Notwithstanding recent broadsides by Bai, Brooks, and others -- the new precinct captains of cyberspace are in perpetual high five mode these days, celebrating the key role the internet is playing in the 2008 presidential campaigns.  They feel the netroots have changed the game, sparking a revolution in how politics is played in this country.   And that's true -- to a point.

There have been so many moments throughout history where real men and women have revolutionized the face of politics and we've often found ourselves wondering what it would be like to be a part of it. Now is one of those times where Democratic politics are more than ever an integral part of reshaping the face of the political landscape. Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee and Mark Brewer, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party and Chair of the Association of State Democratic Chairs are a very big part of that change.

For the first time ever, you can sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and talk shop with them.

Oprah Winfrey made big news late last year when she decided to make her first-ever political endorsement. It remains to be seen what sort of impact that endorsement will have, but some observers are already suggesting that Winfrey could create a much broader, lasting legacy if she chooses to lend her name and clout to small-d democracy and the idea that, in order for our nation to survive, we must all do more than vote.

Writing recently at his nonpartisan "Redeeming Hope" blog, Rich Harwood of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation said:

I urge you to kick off a national discussion on politics and public life. It doesn't have to be abstract and boring. Instead, it should focus on how each of us can engage and connect with one another in daily life. You could even focus on a single book that people could read together. Imagine if the 30,000 people who gathered in the South Carolina stadium ...  week were invited to grab a book, start reading, and start talking to one another - and with their fellow citizens across the nation.

I offer the simple proposition that lowering the voting age to 16 will be good for our democracy, good for young people, good for our communities, and good for our nation.  I propose we amend  the Minnesota constitution to change the voting age.

This is not a candidate diary, but a post for Kossacks who are involved in small-d democracy - community organizing, local governance, etc. Thanks for reading! And if you yourself blog about small-d democracy topics, please contact me via email to jfanselow at everyday-democracy dot org. Together with other organizations, we are building a national network of bloggers on public engagement issues, and we'd like to know what you are doing.

We’re hearing and reading a lot about hope this year. Rich Harwood of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation recently published an essay – Make Hope Real: How We Can Accelerate Change for the Public Good– that offers five succinct guidelines on how civic leaders and community organizers can nurture the new national impulse for involvement and change. Read below the flip to see these ideas and get a link to download the full essay.

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Young voters have arrived.

Finally.

Since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972, predictions of the increasing impact of young voters on the outcomes of elections have consistently been proven wrong on Election Day. In fact, youth voting rates have rarely been as strong as they were in 1972 and young people continue to be among the least represented groups in the electorate and in the voting booth.

Until now.

I'm finally starting to feel the urgency and necessity of radically expanding the political dialogue in order to check a runaway executive, of which I'm highly dubious as to the prospect of them going away quietly.  As such, this is hands down the most substantial and passionate posting I've ever written. What makes it more significant to me is that I am planning on sending to every single person I know as a personal plea for them to lay down their apathy and realize just how bad the situation has become.

Anyone who's seen/read Naomi Wolf's lecture/book, The End of America understand the urgency of which I speak.

I know that plenty of people have suggested that the hard right, with social conservatives foremost among them, would come back to the GOP nominee in November, because there are tribal forces that keep these Republicans, who feed more than anything on hatred of their opponents, coming back for more.  And that is probably true.  But there's more that the fundies and the hard-right conservatives did to win elections for George W., for example, beyond voting.  We're five months out and this is entirely subject to change, but there are warning signs that John McCain has huge problems with just the kinds of voters who volunteer and do the ground work for practically every Republican campaign.

more...

If you live in Colorado, and especially if you have a keen interest in working for greater racial equity and more inclusive government, we invite you to check out Everyday Democracy's national meeting, Making Every Voice Matter.

Most events will take place at the Renaissance Hotel, 3801 Quebec Street in Denver, but there's a program set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, June 11) at the Penrose Branch Library in Colorado Springs. Matt Leighninger will be there to talk about his book, The Next Form of Democracy: How Expert Rule Is Giving Way to Shared Governance - and Why Politics Will Never Be the Same. See more info here.

Thursday's first public event, set for 4 to 6 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, is a free program dedicated to the legacy of John Parr, a longtime national and Colorado civic leader who died late last year. (More below the fold ...)

Jesse Taylor at Pandagon had a remarkably insightful piece today about the wingnut carping over the Barack Obama speech in Berlin, the media reaction, and his popularity generally.  I really think this is important to understand.  The right has always held a goal of minimizing political participation; normally this is done through voter suppression, onerous voter ID or ballot access laws, and generally disenfranchising those for whom it is hardest to engage in the process.  Now they've taken it a step further, basically planting the seed that ANY participation whatsoever, not just voting but showing up for a rally or working a phone bank or donating money, is toxic and inherently fascistic.  Because their deficit in this election year is enthusiasm, they're trying to make such support and excitement untenable.  Behold:

Do you know what you're doing for Halloween? Felt that energy around? That buzzing? Thus starts the final countdown to election season -- and it's time to get involved!
Find your inner Frankenstein, knock on some doors in costume, then party down with like-minded volunteers at Trick or Vote!

It's the largest get-out-the-vote canvass...in costume...come change the world on Halloween!

Trick or Vote is here!
Friday, October 31
AudioCinema, 226 SE Madison (map)
2 canvasses! 3:30 & 5:30pm
Party! 8:00pm

Today is not only the observance of Martin Luther King Day, or the eve of the inauguration of our 44th President (I'm on West Coast time).  It happens to be the 1-year anniversary of the Nevada caucus, and I only remember that because Democrats Work was passing out a shirt that read "Make 1.19.08 more than a one-night stand." As today was a national day of service, with thousands of Americans participating in service projects, that proved fairly prophetic.  But 1.19.08 was also the one moment during the primary campaign when it looked like Obama wouldn't win the election.  I was in Vegas that day, and after an insane caucus at The Wynn, literally one of the craziest political moments I've ever seen in my life, which looked like Halloween with people yelling "HIL-A-RY" and "O-BA-MA" at each other, I went to the main center for the counting and watched Sen. Clinton win.  And this was in the age before anyone paid much attention to delegate counts and the fact that Obama probably got more delegates out of the state.  Just a few weeks before that age, but in the age.  

