donors to sustain the effort for years to come. I am talking about a constant, relentless effort here - not a one-shot deal. Patience is a virtue.

How about some leadership on this one kentuck?

then you cannot support him. Put the fear of God in him. He will change. The Party will change. The problem is that as long as we continue to support whatever they do, nothing will change. You are taken for granted. Then you are told, if you don't vote for the Democrat, then the Republicans will win. Then we shrink like a violet under the threat. The truth of the matter is that Democrats fight Republican ideas more when they are not in the White House than they do when they are in the White House?? Go figure. If the only thing the Democratic Party can stand for is the nomination of Justices to the Supreme Court, then we no longer need this Party. They can do much more. They have to do much more if they want our support. Or they can get on the next bus out of town. Simple as that. Their ticket will no longer be automatically punched.

In fact, I'm pretty sure he'd prefer if I were dead.

And he never had my support to begin with.

Next idea.

work to replace him.

This is a very conservative district.

and calling one's representatives.

this has been tried ad infinitum. it doesn't work.

We are the people we've been waiting for. :fistbump: Now the question is, what is the most effective action? I think it would be something like a series of general strikes............

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These electronic hackable voting machines must go. We need to return hand-counted ballots with a verifiable receipt. Anything less is a danger to Democracy. It was too obvious in 2000, when our votes were stolen, "flipped", whatever, by corrupt officials and electronic voting machines.

Unless we definitely make our voting verifiable, we will lose any hope, short of a revolution.

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the start of today's debt problem was created when Reaganomics stated that
"debt created by tax cuts didn't count"

because like the TV Evangelicals of today.... god will reward the righteous 100 fold.

a religious cult has taken over the GOP, it isnt an ideology anymore it is Dogma and they can't sin against god to make godless socialist Democrats happy.

this is the stuff Revolutions are made of.


note to Trolls:
if you cant take the truth... just fall on your Sword like a good Roman, do it for the Empire, then have a friend post it on Youtube so i can watch.

in 2008. We did try all the things you list. We are worse off now ( at least I am) than when we DID vote for change. Sorry, I cant subscribe to your pollyanna view of how WE can fix this mess. Tell me this cuz I really want to know. Name ONE instance in the history of the world that a country on the decline like ours, was able to pull itself up and make itself great again. I cant think of any at all. I would LOVE to be optimistic, but there are too many forces against us...too much money and too much power.

you're right. Thx.

Preserve, Protect, And Defend

http://www.mattersofprinciple.com/?p=


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