Life Imitating Doonesbury

Life imitating the comics. Yes, it happens. Take the recent Doonesbury plot line for example. Episodes of the Pulitzer Prize-winning daily comic strip recently have featured young Alex Doonesbury, a student at MIT, doing a blog-watch and rapid response for the Obama campaign. Her job is to search the net for bogus blog posts and suspicious web sites, then intervene to expose them for what they are and spread the word. Awesome job, BTW. So you think that's a little far-fetched? Of course you don't, because you're informed and web-savvy. In reality, scurrilous hate-filled postings are already easy to find. Just check out the local politics discussion forums on Craig's List in your own hometown to confirm that.

Today, I came across a great bit of investigative journalism on the "Undercover Black Man" blog. The author of the post I read had noticed a suspicious-looking web site purporting to be a black-power site for Obama. It was filled with some pretty inflammatory crap, then dressed-up to look as real as the owner could manage - considering he's a long-haired, middle-aged white guy from Laguna Niguel, California. UBM "outed" the dude and his charade, and the site was promptly pulled with a contrite apology. Seems the guy is a bass player and teacher with more than a few vids on YouTube, so he's got his own franchise to protect. Welcome to on-line reputation management. Read about it here. You'll enjoy the bit of investigative journalism, proving once again that the blogosphere is rapidly supplanting the MSM as "the source" of up-to-the-minute news and analysis. Props to UBM. The Author suggests a celebratory victory dance is in order.
Obama
Doonesbury

Blogger Elected to Parliament in Malaysia

Blogger Jeff Ooi was elected to the Malaysian Parliment in elections held today. Check out his now historic blog here. Jeff's campaign messages included this one: "Send a Blogger to Parliament." Yea, that's what I'm talking about. This is a signal moment in the political maturation of the blogosphere, a milestone passed. Time for my personal victory dance. The Author is impressed and delighted when any citizen activist or citizen journalist is recognized by his or her community and entrusted with representing their interests in government. (Malaysian Parliament pictured below)

This Malaysian election was extraordinary in a number of ways. It also marks the largest defeat the ruling party has ever suffered since taking over from the British. That happened for a variety of reasons, many related to disappointment and a new activism among the ethnic minorities in the South Asian country. Malaysia is 60 percent Malay, the so-called native sons; 25 percent Chinese, and, 8 percent Indian. The remaining percentage comprises several, smaller groups. According to historians, the big-three ethnic groups worked out a social contract early on.

Under Malaysia's "social contract" hammered out by the nation's founding fathers, the majority Malays will have an unchallenged hold over politics in return for non- interference in Chinese domination of the economy. Today, ethnic Chinese are starting to wonder whether they have been shortchanged and are likely to put the long-standing deal to the test in general elections expected next month, one report said. (source)

If you are interested in following the events in Malaysia, there are a couple of sites to bookmark. Malaysiakini was one of the very first, unauthorized Internet citizen journalism sites. It continues to provide an alternative to government news. The nation's major paper, The Star, often reflects the government line and is thus, a balance for Malaysiakini. And of course, there's Jeff's blog.

Would You Buy a Car from This Company?

According to news reports, GM chair Robert Lutz thinks global warming is a "...crock of shit." Yea, uh-huh. So my question is this. Why would anybody buy a car from General Motors? I don't know about you, but The Author would like to rest assured that companies he graces with his currency share his values. Just when the new Saturn Aura was really starting to look good.

But why should we be surprised? It was General Motors, along with their auto industry cohorts, that convinced many US cities (LA comes to mind) to abandon perfectly good, rail-based rapid transit systems in favor of busses and more freeways for cars. Seems counter-intuitive at this point in our history. Just another example of what happens when significant decisions with long-term consequences are based entirely on economic interests and lobbying. One thing the collective, progressive blogosphere can do to send a clear message around this issue is to refrain from spending with companies who hold stubbornly to old, discredited models and beliefs. So forget about that Saturn. I'm looking for some of those new European diesels with 60+ MPG and a new generation of hybrids to do the job until a real fuel-cell hits the market.