President Obama's calls for greater civic engagement is directly at odds with the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The two things cannot be reconciled.

Cross-posted at PunditCountry

Chris Bowers at Open Leftdiscusses a very salient issue occurring at this point in the movement as we find ourselves not getting the issues we feel need redress addressed by the very leaders we helped send to Washington to deal with. From DADT to the removal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, we are told time and time again that the sensible thing to do is wait, and wait, and wait.

This generally doesn’t happen to those on the right. But this goes back to a point I made in an earlier post that one of the chief differences between the parties is that the Democrats loathe their base while the GOP fears and coddles theirs. Both may feel they are out of touch, but at the GOP leaders are aware that not acting on red meat issues like gun control, pro-life legislation, and low taxes will have an adverse reaction from those they need most at the ballot box come election day.

Tonight I am excited about campaigns. Not one campaign, or at least not writing about one campaign I am passionate about...but just campaigns the love of the democratic process and the role that campaigns, people and passion bring about.

This morning I got an email from myImpact.org announcing that they'd received support from the Peterson Foundation and Mobilize.org for a social media project they intend to do.  This was announced at the Mobilize.org event "Exploring the Millennial Generation’s Return on Investment" a conference announced earlier this year when Mobilize announced their $1million grant from the Peterson Foundation.

William Greider wrote in The Nation earlier this year about the Looting of Social Security, describing very specifically the plan among Wall Street and Banking elites who are pushing the idea of fiscal responsibility as part of policy.  Fiscal responsibility is a well tested phrase that everyone can get behind - because everyone agrees that our country should be responsible with its money. . . but Greider says that this is a backdoor swindle on anyone who has paid into Social Security

In 2004 I began speaking at rallies and forums around the country on issues of peace and justice, something I've done off-and-on ever since.  Up through 2008, it was extremely unusual for questions from the audience to consist of pure defeatism.  In 2009, it was rare to get through a Q&A session without being asked what the point was of trying.  

And the defeatism is so contagious that it will be hard for me to make it through 2010 if people don't shut up about how doomed we are.  If current trends continue, by 2011 the only people showing up at forums on peace and justice will all be old enough to tell my grandparents they're too young to understand how pointless it is to try.  And my grandparents are dead.

Most of the defeatist questions I get asked are more statements than questions, mostly informing those in the room of ways in which our nation is corrupted that we are all painfully aware of, but stated as much out of frustration and despair as out of any hope of hearing a miraculous solution articulated.

Today, I had a Letter to the Editor appear in my local newspaper, the Altamont Enterprise regarding my organization of the Albany County Coffee Party as part of the National Coffee Party Kickoff to take place this Saturday, March 13.

I feel compelled to re-post the the letter in its entirety here for two reasons.  First, because the Enterprise never puts its Letters to the Editor on it's website.

Second, because the final few paragraphs of my 1,776 word letter were cut off, along with any byline to attribute the letter to me.  You can discern it was written by me in a small story deeper in the paper.  I don't hold it against them; the Enterprise is a top-notch, independently owned local paper that gives a huge forum to letter writers every week, so a mistake here and there is forgivable.

Without further adieu, here's what I wrote, along with the headline:

I'm a U-M alumna and have worked at the U for several years; my older daughter will start a grad program here in the fall. Earlier this week our local OFA group and the Washtenaw County Dems put out a call for help with crowd control, since all the available tickets (over 92,000) were distributed to graduates, their guests, and the U-M community. It was in part the chance for some mother-daughter bonding that took us there at 5:30 yesterday morning, even though we are both night owls. But we were also motivated by the chance to help out and enjoy some of the fruits of our hard work. After all, we both played a part (no matter how small) in helping Obama win the election.

We didn’t know that we’d arrive in time to get drenched by a thunderstorm that also delayed the opening of the gates by over an hour, and we didn’t expect to be in the middle of a few thousand people most of the morning, attempting to guide them to the gates with the shortest lines. We both wished several times that we were substantially taller, and louder, than we are!

So most everyone who has encountered me on this blog knows pretty much that I’m passionate about literacy.  I’m a pretty decent political organizer, but organizing projects around literacy is where I really go all in.  I’ve been a member of a successful coalition in my city two years ago to save 11 neighborhood libraries.  I’ve also, created a tri-state reading program as a key component of the King Day of Service that selects one book a year, asks students to read the book and submit essays.  I instituted this program two years ago and although I’m no longer with the non-profit, this program is still thriving and has become a main component for students to get involved with the King Day of Service.

Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking about putting together another literacy project that would require participation by many of you here.  I’ve been going back and forth with the feasibility of the project but then the universe has collided to force me to just get it going.

More below the fold...

Crossposted from Future Majority.

In my work with college students, one of the things I have observed is that anytime students hear the word "politics," they tend to exclusively link it with our national political discourse.  With our national political dialogue and process failing to solve the large problems we face, we shouldn't be surprised that many students consequently develop a negative attitude toward politics and believe the political world is unproductive and difficult to access and navigate.  Basically, trying to get through the large mess isn't worth the effort.

These observations have led me to question a few things.

Like so many of us here at Daily Kos,  I was one of those early Obama supporters, someone who signed up at mybarackobama.com. In fact, I prided myself on being one of the fledgling members of the ORR group. Damned if we didn't do some mighty fine work in those first months. In fact, when I first met Senator Obama, he had the graciousness to act as if he was actually aware that the ORR team existed. He looked tinkled pink as he shook my hand and said: "Oh, we love the work you guys do."

President Obama, You should say no to the XL Pipeline! NOW!

