speaking of transformative experiences

As soon as the Space Tourism becomes viable, I think all elected officials on a Federal Level should be required to see the curvature of the Earth. If they could understand that the political boundaries don't really exist and that the world is actually a very small place might be a positive step in government.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/
PCO - SEA-46-2324
Seattle, WA

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

the reason why

Hi Ross,

You asked the first caller why we should care about going out into space because of all the problems here at home. The reason why, in my opinion, is because the amount of resources beyond earth are just waiting for us, and all we have to do is get to them. Imagine infinite free energy would free mankind from fighting over energy sources, building materials enough to build several thousand Earths to give everyone enough space to explore and explore the universe, and even our next stage of evolution. I would say that the investments and sacrifices are worth it.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/
PCO - SEA-46-2324
Seattle, WA

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

Boy's diary, Sunday 6/20

Father's Day

Harry Potter Rocks on the IMAX! We got up early enough to get downtown by 11, and stood in line from 12:30 to 1:30. The boys were familiar enough with movie lines and Daniel found a friend to talk to. We had heard a lot of people say that the content of the movie might not be appropriate for Shea because of his age. He understood the movie almost as well as Daniel did, and they both knew that it was make-believe. Great movie!

We met Dad at the fountain, and had lunch in the Center House. Daniel found some juggling balls that he's practicing with, and then we went to a park to shoot some more archery. Sand Point is better than Gas Works for kites, so we'll be going back.

Boy's Diary, Saturday 6/19

A Day at Grandma's

Not to bad a day! We found my old bow and arrow set, and my mom brought down a smaller set for Daniel. He loves it, so we brought it home.

Mom did pretty well, except that everyone decided to go to Shrek 2 in the morning, but then later in the day decided that they couldn't do it for two reasons. First, because they couldn't afford it. Second, because they wanted Lowell to be able to spend time with the boys when he got home. The first reason I can understand, but that put the responsibility on me to fulfill the promise. The second reason I also understood, except that when Lowell got home all he did was eat dinner and lay on the couch. No energy after a full day of work, and I didn't really expect him to have much.

We'll see Shrek 2 sometime next week.

Boy's Diary, Thursday 6/17

What the heck is on Daniel's mind?! He likes games, obviously. Especially on the computer he likes Pinball. So, he asked Debi if he could play Pinball on her computer. He played for about 10 minutes, then realized he would not be able to beat her scores on the scoreboard. I don't think anyone could, she's at 7,500,000. So, what does he do? He clears the scores.

Debi exploded. She had been working on those scores for years! When we asked him why he would do such a thing, he said that he wanted to see his name on the scoreboard, and he wasn't able to beat her scores so he changed the rules so he could see his name. In other words, he cheated. He is now banned from Debi's computer until she can get those scores back to where they were.

When I spoke to him this morning about it, I discovered that he does this at home all the time. Instead of always trying to get better at the game, he would clear the scores so he didn't have to work so hard.

There are several concerns I have about this episode. First, that he would think about doing this kind of cheating at all. He's 8, and 8 year olds do things like this. But only if they are either shown that it is ok, and/or if they are not corrected when they do it. Or if they are not caught doing it. Daniel and Shea are the only players of the game on their home computers, and Shea doesn't care. So I can't say that I blame Sarah or Eric for not noticing what he was doing and correct it. Second, the fact that he was willing to erase the scores to make it easier on himself shows that he is not pushing himself to be better, and he's not being pushed as much as he could have by others.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Captain Kirk was talking about the Kobiashi Maru, and saying that he changed the rules so that there was a way out of an impossible situation. In the real world, he would have been kicked out of the Academy. Gene Roddenbury decided to use this as a positive aspect of the character. And it's now influencing our culture. Cheating is not acceptable in the real world, unless we allow it to be ok. Sure, we can set priorities and not care as much about the unimportant things, but we should always be teaching our children not to cheat.

Keep pushing for higher scores instead of starting at zero. Keep working on improving your skills in sports instead of changing the rules to make the sport easier. Keep learning and reading new books instead of books you have already read. Strive for higher standards, and keep reaching for the stars. Otherwise we'll never get there.

Another Lesson Learned: Don't try to drive to Greenlake Park. We could not find a parking spot, so we went to Roosevelt Park instead. It's close, familiar and there's actually parking!

Re: The Conversation "9-11 Commission Hearings"

Hi Heather,

 

These hearings are fascinating.  I believe that 9-11 was allowed to happen because of the assumptions that our government and military had regarding threats.  There was no possible way to prepare for what occurred, and the next attack will come in ways that are just as unpredictable.

 

These people hate America.  The only way to stop these attacks is to prevent them from occurring.  The only way to prevent them from occurring is to prevent people from wanting to do them in the first place.  My question to our government and all candidates for federal office is not how they are preparing for the next attack, but how they are working to prevent them.  What are we doing now and what will we do in the future to make people around the world STOP HATING AMERICA.

 

Chad Lupkes

chadlupkes@earthlink.net

http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/

PCO - SEA-46-2324

Seattle, WA

 

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Heather Dahl [mailto:hdahl@kuow.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:35
Subject: The Conversation "9-11 Commission Hearings"

 

9-11 Commission Hearings

 

Thursday, June 17, 2004

 

The Conversation with Ross Reynolds.

1 pm Pacific KUOW 94.9 fm Listen to past shows in The Conversation archive - http://www.kuow.org/TheConversation.asp   Call-in numbers 206 543 5869, toll free long distance 1-800-289-5869

 

The 9-11 Commission hearings which ended today let us know that Seattle was originally on the list of targets for a total of 10 hijacked airliners. There were intense internal struggles within the 9-11 terrorist cell that delayed and downsized the plot. The commission reported yesterday that there was 'no credible evidence' that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda target the United States. President Bush today continued to reassert an al-Qaeda - Iraq link. Military and civilian aviation officials were not prepared for terrorists turning jet airliners into armed missiles. American Airlines flight 77, the flight that eventually hit the Pentagon, was lost by air traffic controllers for 36 minutes. In this hour we'll review the information uncovered by the Commission and try to sort out what it means. What did we learn about what happened and how to prevent it in the future? Call 206 543 5869 KUOW, long distance 1 800 289, 5869 KUOW, or write to us - conversation at KUOW.org.

 

RESOURCES: (Note: We do not review or control the content at the following Web sites, nor do we endorse any of the content.)

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), http://www.9-11commission.gov/

Overview of the Enemy, 9-11 Commission http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/shoulders/CommissionStatement15.pdf

Outline of the 9-11 Plot, 9-11 Commission http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/shoulders/CommissionStatement15.pdf

Air Defenses Faltered on 9-11, Panel Finds,  Washington Post  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48471-2004Jun17.html

Bush reasserts Iraq Al Qaeda link, Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48970-2004Jun17.html

 

 

Boy's Diary, Wednesday 6/16

We took a day off from trips today. They liked spicy sausage, but it filled them up quick (probably the amount of juice and milk), and wow you should have seen the looks.