Is Wikipedia Down?

I can't load Wikipedia. I just get 404 error (page not found) after error. I sure hope this is a very temporary situation, or perhaps a local ISP routing problem. There is no doubt The Author depends on the fine, bottom-up encyclopedia for many links on this blog - and on Wiki Commons (logo pictured) for a large percentage of the public domain images used here. Which reminds me, the Wiki Foundation can always use another few bucks to help their geeks get by. The Author donated modestly last year - to ensure this valuable resource stays available and continues to grow. I'm hoping that some of the big foundations, or maybe George Soros, can add some serious scratch to the pot to take this organization to the next level. But I'm not counting on it, so we'll all need to ante-up soon.

Time for the Blogosphere to Work for Hillary

Okay, we've had our fun. But the party is over and it's time for a dose of realpolitik. John McCain will be the Republican Nominee, and he may eat Barak Obama for lunch. No seriously, we're facing a national hero - a man of true grit who is respected by many. We need to pull out the stops and leverage our advantage in a strategic and thoughtfully crafted manner. From this author's point of view, no Democratic candidate is better equipped by nature and experience to do just that than Hillary Clinton. And Obama, bless his heart I hope he has a long and fruitful political career, is not the candidate we need at this moment in time. Despite what the two most famous Kennedy's may think.

The withdrawal of John Edwards following Kucinich's exit has left the progressive left blogosphere with some hard decisions to make. I think it's time bloggers bite the bullet and get real. Time to endorse Hillary. And the sooner we can get that bandwagon rolling, the better. Matt, Markos, Arianna...are you listening?

For goodness sake, Hillary Clinton *is* the candidate of change. Or have we forgotten that she is a women and her nomination will mark an historic first? And does anyone for a moment think she'll be a clone of Bill? Give me a break. And more important, Hillary deserves a chance to write her own chapter in American history. I am so ready for that.

Look, any respectable Democrat is going to represent a sea-change from the last 7 years. And the ultimate candidate will need to have the habits, contacts and energy necessary to fix a lot of broken stuff. A lot of very broken institutions, agencies, policies and procedures. That person will need to have what it takes to restore our international reputation and return the US to it's proper role as a major superpower. Again, Hillary is the logical choice.

And one other thing. The Obama campaign continues to call me and boast about bringing the country together...reaching out. I'm just not into that right now. I'll be the first to admit that there is a time for inclusion and bipartisanship. I submit that this is not that moment. Why would anybody in their right mind want to bring any of the crew who has systematically destroyed our country and scorned our constitution to the table? Include neo-cons and the religious right? I think not. More like, over my dead body. And that, kind readers, is the very best argument for supporting Hillary Clinton. I don't believe that she will be vindictive, but she is attentive to detail and will pursue the Republican evildoers and ensure proper retribution is meted out.

Authorities Beat Blogger to Death in China

In what is being called the first death of a citizen journalist in China, news sources are reporting the fatal beating of a Chinese blogger who had stopped his vehicle to take pictures of a protest demonstration with his cell camera. City inspection authorities, alarmed at the prospect of blog post documenting their treatment of protestors, swarmed the blogger and beat him to death. Read CNN International's story here. Journalism has never been a "safe" profession, and the same can be said for citizen journalists in tightly controlled societies. Host of the next Summer Olympics, China has acted to punish the local authorities invovled by firing the senior official involved. Investigations continue as I write. One can only hope that this is the last such unfortunate episode. It is gratifying to note that the Chinese blogosphere helped to drive the government's quick intervention.

Mil Blogger Dies in Iraq - Leaves Final Post

Major Andrew Olmsted, a noted military blogger stationed in Iraq, died yesterday of injuries sustained in the war. May he rest in peace. Read his final, "if I'm killed in Iraq" post at Obsidian Wings. I guarantee you'll laugh, then cry. As the toll of US dead climbs toward the 4,000 mark after five years of war, our thoughts go out to Major Olmsted's family in their moment of personal loss and grief. War sucks.