The other day, I responded to the email from TarsandsAction to take the next steps in Phase 2 of the campaign.  I volunteered to host an educational house party AND to take the message to my local OFA group. Then I got another idea.

For years now, I've done my damndest to get myself removed from all the Obama groups I was active with, to clean out my overloaded inbox. But when the organization shifted over to OFA, it became near impossible. So it turns out that unless you succeeded in being removed from these group mailing lists, they are still available for you to use, to touch base with the folks you worked with virtually during the '08 campaign. Folks from all across America. Remember those phone banks you joined? Those state groups, special interest groups, precinct captains and canvassers? (For example, among the 100-odd groups I joined,  there was "Quit Smoking With Obama,""Citizens Strategy Think Force""Impeachers for Obama,"" Peace in the Middle East" and "SF Giants Fans For Obama.")

President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!

What if we all take advantage of this exceptional and extensive online network, created by grassroots volunteers like you and me for the 2008 campaign? We could use these extraordinary existing online tools  to ensure  communities of Obama supporters across the country are informed about the XL pipeline.

President Obama,  You should say no to the XL Pipeline! NOW!

We have a way to actually unite millions and millions of Obama supporters to put pressure on the President to listen to us RIGHT NOW!

President Obama, say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!

So, here's my plan.

1. Go to barackobama.com. You'll arrive at the 2012 Election Landing Page. You'll be asked "Are you in?
2. Enter your email and zip and click on "I'm in."
3. When you arrive at the donation page, click on the huge 2012 at the top to jump to your own page.
4. You'll arrive at what used to be your dashboard. It will have links to your groups, options to join groups, options to volunteer, etc.
5. Access your groups OR search through "most popular" or "most members" groups and join an few.  (I actually created a group for 'No To Keystone XL,' which is awaiting approval AND joined the Environmentalists for Obama, which currently has close to 38,000 members.)
6. Once you have access to the group(s) page, click on Listserv.
7. Click on Send message to the group.
8. Type in the subject line:

President Obama,  You should say NO to the XL Pipeline NOW!

9. Copy and paste the following content into the text of your message: (Of course, feel free to write your own. This email pulls content from suggestions copied from our resident expert eco letter writer WarrenS)

A sample of the email I already sent out to about ten groups, consisting of over 67,000 members of mybarackobama.com is below the fold.

President Obama, You MUST say NO to the XL Pipeline! NOW!

By Rafael Collazo, Campaign Political Director, NCLR

The rise of voter suppression laws in the United States is a deep concern for the Latino community. We are gearing up for the 2012 election cycle, but laws such as Florida’s HB 1355 have seriously hampered voter engagement efforts. Such a law will most certainly present a challenge to NCLR as we begin our work in earnest this coming January.

A little under a month from now, the Iowa Caucus will be held, signifying the formal beginning of the 2012 Presidential Election.  A preoccupied nation, consumed with its own worries, has only devoted half an eye to the process.  This election cycle has, thus far, been one of the least notable on record.  The attention of the American people has focused primarily on outside issues.

Many in Congress have been silent on the issue of voter suppression laws, but one senator has made it his mission to expose them for what they are: the thinly veiled disenfranchisement of minority populations. Today, Sen. Bill Nelson (D–Fla.) announced that he will hold a Senate field hearing to find out whether states have enacted laws to suppress voter turnout. The announcement comes on the heels of his request last month for Attorney General Eric Holder to open an investigation into whether the law in Florida (HB 1355)—and similar laws in more than a dozen other states—is part of a larger effort to suppress voter turnout among minorities and senior citizens in the 2012 general election. The hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2012 in Tampa.

Growing up in the United States is like playing a foucauldian game of discipline and punish. Disciplined by a morally bankrupt narrative about sex and sexuality and then punished for daring to question it.

Written by Andrew Jenkins forRH Reality Check. This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post.

I've always believed in this phrase intellectually and spiritually.  

Democracy Only Works If You Participate

Now I can believe it experientially.  I co-lead a civic engagement group called Occupy Democracy - Pasadena (ODP).  Our group has been active since tax day of 2011, though at that time we hadn't yet come together as a group officially.

People like these inspired a few of us to make this a more sustainable group and name it.  It was with some persistence and imagination that our group can now claim this victory. . . .

After months of political ads, voter registration drives, presidential debates, and the circus that is an election cycle, we're finally approaching the big day. And although this is a new year and a new election, some things never seem to change. Erroneous claims of voter apathy. Widespread fear that young people won't show up to the polls. The 'knight in shining armor' complex masqueraded as a legitimate way to engage Millennials. But don't sweat it.

Written by Andrew Jenkins forRH Reality Check. This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post.

The word "genius" is often abused and devalued until it means little more than "someone who can think quickly and remember facts well." But there are a few people whose talents and insights transcend any simplistic analysis, and whose contributions to the world have thus been enormous and yet impossible to calculate - sometimes, ironically, to the point that their true significance is missed entirely.  These are true geniuses, and they tap into something basic that most of us will barely even glimpse.  Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame is such a person, through his incredible and often indescribable contributions to music - compositions and performances that somehow capture fundamental, cosmic qualities and provide them in a compelling package that leaves the audience feeling inspired and awakened rather than anesthetized like so much music today.  

I can say without reservation that he is one of my personal heroes because of his ability to do this, and his willingness over two decades to show the rest of us the beauty he sees that we would otherwise only perceive in the shallowest and most fleeting terms.  And it's because of this profound admiration that I feel it worthwhile to address some political comments he made a few months ago that have only come to my attention recently.  These comments were not outrageous, ridiculous, or foolish - I just disagree with them, and want to sort of put my own thoughts out into the ether as a kind of tribute for what his music has added to my life.

Organizing New York takes place March 22-24 at the United Federation of Teachers, 52 Broadway. Register here. A full schedule for Friday and Saturday is here.

Join us at Organizing New York - March 22-24

It's understandable really. New tools are coming out all the time, new research pours out with ever-changing best practices, and new people come up through the ranks with the unique lessons they want to share.