Shea put together his Power Ranger. He really showed off his intelligence and can read directions really well for a 6 year old. I'm looking forward to hearing about his design for the new moonbase.

Daniel played the 2nd Grade Reader Rabbit that we have. I think we need new games, maybe something for XP. I'll have to see what is available. He wanted to play Scrabble, but the kid version we have was a little too limiting, and then brought down the Monopoly game we have based on the National Parks. It was his "favorite game", just like all of his other favorites. This means he has always wanted to play it, but doesn't quite know how. We got distracted by the descriptions of the parks.

Boy's Diary, Tuesday 6/15

Daniel had mentioned that he doesn't get to a library very often. I don't know much about the truth of that, but we figured that the Seattle Central Library would be a neat choice for Tuesday. They loved it. Except..

Shea found some big blocks and toys, and Daniel found the computer games. I think they were rather overwhelmed with the books, so they found things they were familiar with. No big loss. Although it was interesting that Shea grabbed a Spanish children's book to check out. And could read the cover. Hmm. I think I need to pick him up some Spanish Language computer games.

Note to self: Don't take the 16 bus from downtown to Northgate. It's too long, and really boring after the first 15 minutes. And it's an hour and 15 minute trip. Lessons learned.

Boy's Diary

Their first day at school was great! And they really needed shoes, so we went to JC Penny. This was JC Penny at Northgate, and they've moved the childrens clothing and shoes section. They also have three or four cashier blocks per floor, with one person manning each one. Where are the other salespeople? Good question, since we couldn't find one. So, we went to Nordstrom.

What a difference! And with the Women's & Kids Half Yearly sale, and my 20% employee discount, we found a pair of velcro shoes for Shea that he can handle himself, and a new pair of shoes for Daniel that he loves! Why? Because they're Bionocle from Lego, and they look like golden robot boots! Here's hoping they last long enough. Sarah may think I'm spoiling them, but that wasn't the reason we bought shoes. They needed new ones, and Daniel actually tossed one pair of his old shoes in the trash when we got home.

The boys' first day

It was supposed to be yesterday, but Eric had the wrong date on his watch. He also had a migrane headache, and missed the day. Or something. Whatever.

Daniel is a little taller. After 2 years I expected that, but his mannerisms have not changed one bit. Neither has Shea, and while he is wearing a size 6 now instead of a size 4 like two years ago, he doesn't seem to have changed much. We went and explored a new park after lunch, came home and had some pizza, then went out to Roosevelt Park. There were some kids there with various balls and toys, and I discovered that Daniel had changed. He now knows how to play every sports game played, as well as several that have not been invented yet. Soccer is his favorite, and he's very good at it. He's very good at catch, although the ballfields were already being used. There were some people playing volleyball, and Daniel ran after their ball once, and tapped it back to them using perfect form. For Volleyball.

They had a rough day, so it was difficult to tell what his actual energy level is, but I have a feeling that while their schedule is solid and they get enough food, they'll both be able to run and play for hours at a time. Me, I start to sweat and breathe heavy after 10 minutes. But I'm having fun.

A note on Ronald Reagan's passing

On Saturday at the DFA/DFW information table at the Democratic State
Convention in Tacoma, Washington, Delegate Joseph Ruth received a
phone call from his brother saying that President Ronald Reagan had
died, and that it was all over the news. That announcement spread
like wildfire, with various reactions throughout the convention. Many
were saddened by the news, some were elated. I have had a similar
assortment and diversity of opinion on the email lists. I would like
to present my own thoughts to the group.

There have been a lot of books about Ronald Reagan, and I have not
read even one of them yet. I was 11 years old when Ronald Reagan won
the presidential election of 1980. I grew up watching his
administration change the face of the country in many ways, some
positive and immediate, some not so positive and long term. But I was
proud to be an American during those years, a position shared by most
people in the country at that time. I didn't know enough about
politics or the long term impacts of what was happening to be able to
decide how to react.

Ronald Reagan was a great leader for our country. Part of what made
him a great leader was that he energized everyone in the country to
work harder to get involved. He was a patriot, he loved the flag, and
he had an eternal optimism about our country and our future. People
from all sides should recognize that we owe a lot to Ronald Reagan.
The fall of the Soviet Union was as much due to the policies of the
Reagan administration as their own failing economic system. But what
I would like to focus on was not the President or his administration,
but the man. Here is a quote from his speech opening the Ronald
Reagan library in California:

"In my eighty years, I prefer to call that the forty-first anniversary
of my thirty ninth birthday, I've seen what men can do for each other
and do to each other, I've seen war and peace, feast and famine,
depression and prosperity, sickness and health. I've seen the depth of
suffering and the peaks of triumph and I know in my heart that man is
good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there
is purpose and worth to each and every life."

He was right. Mankind can be 'good', and we should remember how
Ronald Reagan won the election. "A new day has dawned". It dawned in
1980, and his passing marks the end of an era.

What that means is that this is the beginning of a new era!

President Reagan asked a question during his 1980 campaign; "Are you
better off now than you were 4 years ago." Congressman Jim McDermott
mentioned this phrase at a town meeting that he held in April.
According to McDermott, and I wholeheartedly agree with him, this
phrasing of the question empowered the American People to reverse the
course launched by John F. Kennedy in 1960. I have a different
question to ask, one asked by Howard Dean and many others during the
last year and a half.

Are WE better off now than we were 4 years ago?

This is the one of the questions the Democratic Party needs to ask the
people as they decide to support John Kerry for President in the
upcoming election. Are our children learning more now in school, and
are they better prepared to be workers in the evolving world economy?
Is health coverage available to more people, giving us the foundation
of life that lets them pursue liberty and happiness? Is our
relationship with our allies in the world community stronger now than
it was 4 years ago?

The ends do not justify the means. The means lead us to the result.
This is the underlying ideology that we should push forward into the
debate. But we have to stand on the foundations built by all of our
history, and Ronald Reagan was a vital piece of that foundation. He
helped to build the ship, and even though I am still coming to an
understanding of how much work we have to do to turn this ship of
state around to avoid the rocks, I have to thank Ronald Reagan for
helping to build the ship. There is only one more thing to say:

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter, June 2, 2004

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): At this point in your journey, Gemini, your free will is a more important factor in determining your fate than the constraints of karma or the whims of the gods. I won't waste your time, then, predicting what may or may not lie ahead. Instead, I'll invite you to formulate self-fulfilling prophecies about the beautiful future you want to create. To help tease out your brainstorms, I offer you a few of the laws of life articulated by Hawaiian shaman Serge Kahili King:

1. The world is what you think it is.
2. There are no limits; everything is possible.
3. Energy flows where attention goes.
4. Now is the moment of power.
5. To love is to be happy.
6. All power comes from within.

at least I have a job

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001941116_globalwarming28m.html

"We're trying to let people know — in a tongue-in-cheek way — that what the environmental left is pursuing is very dangerous from a job and economics perspective," said Karen Kerrigan, co-chair of the United for Jobs Coalition. The group is running a newspaper ad called "The Day After Kyoto" that parodies the movie with a picture of an unemployment line and a litany of economic losses that pollution controls could trigger.