Yearly Kos - Golden's Final Report

The last installment of three reports submitted by author, activist and former talk-show host Jeff Golden on his experience at the Yearly Kos convention. Thanks Jeff, for your eyes, ears and the posts below.
Yo-Duh

Saturday, the bloggers say, was a watershed moment in their mission to democratize politics. Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Dennis Kucinich filed into the large meeting room and sat down for just shy of two hours of questions. All seven of them declined an invitation to speak to the Democratic Leadership Council , Bill Clinton’s invention and launching pad, last weekend. Do the math.

All seven paid tribute to the blogosphere. For the first time, they said in various ways, there’s a real possibility to bring in enough grassroots people to force the political elite to loosen their death-grip on the system. In a breakout session afterwards with about 50 people, Bill Richardson, whose candor can be hard to resist said “Yeah, we were all sucking up to you out there--- we kind of have to now.”

The forum was mostly fun to watch. John Edwards asked for everyone’s pledge to swear off of “Washington lobbyist” money and got a few takers. When asked Hillary flatly said she would make no such promise---she wants to represent everyone, she said, and lobbyists are people, too. That, and a general claim that lobbyists really don’t influence all that much, laid her wide open, and Obama and Edwards moved in for a vicious one-two pounding.

Afterwards the candidates split up into smaller room. I went to the Edwards session. He seems on fire, with an ultra-populist riff about taking privilege away from PHRMA, the insurance, oil, banking industries, the whole pack of plutocrats. “What America needs is someone who’s stood up against these guys and has beaten them, and I’ve done that over and over and over and over again. He got the wildest and most excited response. Watching him bounce in the room, with people lunging to touch him, listening to his cadence rise and his tone intensify, seeing that shock of hair waving back and forth, you couldn’t help but think (if you’re old enough) of RFK. I’d have to say he’s in the A-tier now.

The day ended with a huge outdoor barbeque hosted by the Teamsters. Teamster Prez Jim Hoffa (Jr) and blog Czar Marcos embraced on stage and talked about the unstoppable new Alliance of the old (Teamster) and new (blogger) Democratic party. Lots of hugs, backslapping, whooping and hollering. I got about 10 minutes with Hoffa over an overcooked hamburger afterwards and asked how we were going to deal with the old disagreement on environmental issues, since the Teamsters seem to support every dam or pipeline or drilling project that the enviros hate. “Yeah,” he said through a wad of burger, “that’s a tough one.” He went on to say some not very clear things that seemed to amount to the view that environmentalists need to get a life.

Is the next year going to be boring? Not if you’re political.

Yearly Kos - Golden's Second Installment

YKos, Day 2, another day of roaming from one workshop to another in this huge Chicago Convention Center listening to scary-smart folks in their 20s and 30s. This is a particularly direct example of how age can bring humility.