Organizing New York fits in this landscape by working with grassroots organizations and making sure our offerings match what they want, rather than serving as a vehicle to sell you products or services. Our larger purpose - beyond some session you find useful - is to create communities of practice that cross the silos that litter the progressive landscape.

Doing better at organizing is a shared interest for many. But it's often a struggle to find someone in your own organization who has the answer to a small but nagging software question, a good canvassing checklist, or a vendor recommendation. Good communities of practice exist, and should spread, beyond our narrow issue areas, geographic focus, and constituency boundaries.

We hope you'™ll come to one or more days of Organizing New York not only to learn, teach, share and network, but also to see yourself as part of more communities of practice than you knew existed. Even if you only wanted to learn how to organize your sock drawer!

Three Tracks, Three Days

Highlights

Strategy and Tactics: What is digital strategy? How to campaign in low turnout elections? Can your organization run a successful crowdfunding campaign?

Fundraising: Most fundraising trainings in New York are geared towards foundation fundraising.  We know that only about 12% of foundation funding goes to social justice groups.  We need to create a funding base in our own communities.  This track will offer some of the best experts in the region training on everything from building a volunteer fundraising group,  running amazing events, building your online fundraising capacity to creating asking (and receiving) big gifts.

Racial Justice: Sometimes, tech-oriented conferences skew towards white dudes. But our mission is to advance all our causes, and to prioritize issues that impact low-income communities, communities of color, women and queer people. This means highlighting and foregrounding experts from grassroots communities and making sure the conference is accessible to everyone.  This also means addressing racial justice explicitly in a session about grassroots fundraising for people of color and sessions on working with the Dominican, Puerto Rican and African American online communities. We’re also happy to announce that some sessions will be offered in Spanish, with others having simultaneous interpretation, that we will have child-care throughout the entire conference. We are working in partnership with base-building communities from across New York City and the region to move this from an idea into reality.

Workshops from the Community: Our third day is also called Rootscamp. That means it is part of a New Organizing Institute tradition of putting on ‘unconferences’ that feature workshops proposed by attendees that become participatory skill shares. We are using this page to solicit workshop proposals and to learn what the community values the most. Submit your proposal today, and on Sunday morning volunteers will assemble the day’s agenda based on feedback from the participants.

Camp Wellstone: Politics, how does it work? That’s a question often asked by activists trying to master the detailed specifics of running an election campaign or winning victories on issues during and after election campaigns. Camp Wellstone participants will spend most of their time together, learning from professional trainers. This is a highly sought after training and registration will close soon. Camp Wellstone uses the same registration page, but you can learn more about them here as well.

Faith: We are also running a special session on Friday for organizers from the faith community. If this is of interest to you because your nonprofit has a religious or interfaith affiliation, or you work from a strong faith perspective - please contact us at ony@organizing20.org for more details. This session will only be open to those who have pre-registered for it.

Organizing New York takes place March 22-24 at the United Federation of Teachers, 52 Broadway. Register here. A full schedule for Friday and Saturday is here. A listing of approved sessions appears below, though it is subject to change.

There is more after the jump, but let's hear it for the great orgs that came together to put this on: NY Civic Engagement Table, New Organizing Institute, Working Families, Democracy for America, Organizing 2.0, Wellstone Action, Citizen Action NY, and our many sponsors and endorsing orgs from labor, Occupy Wall St., community organizing groups and candidates.

I have never been a politician. I've always run other peoples' campaigns, or vaccinated the elderly, or looked for ways to treat substance abuse, or dragged groups of young leaders with me to Netroots Nation. I never seriously considered running for office myself.

I've been the only Anglo in the room now for two decades. And, until a few nights ago, I saw this primarily in terms of limitations.

EthicsAndClimate; Donald A. Brown. Widener University School of Law Scholar In Residence in Sustainable Development Ethics and Law

The world faces complex challenges, Hongbo notes, because as we move past the 2015 expiration of the Millennium Development Goals, our efforts to eradicate poverty and move towards universal equality in all areas of development are challenged by the shocks of climate change.

Sustainable development, he writes, is now about working together across the globe to “responsibly manage the earth's life support systems and ecosystems.

"The future we are aiming at is one where poverty is history and where all human beings can achieve the full development of their potential and live lives of dignity, while consuming and producing within the limits of the planet. Such a world is within our reach. This is the future we want.” (Next Steps to the 'Future We Want')

UN Climate scientists, in defining the six main issues relevant to the SDGs -- “thriving lives and livelihoods, food security, water security, clean energy, healthy and productive ecosystems, and governance for sustainable societies --  also stress that human activity has undermined “the stability of Earth systems that allow for continued human development.  Climate scientists have already made it clear that changes in the atmosphere have contributed to the unpredictable and severe weather systems that have caused damage all over the world.   These scenarios are escalating in their damage and their frequency thereby uprooting stable cities and making future development more challenging.” (UN Scientists Identify Sustainable Development Goals to Address the Health of the Environment and Livelihoods)

For when you observe a 'flat' Earth or even when you view the earth from a Hubble-eye view,

Why should Bangladesh drown? Texas burn? Africa starve?

Is it Nature?  Nurture? Or just the luck of the draw?

In a recent Time magazine article Can Service Save Us?, Joe Klein writes about the psychological and general health benefits of volunteering, proposing that "a robust national-service program  — like the service corps proposed by the Aspen Institute’s Franklin Project —" just might be beneficial for all of us. Klein dedicates a lot of ink to the philosophy behind The Mission Continues, an organization designed to involve veterans in community-service activism. Across the US, veteran groups are volunteering on farms, in schools, on building sites and in health facilities taking care of other seriously wounded vets.  

Some 7,000 vets are members of the LA-based Team Rubicon which focuses on disaster relief. These vets were the boots on the ground after Hurricane Sandy and in post-tornado ops in Oklahoma.