You know, maybe she’s right. I know that caps on carbon-dioxide are necessary to really stem the tide of global warming, but I have to get to work. I know that what we are doing is causing more and more people around the world to hate America, but we have to have our oil for at least the next few decades. I’ll be retired before we run out of oil, and I have to get to work, so I guess that’s worth it. I know that our national debt is the worst it has ever been, but my job pays my bills so I’m not too worried about that. I know that a lot of people are losing their jobs, losing their homes and having to live on the street, but I don’t see them in my neighborhood so it doesn’t really affect me. I know that the Pentagon is thinking of restarting the draft again, but my children are 6 and 8, so this war will be over by the time they are eligible.

Of course, it does really matter. It takes more than a day to make the changes that are in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”, but they are happening. Carbon Dioxide is on the rise. More people are hating America. The world my children will inherit is at least as important as the world that I live in, and they will be the ones to pay off the national debt if we don’t take care of it first. I do see the homeless every day going to and from work, and their numbers are growing. And the draft affects everyone, because our best and brightest future prospects are being taught to shoot guns instead of help our world grow.

When will we grow up?

Quote of the Day

In the Dark Places of Wisdom

by Peter Kingsley

 

If you're lucky, at some point in your life you'll come to a complete dead end.

 

Or to put it another way: if you're lucky you'll come to a crossroads and see that the path to the left leads to hell, that the path to the right leads to hell, that the road straight ahead leads to hell and that if you try to turn around you'll end up in complete and utter hell.

 

Every way leads to hell and there's no way out, nothing left for you to do.  Nothing can possibly satisfy you any more.  Then, if you're ready, you'll start to discover inside yourself what you always longed for but were never able to find.

 

And if you're not lucky?

 

If you're not lucky you'll only come to this point when you die.  And that won't be a pretty sight because you'll still be wanting what you're no longer able to have.  We are human beings, endowed with an incredible dignity; but there's nothing more undignified than forgetting our greatness and clutching at straws.

 

Tough Questions!

Question:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A -

Associates with crooked politicians, and  consults with astrologists.
He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10
martinis a day.

Candidate B -

He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps  until noon,  used opium in
college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C -

He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian,  doesn't smoke, drinks
an occasional beer and never cheated on his  wife.

Which of these candidates would be your  Choice?

Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for  the answer.

----------------------------------------------
Candidate A: is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate  B: is Winston  Churchill.
Candidate C: is Adolph Hitler.


Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

Never be afraid to try something new.

Remember:

Amateurs built the Ark

Professionals built the Titanic


and in case you never saw this one..!!!...

Can you imagine working for a company that has  a little more than
500 employees and has the following statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal  abuse
* 7 have been arrested  for fraud
* 19 have been  accused of writing bad checks
*  117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
* 3 have done time for assault
* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad  credit
* 14 have been arrested  on drug-related charges
* 8  have been arrested for shoplifting
* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this  is?




Give up yet?





It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same
group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year
designed to keep the rest of us in line.

Re: Disney's refusal to release Fehrinheit 911

Message passed to the Disney board of directors:

Please pass on to the Board of Directors my disappointment in their unwillingness to cash in on the potential success of Michael Moore's 'Fehrinheit 911' movie. This was potentially the highest grossing movie of the summer, and Disney's refusal to release it will mean that another company will gain the benefits of those ticket sales.

As a shareholder, I am very disappointed by this decision.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
Shareholder through Sharebuilder.com

P.S. Who's brilliant idea was it to require a 'URL that we are having problems with' when we simply have a message for the BOD.

Video Seems to Show Beheading of American--yahoo news

So, al-Qaida is now carrying out revenge for our treatment of Iraqi citizens. As much as Saddam Hussein’s government and Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization hated each other before 911, our entering Iraq in the manner that we did, as well as our actions after May of 2003, has created a very strong collaboration between the two. The Bush administration has responded to criminal actions, and CREATED a war on terrorism.

Congratulations, Mr. President. You just created Hell on Earth. If Jesus does make an appearance, it will be to FIX YOUR MISTAKES!

Please work to defeat Senator James M. Inhofe from Oklahoma

I am listening to the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings. I am disgusted by the attitude of Senator Inhofe. He provides examples of torture performed under Saddam Hussein, and seems to be trying to JUSTIFY the abuses of prisoners in Iraq, or at least draw a parallel and that the actions of our own troops fall short of the level that existed under the dictator. I believe that it is imperative that the US Military establish a zero tolerance policy for these kinds of abuses. Anything less is condoning the actions in the past and allowing them to exist in the future.

We must also purge the Senate of attitudes like Senator Inhofe. Please do everything you can to support the Oklahoma Democrats to drive these attitudes from our Senate and our government.

Kerry must choose his cabinet NOW!

Dear Senator Kerry,

The response to your petition demanding Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation shows that America is starving for alternative voices of reason. You are one of those voices, but only one. I am one of many who believe that you must begin naming the people who will take the place of Rumsfeld, Thompson, Rice and all of the other cabinet positions. Then these people should start to show the American People why they should vote for you in November, because not only will they have an opportunity to get rid of George Bush, but hey will be much more comfortable with the group of people that will be taking over.

Following this plan will also help to avoid one of the main problems that haunted the beginning of the Bush Administration. It took him 7 months to finally get all of his cabinet and staff in place, effectively ignoring the thread of terrorism while this was happening. You must show the world that your administration will be ready to completely take over operations on January 21st without skipping a beat.

I know that you are working through the process of choosing your Vice President, and that the process is being compressed as much as possible. Please consider bringing the rest of your cabinet together at the same time. I think this is the best possible solution for your campaign and the country.

New Blog

Hi everyone,

I'm testing the latest update at Blogger.com to see if it will work for my soapbox. If this works well, I'll start posting more often.

Chad

A Progressive Declaration

Written on February 20th, 2004, just after Howard Dean dropped out of the Democratic Primary race.

When in the course of political events, it becomes necessary to rise up against agendas that will cause more long-term harm than good, and to assume among the powers granted to us by our Constitution, a deeper understanding of the needs of humankind requires that we should declare the causes which impel us to the uprising.

We still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We additionally recognize that the rights defined by the original Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies have been reinterpreted as time has passed, and that rights that were not obvious in 1776 exist and need to be addressed. These rights include the right to educational opportunities, the right to health care, and the right to be treated the same regardless of economic standing. We additionally recognize that the United States of America is only one country in a large world, and that the citizens of the rest of the world have the right to demand these as human rights. The responsibility to secure these rights for us belongs to our government, and we have the right to make demands that our needs be addressed. As it was the right of our Founding Fathers to abolish the Form of Government that became destructive to their rights and their needs, so it is still the right of the people to choose new leadership that will listen to our needs and protect our rights.

