"I wish the followers would lead"

[Goldeneye]

Everyday I come here hoping something has happened --- the tide has turned, the pendulum is finally swinging our way, the right-wing radicals have finally crossed the line into irrelevence.

I'm sick of waiting.

I want to see change, progress, peace---and I want to see it now. We can't afford to wait anymore for things to change, for our leaders to step up, for the corporate media to report the news honestly, for Americans to wake the fuck up. We are on the edge. And we really can't wait anymore. We are going to have to be the leaders.

The question is what can we do? They control the corporate media---so we must make msm irrelevant. They control the voting process. Well, its fairly obvious what we need to do: Take it the hell back. Voting, and knowing our vote was counted is our right, not their property. They control all three branches of government. We've got to take them back too.

So, the question isn't what, the question is how. Can we please, please, focus? I know there was something going on with chicken in the lounge. I realize that Tom Delay jumped up and down on Oprah's couch while professing his undying love for the runaway bride. I realize they are now heading to Aruba to be married in front of Michael Jackson's new Neverland Ranch by Jerry Falwell, who will be wearing nothing but an american flag wrapped around his crotch like a giant diaper. I know! And I don't care. I know its nice to have fun, and hell, Michael Jackson's a riot, but some things are more important. So lets focus. Could these be a brainstorm thread? What can we do to change this country?

My idea>>> We should use what we have: Blogs and bloggers. Craploads of them. We have been getting some pretty good stuff done, but I think we could do better if we were more organized. And if we're going to fight the media we have to be organized. All the progressive blogs need to get together and put up a hub. Call it blogcentral for now. It would have the most important stories and how to act on them. Talking points for our side. Disinformation the darkside is putting out (like the claim that the original DSMs had been thrown away). A video library that would catalogue important news clips, c-span clips, etc, like dembloggers does. It would have links to all the blogs. It could have a directory of media contacts and a directory for congresspeople .Blog leaders could just make a quick stop at BlogCentral before heading to their own blog, and they would know exactly what is giong on and they could keep their readers up-to-date. I'm sure we could come up with more ideas for the site. But the idea would be to keep us on the same page, so we can react quickly and efficiently.

That's my idea...does anyone have anything else?

[Oversea Visitor]

1. The real

Giant The people of the USA is waking up
Go GO
GET ANGRY
SHOUT OUT LOUND AND CLEAR
NO SOLDIERS SHOULD DIE FOR A LIE

[zipplewrath]

2. Rebuild the machine

Think globally, act locally.

The machine of the old democratic party was based upon patronage. You vote for the party, we get ya a job. Turkeys were handed out to widows on Thanksgiving. But beyond that it was also a case that when you had a problem, you went to your local political hack and he got it straightened out. Your landlord wouldn't fix the plumbing? He got a nice visit from the assemblyman's aide. Some guy kept parking his truck in front of your driveway? The cops showed up and towed it.

The point is not to go back to some of the more dubious ways of the past, but to build cooperative, helping structures on the same basic idea. When you have a problem in the neighborhood, you know who to talk to in order to get things fixed. Oh, and he just happens to be associated with the democratic party. Need a reference for a plumber? Maybe your worried about a tree hanging over the street. A landlord is renting to morons. A local business is dumping trash in the woods. Basically, it is a structure of people which develops to create personal connections.

The republicans are doing it through churches. The democrats used to do it through unions. Today, the beginnings of these kinds of relationships form through internet chat rooms and various interactive websites like DU. But they need to get connected to power. They need to know who each other are and have the power to bring ability to need.

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how to do it.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Keep plugging away.

I know we are all impatient and frustrated, but think of the march of time as a freight train rather than a hot wheel. It's a lot harder to turn. The Watergate scandal took several years to unravel. We've had similarly bad times in our history. The Civil War. The Sedition Acts of 1798 and 1918. The McCarthy Witchhunts.

It's overwhelming from the perspective of an individual but that's all we are. Together we can achieve something though. The power of ideas is a lot stronger than people realize. We can do it and we will do it.

Keep talking, keep writing, keep voting, keep calling. Keep on keepin' on!

[whatever4]

4. I agree

with what you say. I wish I had something constructive to add.

I'm sure it goes without saying that, it's likely that the internet is a great tool, but very vulnerable to their attacks. Speaking of hubs, you reminded me of that. I think, if the feds wanted to, they might be able to shut us down in a heartbeat. I mean they've been the business of the internet since before the public was, and even if laws aren't changed to further restrict and monitor the internet, electronic information passing is really easy to f up. And too, we all know what they can do with uplinks.

[toey]

5. I want to be a leader

I know I'm a newbie and maybe this is rediculous, but I'm so fired up!

I have no experience at "marketing" anything, but I was wondering how much it would cost to run a fairly large ad in a large newspaper. If they won't print the story, we can pay to have it done that way.

I would also like to know if anyone has any information on how to run for a public office. Where to start, etc.

Thanks.

[Mythsaje]

7. Welcome to DU,

Toey!

:hi:

[rhett o rick]

6. Blogging is great, but not enough. We need a strategy we can all

support. First, don't give ANY support no matter what, to Demo's that do not agree that Democracy is number one. Don't support candidates the Party throws at us because they (she) has a lot of corporate or union money. Don't vote for Kerry just because he is better than Bush. If we do, we are lost. Vote for Kerry if he stands for Democracy first and not corporate power. Don't give any support for candidates that voted for the IWAR, unless they admit they erred. There is no excuse. They yielded because they were cowards. Sorry i went off like that, but i too am sick of no action from the Demo leadership. Democracy is burning and the Demo's (leaders) are fiddling.