"When they leave the service," Klein writes, "veterans are catapulted from an intense brother-and-sisterhood where the most serious issues imaginable are confronted every day, and plopped down into a society where they no longer have the comfort and purpose of being part of something larger than themselves. In a perverse way, their reaction to civilian life can be seen as a form of sanity: too many of the rest of us have slouched from active citizenship to passive couch-potato-hood. Many returning veterans find that passivity and isolation intolerable."

Let's imagine a different simulation of BreathingEarth. One that percolates with activity illustrating actions around the world as citizens show up to tackle the problems of climate change. Rather than measuring how many tons of carbon had been emitted since the last time you logged on, orbs would light up to show how many projects and partnerships have begun, how many people have shown up. Real life cells would sprout in marketplaces and malls and on main streets, collaborative spaces for people of all ages and from all walks of life to stop by and share time and skill sets in the global effort to educate, encourage and empower world citizens as they engage in engineering the shift in lifestyle necessary for universal sustainable development.

Information would be fluid, inspirational and thought provoking, illustrating progress on issues like food security and global health, extreme weather events and water scarcity.

Imagine if we all woke up from our ennui. If we gained independence from our learned helplessness. If we overcame our collective PTSD. If our eyes opened up to the universal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Imagine if we realized we are all members of the same global eco swat team. That your problem is my problem. That none of us are free if any of us are in danger.

Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”― St. Francis of Assisi  

Today is the last day to vote in the Forever Saint Paul Challenge. $1 Million of Republican money is going to be awarded to the winning idea. 946 ideas were submitted and one I submitted is now one of the finalists! Please take a moment and vote for the Center for Creative Arts! It will be a really cool youth art/maker space combined with a youth social/civic entrepreneurship incubator. The money for the contest is left over from seed money given to attract the Republican National Convention to Saint Paul. Now the Saint Paul Foundation is going to make a grant to the winning idea. Help me win for youth opportunity!

(NOTE: Dr. Giroux has provided written authorization to the diarist to reproduce his work in its entirety for the benefit of the Daily Kos community. Giroux is a member of Truthout's Board of Directors. Here's the LINK to his website.)

Henry A. Giroux: Hope in a Time of Permanent War
By Henry A Giroux, Truthout | Opinion
Wednesday, 04 September 2013 00:00

Revolution is not 'showing' life to people, but making them live. A revolutionary organization must always remember that its objective is not getting its adherents to listen to convincing talks by expert leaders, but getting them to speak for themselves, in order to achieve, or at least strive toward, an equal degree of participation.

– Guy Debord

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

The war drums are beating loudly, and America is once more mobilizing its global war machine.

How might it be possible to imagine hope for justice and a better world for humanity in a country that has sanctioned state torture, is about to bomb Syria and kill untold number of civilians, spies on its own citizens, extends the reach of the punishing state into all aspects of society, and inflicts violence on black and brown youths through racial profiling and the machinery of the mass incarceration state?

How does one retrieve hope from the dark and dismal killing, cruelty, human rights violations and abuse that has been produced as a result of the needless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the role played by a conformist media that supported such practices?

Is hope on terminal life support when the police are allowed to handcuff a kindergarten student for doodling on her desk or arrest a student for a dress code violation?

What does hope mean in a country in which there is no tolerance for young protesters and infinite tolerance for the crimes of bankers, hedge fund managers and corporate polluters?

How can hope make a difference in a country in which economics drives politics and harsh competition replaces any notion of compassion and respect for the public good?

What does hope mean when the United States, as the most powerful nation in the world, is virtually unmatched around the world for incarcerating thousands of young people of color and destroying millions of families and the social bonds that give them meaning?

What does hope teach us at a time in which government lies and deception are exposed on a daily basis in the media and yet appear to have little effect on challenging the deeply authoritarian attacks on civil liberties initiated by President Obama?

What happens to the promise of hope as a foundation for social struggle when all of social life is subordinated to the violence of a deregulated market and the privatization of public resources, including health care, education and transportation?

What resources and visions does hope offer in a society in which greed is considered venerable and profit is the most important measure of personal achievement?

What is the relevance of hope at a time when most attempts to interrupt the operations of an incipient fascism appear to fuel a growing cynicism rather than promote widespread individual and collective acts of resistance?

Where does hope live in a country in which moral courage is valued less than a brutalizing hyper-masculinity and a cult of toughness?

As more and more information gets stored in large databases, knowing how to navigate it effectively is an important skill.

Cross posted from Pruning Shears.

The Sacramento Bee editorial board was correct in their Friday Feb.6, 2015,  piece, “Civic Education is Essential to Democracy, “ I  congratulate them on their position. http://www.sacbee.com/...
However, they missed the boat on how to get to improved civic education.
While it is accurate that we have a general problem in California  of civic engagement of the young,  it is also true that we have a very specific problem with the rate of Latino and Asian voter participation and  civic engagement.  Together they comprise over 60% of the students in our schools.  And, the textbooks have yet to acknowledge their presence.
 Rates of voting and voter registration provide a window into civic engagement.  The proportion of state voter  registration that is Latino and Asian has remained far below the proportions of these groups in the state’s overall population. In 2010, Latinos in the state made up 37.6% of the general population while they were on 21.2 % of the registered voters. The Asian population was 13.1 % of the state but  only 8.1 % of the registered voters.

However, he has made it clear that he cannot launch this Political Revolution alone. Each time that Bernie Sanders speaks to the increasingly larger crowds who come to hear his message, he always reminds his supporters that he cannot win nor govern unless there is a Movement backing him.

The July 29 Meetings that Bernie has called for are the kickoff event. Frankly, there is some information from the campaign but not a lot of guidance. I am signed up for a national conference call regarding the July 29 events; however, building this Movement is a DIY project as civic engagement must be.

Huge demand for Bernie campaign gear has overwhelmed the ability to get materials in a timely manner. The local Democratic Party headquarters have abundant Clinton materials but no Bernie gear. Our small group has decided to print a small run of our own Bernie buttons.