We have stood by and watched with shock and awe as the Current Administration has attempted to spread the freedoms that we enjoy to other countries. We have also been appalled by the lack of competence that has been shown by our Government to protect us from external harm, and when the light of truth has shined upon the source of the ill-feeling that predominates much of the world outside of our borders, the source of the troubles turns out to be our own Administration's History and Current Efforts. The history of the present President of the United States [George W. Bush] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of a virtual Tyranny over these States and the rest of the world. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid voting public.

He has refused his Assent to International Law, while the lawyers may argue about that until the cows come home. The spirit of International Law is to reduce the use of arms in the world, and he has increased their use. The spirit of International Cooperation is to make the world a better place for all of our children, and he has refused to follow the lead of the Administration that he replaced.

He has misused and manipulated facts and guesswork to support his own agenda, causing the loss of thousands of lives and livelihoods on all sides of the various conflicts that he has involved us in.

His Party leadership in the House of Representatives (Tom DeLay) has purposefully guided a redistricting of his own home state (Texas) for the sole and stated purpose of maintaining his grip of power in that government body, regardless of the true wishes of the voting public. This is nothing but tyranny.

He has denied the Free Press and the US Congress access to information that should be in the Public Record, including information about the greatest tragedy ever to occur on US soil (911).

He has (twice now) made recess appointments to Federal Judicial offices that would have no chance of passing the normal procedures in the US Senate, thereby pushing his own agenda above and beyond the set limitations in the Constitution that he swore to defend.

He has stated support for an Amendment to that document that would increase the discrimination felt by the citizens of this country, in direct violation of his oath.

He has pushed bad policies and poorly designed measures for economic growth in our country, causing the loss of 2.6 million jobs, and has specifically stated through his henchmen that this loss of jobs is good for the long term well being of our nation.

Let others fill in additional charges, for there are many others.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A President whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the leader of a free people, nor are his followers in their Party.

We, therefore, the citizens of the United States of America inspired by Governor Howard Dean, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Senator Paul Wellstone, in General agreement, Assembled in many places, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of this Party, solemnly publish and declare, That the Democratic Party is, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent of Special Interests beyond those of the citizens themselves; that we are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Corporations, and that all financial connections between us and the lobbyists in the District of Columbia and beyond, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Democratic Party, we have full Power to voice our opinions, plan strategy, contract Alliances with like minded groups, and to do all other Acts and Things which Political Parties may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence and the people we represent, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

We are from the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party. We've gotten a taste of making a difference in our Party and our Country. We're not going to quit, and we're not going to give up or get scared off. We're here to stay.

the tide

“I come to you now, at the turning of the tide.” – Gandalf the White

Like a tide, darkness has swept across our land. Our economy struggles, our security is in question, our children are not reaching their potential, and the health and well being of our people are in jeopardy.

Think about the American Dream. Can it still catch the attention of people in far off lands, and draw them to our land of opportunity? Does the United States still hold up the beacon of hope to the world in a dark age, or are we drawing closed the lantern? Think about our planet, the glorious blue marble that shines in the sky. How long can this world support her people if the people do not work tirelessly to support the world and everything on it?

The tide must turn. A tide of thought, care and humanity must sweep the darkness back again. This is a tide of people who want their voices heard, their children protected, and their world saved. You are one of those people.

On February 7th, the Washington State Democratic Party will be holding their Precinct Caucuses to determine who the chosen candidate of the Democratic Party will be in the 2004 election. This is our first chance to bring our voices into a choir heard across the nation. We can turn this country around. We can light the beacon of hope.

Look, learn, listen, read, think, act, vote. This is the legacy that we have been given by the founders of our country. This is the duty that we accept as citizens of the greatest nation on Earth. This is the responsibility of everyone who wishes the tide to turn. Please, find out where your precinct caucus will be held, and attend.

We come to you now, because only you can turn the tide.

Howard Dean & Chris Matthews on Media

>>MATTHEWS: Travel, the Democrats? Ted Kennedy was part of that deregulation, the deregulation of radio. There are so many things that have been deregulated. Is that wrong trend and would you reverse it?<<
>>DEAN: I would reverse in some areas.<<
>>First of all, 11 companies in this country control 90 percent of what ordinary people are able to read and watch on their television. That?s wrong. We need to have a wide variety of opinions in every community. We don?t have that because of Michael Powell and what George Bush has tried to do to the FCC.<<
>>MATTHEWS: Would you break up Fox?<<
(LAUGHTER)
>>MATTHEWS: I?m serious.<<
>>DEAN: I?m keeping a...<<
>>MATTHEWS: Would you break it up? Rupert Murdoch has ?The Weekly Standard.? It has got a lot of other interests. It has got ?The New York Post.? Would you break it up?<<
>>DEAN: On ideological grounds, absolutely yes, but...<<
(LAUGHTER)
>>MATTHEWS: No, seriously. As a public policy, would you bring industrial policy to bear and break up these conglomerations of power?<<
>>DEAN: I don?t want to answer whether I would break up Fox or not,
because, obviously<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: Well, how about large media enterprises?<<
>>DEAN: Let me-yes, let me get...<<
(LAUGHTER)
>>DEAN: The answer to that is yes.
>>I would say that there is too much penetration by single corporations in media markets all over this country. We need locally-owned radio stations. There are only two or three radio stations left in the state of Vermont where you can get local news anymore. The rest of it is read and ripped from the AP.<<
>>MATTHEWS: So what are you going to do about it? You?re going to be president of the United States, what are you going to do?<<
>>DEAN: What I?m going to do is appoint people to the FCC that believe democracy depends on getting information from all portions of the political spectrum, not just one.<<
>>MATTHEWS: Well, would you break up GE?<<
(APPLAUSE)
>>DEAN: I can?t-you...<<
<>>DEAN: You can?t say-you can?t ask me right now and get an answer, would I break up X corp...<<
>>MATTHEWS: We?ve got to do it now, because now is the only chance we can ask you, because, once you are in, we have got to live with you.<<
(LAUGHTER)
DEAN: No.
>>MATTHEWS: So, if you are going to do it, you have got to tell us now.<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: Are you going to break up the giant media enterprises in this country?<<
>>DEAN: Yes, we?re going to break up giant media enterprises. That doesn?t mean we?re going to break up all of GE.<<
>>What we?re going to do is say that media enterprises can?t be as big as they are today. I don?t think we actually have to break them up, which Teddy Roosevelt had to do with the leftovers from the McKinley administration.<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: ... regulate them.<<
>>DEAN: You have got to say that there has to be a limit as to how-if the state has an interest, which it does, in preserving democracy, then there has to be a limitation on how deeply the media companies can penetrate every single community. To the extent of even having two or three or four outlets in a single community, that kind of information control is not compatible with democracy.<<
>>MATTHEWS: How-how far would you go in terms of public policy?<<
(APPLAUSE)
>>MATTHEWS: This is not-what you describe is not laissez-faire.
It?s not capitalism.<<
>>DEAN: It is capitalism.<<
>>MATTHEWS: How would you-what would you call it?<<
>>DEAN: I am absolutely a capitalist. Capitalism is the greatest system that people have ever invented, because it takes advantage of bad traits, as well as our good traits, and turns them into productivity.<<
>>But the essence of capitalism, which the right-wing never understands
? it always baffles me-is, you got to have some rules. Imagine a hockey game with no rules.<<

