And next we need to do

[Wildewolfe]

Last week I talked a bit about language selection, or more to the point, what to avoid if you want people to actually listen to what you said and not tune you out as a nutball.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1876903

It definitely caused a bit of a stir, and that's a good thing. It made folks think. Before anyone asks, I'm a nobody. Just one voice in the choir talking here. I have no special credentials, no special sources, no special talent that makes my voice one you should listen to. I say what I think and that's about it.

This week, let's talk about the methods we DO need to follow to obtain the goal of taking back our country from the brink of disaster.

Number one on the list. Continual, constant pressure. Right now, we have the initiative, and we have the momentum. Tonight's speech by George is the one main attempt by the administration to derail that momentum. If he succeeds, the DSMs, Cheney's ridiculous comments, Karl Rowe's deliberate and deceptively worded attack and subsequent repercussions, will all go by the wayside.

What we do tomorrow, is the key.

PETITION, PETITION, PETITION.

Congressman's Conyers’ drive on the petition for answers on the DSMs was one of the greatest efforts to date. Unfortunately, we haven't followed up yet. We can't just let this great effort be buried by time and inattention. This needs to be followed up by more petitions all delivered to the Whitehouse door. In no particular order we need to demand via petition:

An investigation in war profiteering and abuses by the Halliburton Corporation. Include an investigation into Vice President Dick Chaney's role in such actions.

An investigation into the Gitmo fiasco. Specifically, the indefinite detention, without charge or recourse, of individuals and the use of interrogation methods defined as torture.

An investigation into Congressional ethics violations, concentrating on DeLay and Frist.

The list goes on almost forever. The key thing is keeping the pressure on. Put a new petition on Bush's doorstep each and EVERY week. We can do this. When he ignores them, hit him with how each petition is another brick in the wall isolating the Administration from the public it serves. CONSTANT PRESSURE.

FOCUS!

Let's use Gitmo for an example. Last week the republican's refocused the entire thing to how well the prisoner's in Gitmo eat. They totally derailed the main issues that surround the Gitmo facility. Indefinite detention without charge or recourse, and the use of extreme interrogation methods that by the most conservative definition border on torture and in my opinion go well beyond torture. The facilities themselves are NOT the issue. The food preparation staff is NOT the issue. You have to make those derailments look as silly, shallow, and petty as they truly are. The realities are that any useful intelligence that could be derived from the detainees is now uselessly old. The reason we are still holding them is simple. The administration cannot afford them the freedom to tell the world what they have endured. That's why the administration cannot allow them appropriate access and trial under the REAL US Justice system and why they cannot be released.

Gitmo has to be addressed in one major thrust. Don't focus on closing down Gitmo. It isn’t going to happen. Focus on due process of law. Charge them, get them in the court system, and get them where they can talk. The administration will have a hard time defending it's position if we focus on "Punishing the guilty", "Outdated and useless Intelligence", and "defending the United States against continued aggression by the detainees". Fill in the blanks, use their buzzwords, and use their political thrust to achieve the goals of getting to the truth of the matter and getting full disclosure.


Opportunity Knocks!

I have absolutely no doubt that our illustrious Commander in Chief is going to give us a ton of ammunition tonight. It's going to be in the form of rehashing old topics and spinning them as new. There is going to be nothing at all new in his plan he's announcing tonight. That needs to be focused on tomorrow. He's going to focus on how hard it all is, and how we have to stay the course. Tomorrow we need, in congress, his own word from the past brought up to haunt him. He's indicted by his own words from 9/11 on. They show a total lack of planning, foresight, and base understanding of the war and it's repercussions that he was so intent on fighting.

Tomorrow we need to start the petition demanding a timeline on our troops coming home.

The day after tomorrow we need to start one demanding an investigation into Halliburton.

The day after that....

[praxiz]

1. As a sidenote, but may be interesting.

I work in marketing and advertising (Yes, I'm going to kill myself soon, don't worry Bill Hicks) and today i got an odd order from a client.

I had to remove the phraze "If alternative transportation is unavailable", because it had, according to my client, too many difficult words.

You figure it out, I've given up.