It is not too late to host your own July 29 meeting. Fill out the form on this Bernie 2016 page and the campaign will list your event, send out invitations and contact you with information.

Here is a link to sign up for an organizing conference call--one tomorrow.

Here is a link to the July 29 Organizer's Guide.

 Jump in. The water is fine!

I’ve written fairly extensively on Daily Kos about people I love. My spouse, my son, my brother, my family. Like every other human being, I like to think of myself as the hero in my own story. That doesn’t, however, mean that we can’t recognize that sometimes we don’t do things because we are great or because they are heroic. We do them because if we don’t, we may never be able to forgive ourselves.

This is the life of a parent and family member who loves someone with a disability. Growing up prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act, I saw first hand the difficulties faced by my brother, a person born with Osteogenisis Imperfecta, in gaining access to schools. 

My brother was schooled at home, for the most part, thanks to the lack of accessible buildings. Classrooms were not ready for his chair and needs. At home, with a paraprofessional, he could be provided a curriculum that would suit him, one that he managed on his own for years.

Something lighthearted for a Sunday before the next shoe drops.

This post by Susan Keller came across my Facebook feed and thought I would share it.  It's been shared on FB over 10,800 times (as of this post) so you may have already seen it.  If it's already been posted here on DK please let me know and I will delete.

I love all of her points, but #9 (emoluments — spelling & meaning) and #22, really made me smile.

Tonight, I had the great pleasure of participating in a Candidate Connection put on by the Stafford Huddle, the Stafford Postcard Progressives, and Merge Left.  They organized a meeting space and invited all the candidates running for local offices, which included me, my opponent, our Democratic candidate for the 1st District of Virginia, School Board candidates and County BOS candidates.  IT WAS A GREAT EVENT!!!

One of the hardest parts of being a brand new candidate, with little experience, is actually getting in front of people….meeting interested citizens and being able to have impactful conversations is hard with a day job, keeping up with my Navy Reserve duties, and keeping tabs on the restaurant. This event was perfect!  There was no “program” and all of the candidates mingled among the attendees introducing ourselves and talking with people!

This area has a certainly has a growing and diverse group of super interested folks.  I met people who agree with me and are excited for my campaign and I met some folks who don’t agree with me and are likely never to support me.  But to a TEE everyone was welcoming and glad to have people INVOLVED.

I was happy to let them know that I want to fight for Medicaid expansion in Virginia and that protecting women’s reproductive rights is extremely important to me.  I met teachers who agreed that a strong early childhood education is the key to a student’s future and that we must fund our schools better!  

It is extremely heartening to see so many people who want to be involved in civics.  In my “day job”, I am in charge of Political and Civic programs for BP….some of my responsibilities include helping people register to vote, teaching them how a Bill becomes a law, encouraging them to meet their representatives, and how to effectively engage with their elected officials.  I also help my co-workers join our employee political action committee.  

You’d be amazed at how many people are not engaged, in the least.  All of this to say, seeing SO MANY people tonight who care and want to be involved in civic engagement was inspiring!!  

I am excited to be running for office, I’m glad I got off the sidelines and decided to walk the walk….and I am so proud to live in a community with so many concerned and active citizens.  I would like to represent them in our House of Delegates!

Please keep checking back on this diary as I’ll try to post daily updates about how the campaign is going….and if you’d like to help me with a contribution, you can do so here:

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/hylandfordelegate

Thanks and KEEP FIGHTING!!!

Karen

The nation is under attack under this administration in so many ways it’s hard to keep track. Part of the problem is that people aren’t engaged and aren’t informed.

The Internet isn’t enough. Donating isn’t enough. People need face-to-face human interaction and the ability to participate in their system.

Here’s a question: what would it take to have every single city and county in America — especially the suburban, exurban, and rural areas — hold civil, educational political forums every week or two? They’d bring in the politically unaffiliated or uninterested, speak to political opponents, make people feel involved… and alarmed! Maybe even knock on doors?

What would that take — is it feasible? Would it be useful? And is anyone trying it?

Outrage is like the dissonance of a musical piece, leading to resolution and a satisfying climax.  But when the dissonance continues without end, we have to find our own mini-resolutions, our own small satisfactions, to be able to sustain involvement with the piece.

The level of disgusting greed, of attacking the vulnerable, of undermining of our institutions of democracy, is incredibly dangerous.  So what do we do to get our footing, to carve out a small success that will provide us encouragement to continue fighting?  

I think the answer comes from the discord, from the attacks themselves.  The actions of the reigning idiocy are bad because they hurt people.  So we find the people hurt, and connect to them, and strengthen each other.  And we ask our leaders to express leadership on small issues that have small wins, to lend their voices.  We amplify not only the outrage about the idiots in charge, but the problem-solving by the hardest working on our side.  

If children are hungry, you feed them. HEPAC, an amazing neighborhood cooperative in Nogales, MX does exactly that in an innovative organization with support from volunteers in Arizona.  They offer border education tours to law students and others, and use the proceeds to buy food supplies.  Then a cooperative of women volunteers cooks all morning and makes sure every child who comes in, eats.  The kids are also helped with homework, and given a safe and encouraging space to relax.  Then in the afternoon, the women sew colorful aprons, purses, shopping bags and other items that volunteers take up to be sold in churches and shops in Green Valley and Tucson.  The earnings from this are theirs, and provide an incentive to volunteer in the tight-knit group.  This group is a win, a healthy, joyful assertion of hope.  So I’m writing about them here, to amplify their success.  

Refugee kids are resilient, and determined.  If you visit the Amani International Learning center here in Tucson, AZ, and ask which kids want to work rather than play, you will be swarmed with young children ready to read, write and do math.  Open from 7AM to 7PM daily, every day of the year, this school is run by former refugees — highly educated, determined women.  They would like more volunteers, and it turns out its not hard to recruit volunteers on the Volunteer Center of Tucson website.  Sahra Hirsi, the founder, speaks multiple languages and is called on by refugee families to troubleshoot issues from eviction to job hunting, all the while running the school and searching for resources to help the children catch up academically.  Connections to the community benefit Amani and the kids, but the women running it are so busy doing the work, that they have no time to market their amazing work and ask for help.  So it helps that people find them, and tell each other. 