(LAUGHTER)
>>MATTHEWS: Would you-would you<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>DEAN: Nobody benefits. Nobody benefits. So you have got to have reasonable rules. And the rules have to protect everybody in the game.<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: Do you protect-do you protect the right of the person to go work somewhere and not have to join a union? Do you accept the right of right-to-work states to say you don?t have to join a union.<<
>>Dick Gephardt sat here and came out and said he was going to say no more right to work and we get rid of 14B, get rid of Taft-Hartley, repeal that, and force people to have to join unions, where they?re organized.<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: Would you go along with that? Would you buckle to the unions u>>
DEAN: Would I buckle to the unions?<<
>>MATTHEWS: Yes, because the unions want you to do it.<<
>>DEAN: This isn?t a values-loaded question, by any chance, is it?<<
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
>>MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask it-let me ask it totally open. Do you think a person has a right to work somewhere if they don?t want to join a union?<<
>>DEAN: I do.<<
>>No, wait a minute. I don?t.<<
(LAUGHTER)
>>MATTHEWS: Why not? What?s wrong with an open shop where you can...<<
>>DEAN: I?ll tell you what?s the matter with it. Here is the problem with open-and, look, there?s obviously arguments to be made on...<<
>>MATTHEWS: A lot of states have right-to-work laws. You would get rid of them?<<
>>DEAN: I don?t like-well, I very much believe that states ought to have the right to recognize-to organize their own laws. So I?m not likely as president to-even though I don?t like right-to-work laws, I?m unlikely to order states to change them.<<
>>MATTHEWS: So you wouldn?t repeal 14B?<<
>>DEAN: No, I would not, but...<<
>>MATTHEWS: So you are different than Gephardt. He is with the unions.
You are not.<<
(LAUGHTER)
>>MATTHEWS: I?m serious.<<
>>DEAN: All right...<<
>>MATTHEWS: I hate it. It?s called HARDBALL. This isn?t ?Success? magazine, OK?<<
>>(APPLAUSE)<<
>>DEAN: Let me tell you what-I actually believe in card check. I believe you shouldn?t have to have an election, that people who want to join a union should just be able to sign a card and join it. Let me tell you where I am on...<<
(CROSSTALK)
>>MATTHEWS: You are against-you do not believe in repealing 14B?<<
>>You?re not going to accept the challenge from Gephardt to do that?<<
>>DEAN: If I got a bill on my desk that repealed 14B, I?d sign it in an instant. I?m just not going to push it hard...<<
>>MATTHEWS: OK.<<
>>DEAN: Because I do believe states have to have make their own judgments of that.<<
>>MATTHEWS: OK.<<
>>DEAN: I hate right-to-work laws.<<
>>And let me tell you why it?s OK to be forced to join a union. The union is out there negotiating for your wage increases. Why should you get a free ride? Why should you should be able to go to work for that company, get the same benefits as everybody else who paid their union dues and you paid nothing? That?s why I?m against right-to-work laws.<<
>>MATTHEWS: OK.<<
>>DEAN: But I do believe it?s important for states to be able to make their own laws.
>>MATTHEWS: You understand why a libertarian would disagree with you, right? A libertarian would think they had a right, he or she, to work where they can do the job.<<
>>DEAN: Yes, but why should they-but why should they get the benefits of everybody else who is paying dues and get a free ride?<<
>>MATTHEWS: Because it?s a free country.<<
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)

A phone call at work

C: This is Chad

Dr: Hi Chad, this is Doctor Garnett at Swedish Ballard.

C: Oh, hi.

Dr: I wanted to let you know that I just now received the Pathology Report, and it's confirmed to be Hodgkins.

C: It is?... Ok, well, thanks for telling me. I guess I'll find out more information from Dr. Lane when I see him this afternoon.

Dr: Yes, I'm sure you will. Be sure to give me a call if your treatment will involve putting in an implant to make the treatment easier. I guess I'll see you Friday when I take a look at how you are healing from the biopsy.

C: Thanks, Dr. I'll see you Friday.

12 Step Program to Regime Change

By Don Hazen, AlterNet

June 2, 2003

Each day, millions of frustrated Americans engage in discussions about how
our country has gone off course and how ultraconservatives have taken over our
government. As we put our hearts and souls into figuring out how to achieve
regime change at home in November 2004, these conversations are growing in
volume.

How we engage this election will speak volumes about the future of our
country. Our passion in this political moment feels unprecedented. Yet, because
we feel a lot of anxiety about all that's happened to our country since 9/11, we
don't yet know our strength. We forget, for example, that the things we believe
in – equality, fairness, justice, dignity, and ultimately kindness and love
– inspired the greatest moral and political achievements of the 20th century:
civil rights, women's equality, the right to organize, and the growth of the
environmental movement. These values make our society strong and appealing to
the rest of the world. We must protect and promote them in the 21st century as
well.

Some of us have been discouraged by the increasingly conservative corporate
media, which try to marginalize us. We become alarmed as our government ratchets
up the fear quotient and we watch the irrational effect the scare tactics have.
At these moments, we can forget to turn to each other for support.

But we must claim our power and overcome our doubts and fears – as well as
our bad habits. We need to feel proud and joyful, not just angry and defensive.
We must work together, as one huge family, knowing that if we don't, we cannot
win.

We must be united to fight for regime change at home, not just to prevent
more bloodshed, empire building and cruel policies, but to protect virtually all
the progress we've made over the past 40 years. Environmentalists alone cannot
ensure clean air and water; union members alone cannot protect the right to
organize; civil libertarians alone cannot defend the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights; seniors on their own cannot protect Social Security; feminists alone
cannot defend Roe v. Wade; and African-Americans and Latinos alone are not going
to ensure fairness and equality and stop a wide range of cruel budget cuts.

But, by focusing on what we have in common – the clear-cut goal of
defeating Bush in 2004 – we can all succeed. How important is this? It feels
more important than anything we will do for a very long time.

To help us chart our course, what follows is a 12-step program to achieve
regime change. As in all such efforts for change, we need to take an inventory
of our strengths and our weaknesses, confront our bad habits and addictions,
reach out to others, and recover our power.

