You Really Want A Revolution?
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...
View ArticleHave Coffee with Howard Dean and Mark Brewer this weekend
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....
View ArticleOprah's next endorsement? (NOT a candidate diary)
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...
View ArticleLowering the voting age in Minnesota (long)
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...
View ArticleThe audacity of making hope real
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...
View ArticleYouth Voter Participation Surges – But So Do Voter Suppression Attempts
Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters Weekly Voting Rights News UpdateBy Erin FernsYoung voters have arrived.Finally.Since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972, predictions of the...
View ArticleA Call to Arms: Practical and Necessary Actions in Support of Democracy
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...
View ArticleThe Enthusiasm Gap
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...
View ArticleCalling all Coloradans
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,...
View ArticleThe Right's Goal To Demonize Political Participation
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...
View ArticleTrick or Vote 2008 is here: Get Out The Vote...In Costume!
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,...
View ArticleNotes On An Inauguration
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,...
View ArticleDADT vs The Obama Nation
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.
View ArticleWhat does the progressive movement need to become a viable political force?
Cross-posted at PunditCountryChris 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...
View ArticleStreet Fight & Campaigns
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...
View ArticleMore Right Wing Money for Youth Groups
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...
View ArticleNo, We're Not a Broken People
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...
View ArticleA Coffee Party Letter to the Editor
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...
View ArticleObama at the MI Stadium--first-hand observation/reflection
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...
View ArticleIt starts with you: Literacy Project - Click to find out how you can help!
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...
View ArticleThe Important Role of Local Media in Strengthening Youth Civic Engagement
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...
View ArticlePresident Barack Obama, YOU should SAY NO TO Keystone XL Pipeline. Now.
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...
View ArticleVoter Suppression Laws Are Beginning to Raise Eyebrows in Congress
By Rafael Collazo, Campaign Political Director, NCLRThe 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,...
View ArticleRegarding Politicians, Americans Get What They Put into the System
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...
View ArticleFlorida’s Voter Suppression Law to be Subject of Senate Field Hearing
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...
View ArticleYoung People and Comprehensive Sex Education: Moving Beyond Scare Tactics and...
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...
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Does democracy only work if you participate?
I've always believed in this phrase intellectually and spiritually. Democracy Only Works If You ParticipateNow I can believe it experientially. I co-lead a civic engagement group called Occupy...
View ArticleWhen It Comes to Civic Engagement, Young People Know Better Than to Hit It &...
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...
View ArticleWherein I Argue With One of My Heroes in Defense of Another
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...
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Getting Your Skills On @ Organizing New York
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...
View ArticleI Was Just Elected Vice Chair of my County Democratic Party
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...
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BreathingEarth: A Battle Cry!
EthicsAndClimate; Donald A. Brown. Widener University School of Law Scholar In Residence in Sustainable Development Ethics and LawWith elegant strokes and lofty language, Wu Hongbo, United Nations...
View ArticleI'm a finalist - help me turn republican money into an arts center for kids
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...
View Article"Hope in a Time of Permanent War," by Dr. Henry A. Giroux
(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...
View ArticleBig Data meets civic engagement
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.
View ArticleCivics Education for Latino Students in California
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/......
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Organizing for Bernie July 29 with POLL
Bernie is rolling up his sleeves for us. 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...
View ArticleI Have To Be True To My Roots
"In August 2014, when Michael Brown was killed and the city of Ferguson erupted I was in Ghana where I had been working as a sales and marketing manager for a large corporation."It was almost surreal....
View ArticleI Knew I Could Never Forgive Myself If I Didn't Do The Right Thing.
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...
View Article"I can't believe I'm saying this." - Susan Keller
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...
View ArticleCandidate Connection!!
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...
View ArticleCould we have civil, informed political forums across this entire country?
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...
View ArticleGrassroots Leadership Beyond Protests
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...
View ArticleMy Book is Published (and why I think it matters)
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...
View ArticleMy name is America. Please help me.
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...
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If we've learned anything from this Trump Fiasco, It's there IS a REAL...
— 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...
View ArticleAARP Liveable Communities Grants Application Period Open Thru' April 1 for...
TheAARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund "quick-action" projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages: projects to improve housing, transportation,...
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You're Invited! Solstice Livestream Event Today 5-8pm PT/8-11pm ET by Return...
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...
View ArticleThis is personal: GOP voter suppression stopped my voice from being heard,...
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....
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