Those organizations that make the most noise and ask for the most contributions may not be the ones we need to help.  Scott Long, a civil rights worker in Egypt, asks us to read this report: The Trap: Punishing Sexual Difference in Egypt, created at great risk the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).  But Scott also notes, “Dalia Abd el Hameed and the EIPR produced this report without the aid of foreign "partners." I have one recommendation. If you want to know what is happening in Egypt, don't turn to ARC International, or Outright Action International, or the Human Rights Campaign, or any other Western organization. They may do great work elsewhere, but their claims of knowledge and "partnership" are false. They risk nothing where Egypt is concerned (none of their staff ever had to go into exile for their work and courage) and they know nothing. And, emphatically, do NOT turn to me either…..You can start by consulting the EIPR, the authors of this report.”

And now in Honduras, the Voice of America and our state department, surprise surprise, are undermining democracy in the recent elections.  Even The Economist  points out the likelihood of cheating in the Honduran election.  If our government is going to prevent people from Honduras from coming here, how is it that we can stand by while they try to stop them from the right of self-determination and choosing their own leaders?  The Honduran people may need support. And they can’t wait for us to replace our government with a responsible one.  I don’t know anyone in Honduras, but I hope some of us may reach out.  Our traditional journalistic outlets are overburdened, and may not have the staff to cover this right.  And maybe, those working for democracy in Honduras might need some kind of support from us.  

If we had reached out more during the Arab Spring, just maybe things would have gone differently.  But that’s another story.  Its not too late for this one, and for many groups and people right now.  

I know many readers here already are doing many powerful things.  And I hope you write about them, to encourage others!   It seems to me we need a new form of citizen journalism, a journalism of personal involvement.  Not only saying ‘they’ are doing something but ‘I’ am doing something, and ‘we’ and ‘you’.  Despite the steady stream of discouragement, we are far from powerless.

We can do something, we can do it now, and we can amplify each other’s work. 

Dear Friends and Fellow-citizens,

I’d like to share something important with you.

It’s important to me, because it represents a personal milestone, regarding a decades-long dedication to an idea, and its manifestation. But it’s also important, I believe, to the greater good; because, while deceptively simple, this idea may be key to resuscitating our democracy, and in so doing, greatly improve the odds that we will effectively meet our many collective challenges, here and around the world.

The idea starts with an observation: For the first time in known human history, it is now possible to convene an unlimited number of citizens, in one place, at one time, to cast collective, non-binding, advisory votes on any issue of collective concern or importance. The place for this would be a new venue for civic engagement, online —a nonpartisan, non-governmental, citizen-run, virtual town square — the National Town Square.

I have just published a short book, one that’s more than 20 years in the making, and it presents an executable plan for how We the People can realistically build and safely maintain a new national institution for civic engagement, focused on issues instead of political parties and blind ideology — a powerful new counter-balance to the corrupting influence of big money in politics.

My book is called Virtual Country: Strategy for 21st Century Democracy. I humbly request that you get a copy, please read it all the way through, and then decide for yourself whether I have done justice to the importance of the opportunity that presents itself to democracy at this crucial point in history (if you can’t afford a copy, let me know and I will send you a PDF version at no charge). You can reach me at: Richard@VirtualCountry.us

If you find that you agree with the strategy presented in the book, I hope you’ll support it through the simple actions that are proposed, or perhaps in even greater ways. And of course, I hope you’ll give it good reviews online, and make a point of telling your friends and fellow-citizens about the book, regardless of their current political leanings, since this undertaking is completely non-partisan and represents a rare chance for citizens to work together for our common good.

Finally, it’s important to realize that no laws need to be passed or changed in order to implement the Virtual Country strategy. No politicians need to be persuaded. Our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly clear our path. We need only understand how we can take back the reins of our democracy, and then be willing to take ‘yes’ for an answer, by being part of our own solution, at this important moment in history.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thanks in advance for reading Virtual Country. (For the Kindle e-book version, click here)

Sincerely,

Richard Lang

January 2018

My name is America, and I am in an abusive relationship. My children make demands on me to which I do not have the ability to comply. It’s not in my constitution.

No, I have not succumbed to the stresses of age. I am only 242 years old. By the longevity achieved by many of my now estranged brothers and sisters, I am still barely grown. Yes, I have skills and abilities to bring others together, and have taught my siblings much about spirit and determination, but, alas, I now find my hands tied by my controlling children.

Those who I love and to whom I give life lessons in strength through cooperation, who understand the value in playing well with others, who care about me as a light for their world, are being dominated by those who want me to work only for them, to use me, control my abilities so make them – and only them – great.

It has come to the point that I cannot trust them.

I cannot trust them to vote for their best interests, including, and especially, to recognize that the struggles of some likely affected their own ancestors, and may again visit their descendants. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident truths that apply to all. They cannot be tightly guarded by some as a special privilege, while they are denied to others.

I cannot trust those in Congress to work for the voters’ best interests, including, and especially, to be a check on the Executive. Without that check, I am out of balance, on the floor, a shadow of my former self, usurped by those who would wrap themselves in my robes and say they are me, and through this sham claim their greatness

I cannot trust the Executive to work for anyone’s interests other than his own self-aggrandizing pursuits, including, and especially, favoring his similarly autocratic, greedy and heavy-handed cousins over established alliances with more loyal, trustworthy and supportive family. At every turn, he insults me. He wounds me. He berates me. He saps my true strength of striving for unity and transforms it into gross showmanship.

His goal seems to be to keep me in a cage, while he and his most caustic cousins rule the world as if it belongs only to them. Perhaps he wishes to subsume them, as well. But despite his bravado, make no mistake – he does it to enhance his own greatness, not mine, not that of my people.