Step #1: Recognize Our Strengths

Let's start with traditions that serve as our foundation. Social critic Colin
Greer reminds us that Martin Luther King Jr.'s work evolved from his initial
civil rights struggles into protecting poor people of all colors and then to
insisting on peace in Vietnam. An overriding framework of concern linked all of
these causes into one "Beloved Community." Greer notes how the values
of progressive America inspire millions of people every day: health care
advocates; members of environmental, civil rights and civil liberties groups;
volunteers at food banks and women's shelters; people working for their
children's education, and many more. As he says, "We have to communicate
our history and our strength."

Progressives are potentially stronger now than at any time in the past 30
years. Breakthrough efforts like the fast-growing True
Majority, and Move On, with its 1.3 million
members, have significant capacity to reach and motivate new people. Move On's
PAC can also raise large amounts of money. Millions of unaffiliated middle-class
progressives are ripe for organizing. The Win Without War coalition, made up of
40 national membership groups, has committed itself to regime change with a
major investment in media. Many increasingly sophisticated national
organizations are already gathering and dedicating themselves to the work ahead,
focusing on voter registration and education and Get Out the Vote (GOTV)
strategies in key states.

In the battle ahead, we are unified. From progressive to moderate, virtually
all of us agree that regime change is our common goal. Support for third party
politics is invisible, even among those who voted for Nader in 2000.

We were part of a tremendous effort to halt the invasion of Iraq, supported
by many tens of millions of people across the globe. Most of the world is with
us, and for much more than a peace movement; for a movement for sanity, human
values and the future.

We also need to tap into our deepest, most magnanimous courage to help us
give up old habits and narrow agendas, and sacrifice more for the whole. One
woman with a lot of courage is Doris "Granny D" Haddock, who at age 95
is still raising hell; just a few years ago she walked across the country to
promote campaign finance reform. She recently reminded us of something profound.
During the recent peace marches, despite the angry speeches and the losses to be
suffered by so many, she said: "The people in the marches were joyful. Did
you notice that? Did you feel it yourself? The best smiles I've seen in
years." She went on to state that this time can also be "about
something far deeper than the Bush attack du jour... Did you not hope, as a
child, that one day it would be in your hands to save the world? Is it not
indeed joyful to embark on a life of great meaning? Aren't we joyful for this
moment, when all is at stake? We are, we are. And do not stand in the way of our
joy."

Step #2: Acknowledge What We Are Powerless to Change

We can't change the fact that September 11 happened and fundamentally
transformed the nature of American politics. We need to face the reality of our
defeat in trying to stop the attack on Iraq. We never stood a chance. The rules
have changed. We were playing by the old rules, advocating for inspections and
multilateralism, thinking that politics is about negotiation and listening to
constituencies. Now it's about raw power, and we need to exercise our own power
in the campaign to defeat Bush. The conservatives effectively established new
rules of engagement: Anything goes; be as radical and as unreasonable as you can
get away with; play the fear card; and count on the corporate media to carry the
message. Conservatives got away with invading Iraq, and the only way to stop
them is to defeat them in the election of 2004.

The conservatives have invested enough money particularly by wealthy
right-wingers in think tanks and communications over the past 40 years to reach
the point where, according to the New York Times, they believe that they have
initiated "an era of dominance" – despite the fact that significant
majorities oppose their positions. We can't change the fact that the
conservatives are likely to raise half a billion dollars to support the Bush
candidacy; or that the corporate media, especially radio networks and television
networks like Fox and NBC/General Electric, will work hard to get Bush
reelected.

If we are to succeed, we must recognize some important truths. Politically,
the "facts" will not set us free, and issues alone will not win us
elections. The other side thinks very differently than we do. Forty percent of
the U.S. population will accept virtually anything that Bush and Co. say. Most
of these people get all their news from television. This 40 percent of the
population will never agree with us, and there is nothing we can do about it.
They will not change, nor will they see the light. They are the fundamentalists
of America, the religious shock troops, the millions of fearful, and the
conservative wealthy who fund and fuel the current conservative efforts at
hegemony.

It's not easy to write off 100 million people. In our own stubborn way, we
liberals and progressives think everyone can change.

If you don't accept the depth of this conservative hold on 40 percent of the
population, read "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives
Think," by University of California linguistics professor George Lakoff.
The book explains how conservatives think profoundly differently than
progressives and why white males vote against their economic interests. It also
offers insights into how we might frame our own issues.

Still, none of the things we can't change matter as much as what we can
do, by educating, mobilizing, motivating, sacrificing, sharing and setting good
examples. We will use plain old people power to rise up and regain balance in
our country. We have the numbers, we have the truth, and we have the vision for
a better world. We need the confidence, the discipline, and the smarts to pull
it off.

Step #3: Communicate Our Vision

To be successful in American politics, we need undecided voters to come over
to our side. We must communicate a positive vision of the future. Most Americans
like to be on the winning team, so we need winning ideas and stars who can carry
the message forward. Going negative doesn't help. When we attack the
conservative frame, we actually reinforce their messages. We need our
message.

A strong vision would draw on the deep history and powerful metaphor of
people working together to make this country strong, to protect ourselves and
one another, to care about the health and safety of all our people.

Giving one example of a big picture vision is Granny D: "We are the
people who believe in a world of environmental beauty, of happiness and not
exploitation, of justice and not oppression and torture. A world safe for
children. Government budgets that invest in our smart babies, not smart bombs.
We believe in international law and cooperative action."

Step #4: Confront Our Weaknesses

To be honest with ourselves, we have to confront our seeming compulsion to
repeat the same strategies, no matter how many times they fail. We specialize in
large single-issue membership organizations. We pride ourselves on our
unswerving dedication to myriad idealistic issues. Our organizations at times
become little more than self-perpetuating efforts to secure funding dollars.

This may sound harsh. Many of these issues are important in their own way,
but now, with so much at stake, the many do not add up to the whole.

Moving forward requires acknowledging what's not serving us. Single-issue
politics is the Achilles' heel of progressive Democrats. Conservatives
understand that individual issues need to be linked to an overall moral and
ethical perspective. As George Lakoff explains, "They fit the issues
together, develop conservative value-based language, and then highjack American
virtues like freedom and compassion and give them conservative
definitions...Progressives in contrast are hampered by the plethora of issues,
rather than the overarching value perspective that rationalizes the
polices."

The longstanding approach of "letting a thousands flowers bloom"
has not added up. Battles on hundreds of fronts, competing for attention and
funding, will not bring us political power. Too many voices often cancel each
other out, and the confusing cacophony can send people away. We have to rethink
change and appreciate that by gaining political clout our issues have a better
chance of winning.

