The Republicans have announced that Rudy Giuliani will be the keynote speaker at their convention on Tuesday, September 2nd.
Based on the growing list of no-shows within the Grand Oil Party who fear being seen in public with the parade of has-beens, never-weres, and public disgraces who comprise this cabal, it seems increasingly likely that the protesters outside the Xcel Center will vastly outnumber attendees.
But the Traditional Media will, of course, go out of their way to obscure this reality from the American viewing public. And breaking through their barriers in order to be seen requires some serious efforts at PR.
Follow me after the jump for a strategy that will ensure that, for at least the night of Rudy's triumphant speech, the protesters outside will garner as much or more attention than the travesty inside the hall.
I was fifteen years old. I had my first guitar. I was learning some folk songs. And I was listening to Pete Seeger.
How many thousands of musicians were inspired by Pete Seeger? How many millions have sung his songs?
My favorite Pete Seeger song is "Where Have All The Flowers Gone". I still play it today. In a sense it's a perfect model for music that changed the world because it's a pretty little ditty with a strong antiwar twist at the end. You love it as a pretty song and then you learn from it. Because to change the world you have to change people.
Pete Seeger said it this way.
Some may find them [songs] merely diverting melodies. Others may find them incitements to Red revolution. And who will say if either or both is wrong? Not I.
Whodda thunk that Pakistan has a more vibrant democracy than the good ol' USA? Perhaps there's a slight angle to this argument, but consider the roles of Bush 'the Guardian of Democracy' & Musharraf 'The Generalismo'. Now, consider the following:
Pakistan actually sees demonstrations that aren't composed of vapid demonstrators simply wanting personal attention. In Pakistan the attention often comes from suicide bombers or zealot policemen, yet the heroic lawyers protest on! When's the last time you saw a group of 1000 climbing fences and sucking tear gas in America - other than spoiled brat (F)anarchists?
The protests actually mean something, as witnessed by the resignation of Musharraf on charges that he violated the constitution. Charges? Back in the good ol' USA the we have legislation (FISA again) which officially acknowledges wrongdoing, but there's nary a twitch on the protest line.
Combine the above with news about the dismal state of American electorate involvement and ability and it suggests that we need a kick in the pants. Hmmm...Musharraf '08?
More hmmms...HS civics students graded on protest involvement? Civil disobedience arrests as pre-req for Polisci degrees?
When Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land" the sentiments expressed weren't mainstream. In fact the lyric was considered to be communist. Now the song is sung in every grade school classroom in the nation.
When Arlo Guthrie had his hit, "Alice's Restaurant", it made everybody laugh. But it was more than a funny song. It spoke truths about the draft that could not be conveyed except through music.
There are plenty of good protest songs being written and sung today. But you aren't hearing them on the radio. And they aren't singing them in the schools.
So now we have internet radio. A chance for all voices to be heard even if it's out at the end of the long tail. Add your favorite songs that changed the world in the comments. Please include links or embeds if they are available on the internet. Help me change the world with music.
Denver officials weren't planning to reveal details about where activists would be detained in the event of mass arrests during the Democratic National Convention until after the event had started, but those plans were quickly dashed this week when CBS 4News reporter Rick Sallinger not only revealed that protesters would be locked up in a city-owned warehouse, but he also obtained clear video footage inside the facility, a building that includes barbed wire-topped cages and signs warning of stun-gun use.
The firm has announced an Open House to be held this Thursday, August 14th from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm to celebrate the opening of Schubert Flint's new Irvine office.
If you are able to get over to Irvine this Thursday evening, I've prepared a flyer that you can download, print out and take with you to distribute to the Open House attendees: Schubert Flint Protest Flyer Download (PDF)
I find myself, on some level, torn between my highly strained faith in American democracy and a perception that it no longer exists. I applaud and encourage political activism and cherish the activists that I know, but for all their heroism, commitment and hard work, I see us sliding steadily backwards. This has been my observation for the past 40 years. We progressives have faced unremitting defeat at the hands of the ultra-conservative ‘system’, which clearly serves our super-wealthy overlords – not us.
After reading Spencer Ackerman's short piece today entitled "No More Voices Behind My Back" a few things came to mind that I would like to discuss. Emails and phone calls with people in Middle Eastern or Southern Asian nations could cause the government to secretly and negatively focus attention on innocent parties. Ackerman writes, makes and receives such emails and phone calls because of his work in journalism. The scrutiny of his communications would undoubtedly take place at a higher level, and from more directions, than the scrutiny of domestic communications. Having said that, and keeping in mind that I still consider all such spying illegal under the Constitution of the United States, political and rights activists here in the United States have plenty of reasons to worry about Bush's Big Brother policies.
George W. Bush is a liberal. Don't rub your eyes. You read that right. He's a liberal. To learn why he's a liberal (or maybe he isn't) read Walter Brasch's column about free speech and the Bush Administration.
There has been plenty of press coverage about the Olympics and their political impact including China's viability as a host country. Their human rights record and their suppression of dissenters and media have many people thinking that they should not be hosting the Olympics. Joey Cheek, a Team Darfur activist, was denied a visa by the Chinese government and many people are outraged by this.
While I agree with the premise of this outrage, I always tend to try to see things from another perspective.
McCain seems so very fine with his rounds of attack ads. Mr. "I'll take the high road," hasn't lasted very long, and he's shown his true colors.
Anyway, my 17 year old son was so incensed at the ridiculousness of John McCain's ads last week, he put together this video, which I invite you to view.
A few people have taken his satire the wrong way, but...
Politico headlines "GOP hopes to skirt Minn. bridge issue," talking about the I-35W bridge, of course, which collapsed into the Mississippi on August 1, 2007.
It’s a year today since the Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people, but don’t expect Gov. Tim Pawlenty to showcase the reconstruction.
Indeed, with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul just a month away and Pawlenty reported to be high on John McCain’s running mate list, Republicans want to drive attention away from the infrastructure disaster that spotlighted the nation’s crumbling bridges and from the criticism the governor faced for what some critics said was a slow response.
Doesn't that suggest that Democrats should seize the opportunity for an offsite protest at the bridge?
To Jonah Goldberg, it says: "This is why Terrorists killed Israeli athletes and why 'divisiveness' marked the period of the 60s from which this protest comes."
For almost a decade I have been tracking Jack Abramoff and the Culture of Corruption and since I became uid 9214, I’ve written about that work here on Daily Kos.
Recently, I came across a major link between Jack Abramoff and the modern Conservative movement that I had over looked.
I have known for a very long time that Jack Abramoff functioned as a Bag-man for the VRWC. I knew his roots went deep—back to the late 1970s, and that much of his work has always been crafted and executed in the shadows. I knew he played a part in the Iran-Contra Affair (working in the basement of the WH with Ollie North) and that he was a lobbyist for the Apartheid era South African Secret Police. I knew he was a dedicated movement conservative who wanted to establish One-Party Rule in the USA. I knew that he almost succeeded.
Hiding in plain sight was that fact that—for the last three decades—Jack Abramoff was also involve in a Domestic Spying program privately run and financed by his fellow co-conspirators on the Right.
The fact that we welcomed Nancy Pelosi to Netroots Nation, purportedly a gathering of leftists and progressives, has to make you wonder. For the most part we sat there with our thumbs up our asses, drooling like idiots and lapping up the ‘respect’ we were shown by the mere presence of this illustrious traitor to everything I thought we stood for.
This story caught my eye and made me smile for the activists’ innovative way of protesting climate change. Dan Glass actually had the opportunity to catch Prime Minister Brown's ear and sleeve. Before shaking the Prime Ministers' hand, he squeezed super-glue into his hand.