That may be his long game. It is like he is on his friend, Mark Burnett’s, landmark show, “Survivor,” playing alliances against each other until he emerges victorious. As long as the trail is riddled with the bodies of those who tried to stand up to him and failed – losers, he calls them, like Merkel, Macron and Trudeau – he will see himself as winning, and he is. So much winning.

If he continues to win, all of who I am for you, my children, is lost. I begin with you, my people. I am not America without you. Help me.

Yours,
America

— 

Non-Voters are fond of saying that: 

“There is NO real difference between Parties, so why bother to vote?”

Since most estimates put Non-Voters at around 40% of eligible Voters — who DID NOT VOTE in 2016, it might be worth our while (and worth some of our PSA-style Ad Dollar$$$ too) to address their specific concerns, in the next go around — of Democratic Ad Message targeting ...

According to a new study from the Pew Research Center:

four in 10 Americans who were eligible to vote did not do so in 2016. 

After the 4 years of hell from the Trump Bully in the White House, and his gang of lawless enablers — it should be relatively EASY to persuade the average apathetic voter, that:

“There IS a REAL difference between Parties, so YES bother… please bother to vote!”

— 

I was able to gather this significant list, without much effort, that show clearly:

How Democrats Are Better Than Republicans:

Democrats Believe Healthcare Is A Right

Democrats Believe In Climate Change**

Democrats Support Equal Pay For Women

www.thetoptens.com

Democrats believe that LGBT rights are human rights and that American foreign policy should advance the ability of all persons to live with dignity, security, and respect, regardless of who they are or who they love.

democrats.org

Democrats Support Minimum Wage Increase

Democrats Accept Immigrants and Refugees

Democrats are Not Racist

Democrats Believe that Everyone is Equal

Democrats Support Stricter Gun Control

Democrats Believe in a Better Education

Democrats Care About Poor People

Democrats Care About the Environment

Democrats Have Common Sense

The Economy Has Performed Better Under Democratic Presidents

Democrats Don't Believe in Trickle Down Economics

Democrats Support Voting Rights

www.thetoptens.com

Democrats believe that we need to end corruption worldwide and increase transparency. We will fight corruption, promote good governance, and support the rule of law. We will also seek to close offshore tax havens, which corrupt rulers, individuals, and corporations exploit to shelter ill-gotten gains or avoid paying taxes at home.

Democrats support sexual and reproductive health and rights around the globe. In addition to expanding the availability of affordable family planning information and contraceptive supplies, we believe that safe abortion must be part of comprehensive maternal and women’s health care and included as part of America’s global health programming.

Democrats are committed to advancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls as a central focus of American diplomacy, development, and defense efforts and will continue to support the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. We will work to end the epidemic of gender-based violence around the world.

Democrats will fight to end child labor. We will promote broad-based economic growth across the world, pursuing a global economic agenda that promotes rising wages and invests in quality public services, workers’ rights, and environmental protections.

The Democratic Party remains committed to closing the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay and ending indefinite detention without trial or conviction.

democrats.org

So if you know someone who’s not too keen on Voting — dare to tell them that:

Both side are NOT the same.

And that:

One side is WAY better than the other.   By a Trump angry-Tweet mile.

And then send them the link to this post, if they need to see some “evidence.”

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— — 

**Important footnote:

 Dems don’t so much “believe in” Climate Change… as much as we will pledge to do the following:

“Democrats will fight the existential threat of Climate Change.”

“Democrats would have America take the lead in the Paris Climate Agreements.”

— — 

RSVP/Donate Now!

On Summer Solstice, Monday June 22nd from5:00pm – 8:00pm PST/8:00pm-11:00pm EST, the Return to the Heart Foundation is hosting a national live streamed fundraiser for our Native Covid-19 Action Fund. Our livestream will be streamed to all major platforms and will be filled with music, interviews, ceremonial wisdom, and poetry. Solstice is a time that Indigenous people acknowledge seasons changing to ceremonial time in Summer. It is a time of healing, reflection, renewal, abundance and gratitude to the Creator for Mother Earth, as well as the entirety of humanity.

Indigenous wisdom is critical to saving Mother Earth, but can also help us to rebalance especially as our nation painfully and critically grapples with 400 years of racism. Native communities are reeling from the ravages of COVID-19, a direct result of centuries of violent racism. The Navajo Nation has more COVID-19 cases than 13 states combined. There are many tribes that have not received the support that states have and that have been allocated and promised to tribes.

Return to the Heart Foundation is fighting to save Indigenous ancestral knowledge and protect tribal communities by raising funds to provide personal protective equipment to seven regional tribal communities, covering over 50 tribes in the United States. Return to the Heart Foundation, is an Indigenous women-led foundation supporting Indigenous women-led initiatives working to identify and support the urgent safety needs of Indian Country, connecting traditional healers, and supporting regenerative strategies. We have raised over $1 million dollars of our $4 million goal.

We have confirmed a variety of diverse artists to share performances and support messages from advocates:  Portugal The Man, Taboo, Brooke Simpson, Anne Hathaway, Mumu Fresh, Rodrigo Amarante, Jessa Calderon, Dawn Riding, The Funs, Clara Kent, Valarie Kaur, Kinsale Hueston, Mac DeMarco, Liv the Artist, Candi Brings Plenty, Jem, Lyla June, YoNasDa LoneWolf, Than Povi Martinez, Monica Ramírez, Arizona Muse, Orville Peck, Pelada, Carmen Perez, Mishel Prada, Miss Chief Rocka , Sivan Alyra Rose, Sihasin, Spencer Battiest and Doc Native, Dr. Rosales Meza, Terisa Siagatonu, Ty Segall, Supaman, Marisa Tomei,  Lina Tullgren, Jaylene Tyme, Dustin Wong, Wyatt Shears the Garden, and more!

Like millions of Americans, I live in a voter suppression state. Tennessee Republicans have erected one barrier after another to prevent frontline, progressive, and Democratic communities from voting. And this month, I became one of the people they silenced.