Step #5: Practice Being Realistic

A big behavioral change for many will be diving into electoral politics. Many
of us have viewed elections as tainted, trivial or hopelessly uncool. We may
have preferred the detachment of the cynical or the purity of issue advocacy.
After decades of attacking the political system as hopelessly corrupted by
campaign financing, we regard politics as dirty and impervious to change. But
alas, despite its enormous flaws, it is the only system we've got.

Author Jonathan Schell says, "Elections are a fabulous tool for bringing
about change – if you use them! You have to infuse them with your energy.
There's something tautological about rejecting elections. It's like an admission
of defeat. It's very bad to admit defeat when you're in a movement. It's a big
mistake. You should try to win. You may fail; there's no victory guaranteed in
this world, in life. But you should aim to win and really change things."

When we opt out of campaigns, the political consultants and media buyers take
over. These guys just add to the nasty image of politics, particularly with
their multi-million dollar hit ads, often designed to turn people off voting
altogether and leave them confused, discouraged and disgusted.

We'll also need to sacrifice some of our purity. As Granny D put it,
"Politics is about winning. For us, it is about winning to save lives and
raise people up from poverty and illness and loneliness and injustice."

Finally, we need to shake our frequent paralysis regarding public educational
activity of non-profits. The outrageously partisan behavior of Pat Robertson's
and other conservative groups operating as tax exempt ultimately prevailed in
the courts. Still, many liberal foundations and their grantees remain gun-shy
about aggressive public education.

Some estimate that just a top group of the largest liberal non-profit
organizations has as much as $2 billion dollars in operating budgets. Although
tax laws prohibit organizations from advocating for specific candidates, they
can still do a lot of public education offering workable models and far
different approaches to current domestic and foreign policies. And staff are
free to be partisan on their own time.

Step #6: Stop Squabbling and Make Amends

You may have heard the joke: What's a progressive firing squad? Answer: A
circle.

Enough! Or, as progressive leader and communications guy Dan Carol says:
"Kumbaya dammit. There are ways to stand for principles without fighting
over crumbs. Start with everyone sharing their vision of what they want and need
... and check your passive aggressiveness at the door. Let's not forget that the
perfect is the enemy of the good."

It is time to declare an amnesty. If South Africa can have a reconciliation,
why not progressives? Let us join our competitors and our former enemies in new
collaborations toward victory.

Step #7: Think Strategically

If you have read this far, you are probably part of the core Democratic vote.
Not enough of us have been active in Democratic Party politics or elections.
Let's make that history.

Make no mistake; we are not a majority. Clinton won the '92 presidential race
with 39 percent of the vote (with Perot in the race against Bob Dole). We hover
around 40 percent of the electorate. The conservatives and Republicans are also
close to 40 percent. To become a majority, we need to reach swing voters.
Electoral College rules mean that the Democratic candidate could win the popular
vote by a million votes in 2004 and still lose the election. We need to win a
couple of red states while hanging on to the blue states Gore won in 2000.

Do you know which states are red? Which are swing states? Which voters are
swing voters? It's time to get strategic! Below is a list. If you live in a
swing state, get to work; if you don't live in a swing state, start visiting and
finding all your friends and relatives who are in one.

Swing State Line Up:

The Blues: In 2000, Al Gore really won 10 states by less than 6%: Florida
(which was given to the Republicans by the Supreme Court); New Mexico,
Wisconsin, Iowa and Oregon (by less than 1%); Minnesota (by 2.5%); and
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine and Washington (by about 5%).

The Reds: George W. Bush won nine states by less than 6.5% (not counting
Florida), five of those by less than 5%: New Hampshire (which he won by only
7,200 votes, or 1.3%); Ohio, Nevada and Missouri (by about 3.5%); Tennessee
(4%); Arkansas (5.5%); Arizona and West Virginia (about 6.5%).

Step #8: Deal With the Politics of Fear

Fear is the subtext of American politics. The Republicans know that fearful
people tend to vote conservative, so generating and exploiting fear will be high
on their agenda. Expect every kind of Republican surprise: Code Reds, new acts
of terrorism, invasions of other countries, the sudden capture of Osama bin
Laden or Saddam Hussein. There may be dirty tricks in this election.

Even though some of us don't feel it acutely, fear is a fundamental issue in
America. It's no accident that we have more than 11,000 gun deaths a year while
neighboring Canada has far fewer with as many guns per capita. America just
passed the 2 million mark in the number of people incarcerated in prisons. While
violent crime goes down, the presentation of violent crime in the media
escalates.

Generating fear of "the other" is a staple of Republican politics.
Only united can we can fight it. But this isn't simple and requires a lot of
discussion, thought and creative ideas. The main point is to acknowledge that
fear is on people's minds and not trivialize or deny it. The antidote to fear is
joy and courage. It is mutual support and protection and a clear, forthright
policy on national security. Progressive values are about protecting our
families, our communities, making our lives safe and fulfilling. But we're not
interested, as the Bush administration insists is necessary, in trading freedom
for security. As Move On's Wes Boyd notes: "Luckily, Americans are made of
sterner stuff and we'll continue to protect freedom and it will make us
strong."

Step #9: Examine Our Privilege and Embrace Diversity

This step is particularly aimed at those of us in the social change business.
Are we too aloof from the grittiness of electoral politics and face-to-face
organizing and talking with people who don't agree with us? Most of the millions
of people who make up the leadership and rank and file of non-profits and
foundations are highly educated, have health insurance and many have family
support. Even when we have risen from the working class, we have the privilege
of networks and access to mentors and support.

When the economy gets worse, when Medicare and Medicaid are cut, when the
minimum wage is stuck way below the living wage, when tax breaks go to the rich,
most of us remain untouched. In some cases, we actually benefit from political
crises; our organizations can raise more money. But poor people and many people
of color have no such luxuries. They can't criticize elections as a distraction
on the road to political change, as a prominent peace leader did recently. They
have to deal with the political reality.

Diversity is a fundamental progressive value, just like fairness and
protection of families. Our hybridness is a strength. The mix of our skills,
talents, experiences, histories and colors makes us much more than the sum of
our parts and imbues us with the power to defeat the more homogeneous and rigid
conservatives.

We also need to keep in mind that many of our brilliant and exciting current
efforts are white and middle class. We learned from the 2002 primary elections
that ignoring the base and running to the middle will lose elections, as
minority voters stayed home in droves and resources didn't make it into their
communities. Hopefully 2002 was the aberration, and the powerful voter
registering and organizing work that was done in Florida (e.g., that won that
state for Gore, until the Supreme Court decided otherwise) will be the model
across the country. African Americans were far ahead of other groups in opposing
the invasion of Iraq, and the rapidly growing Latino population is very
concerned about the impact of war budgets and tax cuts on services their
communities desperately need. Minority communities represent the strongest
element in the quest for regime change. It is crucial that diversity issues be
addressed at the beginning of any broad-based planning for 2004, and not as an
afterthought.

Step #10: Create an Independent Power, Not Reliant on Parties or
Candidates

To help us win in 2004, how about organizing a progressive electoral movement
that becomes a force in the election by not picking one of the candidates
in the primaries? Instead we'll raise money, develop an active base nationwide
and effectively target key swing states. We earn our credibility by working
while the primaries are underway, building an infrastructure that is ready to
roll the last four months of the campaign on behalf of whomever the Democrats
nominate.

All the Democratic candidates are superior to George W. Bush; even Joe
Lieberman, the guy progressives love to hate. Domestically, all these candidates
believe in fundamental values and issues that if framed effectively can appeal
to a wide cross-section of Democrats and swing voters. These are themes, values
and positions that Bush clearly does not support. In addition, a forceful
progressive presence will help keep candidates on message, give them backbone on
issues, and balance the inevitable challenges from the media and the
conservative Democrats when candidates take strong populist positions. Of course
many progressives will support candidates closest to them on key issues. But no
matter who gets nominated, we need to get the nominee elected.

It would be a bold move to quickly organize and grow a large-scale
independent campaign for regime change at home. Let's call it the
"Independent Force." It would counter the stereotypes that
progressives can't work together and that partnerships don't travel well across
race, class and issue lines. If key leadership groups bought in, such a
formation could, by effectively using the Internet, number five million and be
well funded with $10 million by next summer. No, that wouldn't be enough. Yet,
big organizations and coalitions of insiders wielding large amounts of money may
not be the best way to engage the rank and file.

A regime change movement would: a) ensure an organizational infrastructure,
especially in swing states, to help elect the Democratic nominee; b) coordinate
and articulate a clear vision of the values and principles generally shared by
all the Democratic candidates and strongly desired by millions of independent
and progressive Democrats; and c) create a way for the progressive and activist
universe to exercise political influence after the election. It would hold the
Democratic nominee accountable during the election (and hopefully afterward). It
would create effective new ways to work together in the event of Bush's
reelection.

Progressives need to be a vigilant counterweight to the bad habits of Beltway
thinking, potential big organization in-fighting, and the influence of some of
the Democratic Party's wealthy donors. Ingrained attitudes that take the base of
voters for granted, depend on negative campaigning, run to the middle, instead
of standing for issues clearly and firmly, have led to failure in the past, but
not this time if we succeed.

Step #11: Use and Trust Independent Media

The Republican-controlled FCC has decided to make media more conservative,
more corporate and more concentrated. Given the media system we have already,
that's hard to swallow. Now we'll have more nightmares like Clear Channel, which
owns more than 1,200 stations and is infamous for dumbing down radio and
organizing pro-war rallies.

But even before this latest stage, the "Fox effect" pushed news
coverage to the right. Rupert Murdoch's pending purchase of Direct TV
exponentially increases the power of conservative TV. This is all wrong and
unacceptable, but by everyone's estimation, changing the media system is a
long-term struggle. The corporate media system is likely to get worse as far as
the eye can see.

We don't have time to wait. Yes, we should work the contradictions in
corporate media as best we can, since the media system needs a semblance of
objectivity to be credible enough to make their profits. But also we need to use
our own independent media system, which, with the help of the Internet, has
grown tremendously, risen in quality and reaches many more people than ever
before. AlterNet.org, where I work, Common Dreams, Tom Paine.com, the Nation,
Salon, Pacific News Service and many more (including WireTapmag.org, the feisty
youth site), are powerful daily information sources. When added up, the
independent media often do much more than the corporate media in presenting
details and diversity of voices.

It is important to have alternative perspectives and viable options in play.
Michael Moore, progressive media's superstar, has shown that it's possible to
reach millions with a very strong populist message. (Moore's next film is in the
works and will calculate the tremendous loss of political freedom since 9/11
while tracing the relationship of the bin Laden and Bush families, all in time
for the 2004 election.) But there are dozens of other voices also reaching
millions, because the Internet makes it possible to amplify radio shows,
columns, speeches and great journalism every day.

Many of us have become "connectors," zipping the best ideas,
analysis and personal voices around the web so we all know what Robert Scheer,
Arianna Huffington, Molly Ivins, Arundhati Roy, Amy Goodman and numerous others
are writing, thinking and saying. Worldlink TV and FreeSpeech TV, our only
progressive TV networks, are improving everyday. (Sure, you have to get a
satellite dish to watch them, but you'll also get "The Sopranos," so
why not?)

When Greg Palast was asked how his current "alternative ' book became a
bestseller, he told the interviewer the alternative press needs to change its
name: "It reaches more people than the mainstream."

Step #12: Make a Commitment

Activist Harriet Barlow has started talking to friends about the "5
percent" plan. If you are really serious about defeating Bush, she says,
commit 5 percent of your income and 5 percent of your time to the cause; more if
you can afford it. And start now. Many others are in tune with Barlow. If you
can, why not vacation or even temporarily relocate to key swing states like
Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada, especially if you are from
there or have family or friends there? Dedicate a portion of your time to what
will be the most important election of our lives. If idealistic young people can
travel to Iraq and Palestine, why not to Kansas City, Cleveland, Pittsburg or
Jacksonville?

Dropping everything and moving to a swing state may seem extreme, but there
are many steps along the way. One thing we need to do is get together and talk
about what's at stake and give each other encouragement. Regime Change house
parties, salons and picnics can become the rage. Progressive leaders travel all
the time and are aching for invitations – give them a call, especially if you
are in a swing state. Plan on facilitating an exchange of ideas and information,
not just hosting a speech. We need more interaction and voices, fewer speeches.

Many organizations with people on the ground, such as ACORN,
NAACP, Greenpeace,
League of Conservation
Voters, Rock
The Vote and Win Without War
and their affiliates will have local efforts going across the country. Check out
their websites, volunteer, send them money if you can.

Tom Paine.com, True Majority and Peace Action have organized a register
voters for peace campaign, and the Swing
State Project is recruiting volunteers nationwide now. Working
For Change is one of the best places on the web to read about and take part
in political actions. Get on their list.

Parting Thoughts

It is good to remember that change often isn't linear. Dramatic events can
short-circuit everything we think we know. Unexpected combinations of
circumstances and planning have erupted in major historic events – 9/11 of
course, but also the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ending of apartheid, the
feminist and environmentalist revolutions – that all shocked the political
world when they emerged.

But nothing takes the place of organizing. Progressives, as Robert Borosage
underscores in a recent The Nation, have just begun to build the independent
capacity to drive energy into the political debate. Our think tanks will provide
ammunition for our efforts. As we join our web-based communicators like Move on,
Working Assets and True Majority, we help build their strength to broaden the
base. Now is the time to draw the line. We need to dedicate ourselves to the
task ahead fully, without ambivalence, minimizing squabbling, knowing we are
right. The future of our families and our globe is in our hands.

Don Hazen is the executive director of the Independent Media Institute (IMI).
This article was written independently of AlterNet. The opinions expressed in
this article in no way reflect the positions of IMI or AlterNet.