A few highlights:
--Wesley Clark starting the day with a breakfast talk on the betrayal of this Admin to the military, and the damage it’s had to weather. He wants out of Iraq soon, but asserts what he calls a “practical reality” of an ongoing need for Middle East oil that stirred mutterings in the crowd.
--A panel of dramatic converts from the Right to the Left, including David Brock and John Dean (Arianna Huffington was scheduled but fell to a broken ankle this past week when, on a leisurely walk with Charlie Rose, she caught a spiked heel in a Manhattan subway grate. Don’t you hate it when that happens?). These guys HATE the neo con Admin with a ferocity that those of us who never agreed with them can barely imagine.
--a completely fascinating lunchtime talk from Andy Stern, International President of the SEIU, on the role organized labor has to take in restoring democracy. He’s just back from successfully organizing Walmart workers in China ---China—which makes it, he says, the only place in the world where he feels comfortable going into a Walmart.
-A panel on political framing with the guru himself, George Lakoff. Smart guy, and so were the 3 consultants, all easily young enough to be his son, who sat at the front of the room with him. They talked about the OVERTON WINDOW (might want to Google that one) which is the range of politically acceptable policy options on an issue, which is smaller than the entire imaginable spectrum of options. If you take positions outside of that window, it’s argued, while your opponents stay somewhere comfortably within the window, you can move the entire range of what’s considered acceptable in your direction. Example: Ann Coulter’s apparent lunacy makes saner-sounding right wing extremists suddenly seem more reasonable and even moderate. The Rs apparently play this game, like all the framing games, better than the Ds. One criticism from an idealistic listener: “A strategic calculation based on this model implicitly says ‘we’re going to lie to you to advance our policy position.’” This session had something for everybody who tinks even a little bit about languaging, including those who think enough’s enough: “Democrats tie themselves in knots thinking about ways to most successfully communicate and neglect the straight power and effectiveness of saying what they really mean.”
Or…and this come up a lot…just how far do Progressives want to copy the Right in an effort to replicate the Right’s victories?
--An all-star panel of Internet strategists including Joe Trippi, who made history with the Dean campaign, took a shot at describing the big picture of the Web’s transformational effect on politics. One ranked it with the invention of movable type in importance; another said it’s impossible to overstate the impact. Simon Rosenberg, one of the Revered Ones, says the MSM has it all wrong about the political blogosphere. “They dismiss what’s happening as the collective wacky hobby of a bunch of liberals on the fringe. It’s not. It’s the doorway we’ve been looking for through which the American people can enter politics in a very big way. It mean politics and governance can be a 2-way process, And campaigns are only the opening edge. It won’t be long before a President sends out his health plan or new tax proposl for all of us to take swing at before proposing it to Congress. Nothing in the way we do our public business will ever be the same.”

Golden Reports on Yearly Kos

Note: This is the first in a couple of reports that are being contributed to Pop Impulse by my colleague and friend, Jeff Golden. Jeff, a published author and formerly the host of the Jefferson Exchange on Jefferson Public Radio, agreed to serve as this blog's eyes and ears at the convention. He's filed the following first report. Check it out. (Yo-Duh)

The second annual YKos convention (for "yearly Kos") convened by the lake in Chicago today. Fourteen hundred people more pumped up than you’d find anywhere outside of a Holy Roller gathering have come together from all over the country, thrilled that Bill O’Reilly and William Kristol have elevated their blogosphere to the latest Dire Threat to Life as We Know It. After registration and a scattering of breakout sessions we came together tonight for the first Keynotes session.

A 25 year old hip-hop standup comedian warmed us up by leading us in a silent moment mourning the death of mainstream media (MSM) and then riffed on what makes it run: "The MSM tells you they’re just doing their job by giving people what they’re interested in seeing.. Well, people are interested in seeing 20 year old chicks mud-wrestling naked, but it’s not news. It IS NOT NEWS"

Then Senator Dick Durbin came on two huge video screens ("I meant to be there to welcome you to my own city myself, but Im trapped here in DC and on my way to Iraq and Afghanistan in the morning") to salute the blogmeisters for dramatically changing the Democratic Party and America for the better. He said there’s a long list this unruly crowd can take credit for:: ending John Bolton’s tenure at the UN, turbo-charging the Plame affair and the firing of U.S. Attorneys into powerful issues, even winning control of the Senate. He made a big pitch for the Fair Elections Act to get the scurvy money out of politic, urging folks to http://www.fairelections.com/.

Then came the main act. DNC Chair Howard Dean strolled onto the stage to a standing O. He’s right on top of his game. He:

--slammed Republican opposition to reforms to make voting more accessible to all Americans. "Voting is the fundamental practice of Democracy, and the more people vote the better it is for American… and, incidentally, the Democratic Party. The Republican Party likes to talk about its values, but apparently democracy isn’t one of them, given their suppression of voters and their unwillingness to guarantee voting rights." He urged the bloggers to rally their follower to lean on their reps to pass H811 to get valid elections by 2008 elections, because "2010 might be too late."
--admitted that "even I didn’t appreciate how important the Internet was after the last election…I LOVED the YouTube Presidential debate. For the first time it got the campaign conversation fully out there in the messy middle of the public, right there with real Americans, where it belongs. What a surprise that the Republicans don’t want to do it."
--Called the Ds the party of the future, while the Republicans are the party of the past. "It’s pretty easy to see:: just look who they’re running for president and who we’re running for president."
--asserted that the Internett will spread so much information and associated autonomy that it will force countries like China and Iran towards democracy.. "It means that we CAN win the battle for a Democratic world, which will not happen with invasions of country like Iraq and Iran." And at home? "With the Internet we’re beginning the 2-way campaign. Now we dialogue with the people whose vote we want, asking for their input and really listening to them, not using this as a cheap gimmick. This will remind us that we don’t own the power…it is loaned to us every two
years.
-- praised what the DEMOCRATIC Congress has done in six months, offering la list that, when we thought about it, wasn’t too bad. And on Iraq? "We will continue to push a vote on Iraq withdrawal again and again and again and again, giving the Republicans endless chances to carry out the clear mandate of the American people, until they do so.
--welcomed the new attention the Evangelical movement is giving to world hunger and oppression and climate change. "Let’s pay attention and let’s gather with those we can agree with on those things we can agree on."
--focused on younger folks: "We are paying the price today for not reaching out to young people in the 1980s during the Reagan presidency, because the way people vote the first 3 times will predict how they vote for the rest of their lives. Our neglect explains why John Roberts is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court today."
--praised impatience. " It’s an important quality: nevertheless, lets remind the young AND OURSELVES how many grinding years of struggle it took the Civil Rights movement to succeed. It took them many years, and our youth to know that this is not a one day or one election cycle struggle, but a process we’ll be involved in for the rest of our lives!"

He was roaring now, fist pounding, eyes blazing as he closed. And the crowd …went… crazy.

Fox News - Faux News from the Dark Side

It's time for us to tell Fox News to stuff it. And to tell all of their advertisers that we're tired of the one-sided, pro-Bush, pro-hate propaganda that passes for real news on Fox. Bill O'Reilly called progressive bloggers Nazis in a recent hysterical rant against the Internet and blogging. We all know about his "Osama Obama" remarks; his attempts to smear every Democrat in office; and, his attacks on Black- and Hispanic-Americans. And this guy has the nerve to call bloggers Nazi's. Desperate rhetoric, from a desperate stupid white man. Let's be clear. Old, rich white males in America are feeling like they're losing the reins of control. Talk about entitlement. And they're getting hysterical around the whole thing. Get a life. And one more thing. When you pick a fight with the progressive blogosphere, you get it. Let's have this battle.

So please consider joining with me and fighting back. I've joined 5,000 other NetRoots nationwide and become a Fox Attacker, and I urge you to do something yourself to put and end to the bull sh*t. I've signed up at Brave New Films to call Fox advertisers in my local market. A bunch of other, like-minded progressives are going to be tuning-in to collect data on local businesses that support Fox News through advertising on their programs. Then folks like me are going to call each of the advertisers personally to educate them regarding the content they are supporting and its negative affects on the community. Check out this video for more information or to sign-up yourself. I heard today that Loews has pulled their ads. Now we have to go after Home Depot, a regular Fox sponsor. Call your local Home Depot today and ask why they are supporting hateful propaganda on the airwaves.



Just one caveat: This is just a side battle with an hostile foe that's picked a fight. So please don't take your eyes off the prize and let this effort consume you. After all, Fox News is just a mouthpiece. We've got bigger scoundrels to expose and hold accountable.

Bureaucrat Has Virtually No Brain

No, I'm not talking about George Bush in this post. That's a given. Neurologists in France have confirmed that a civil servant who has worked for years in the French National Tax office has virtually no brain. No, really. It's true. Der Speigel carried the story here. The individual involved had hydrocephalus as a child, which was remedied by the surgical placement of a shunt to release the accumulated fluid on the brain. But not before the fluid had so inflated the meningal ventricles as to compress the remaining grey matter - where cognition takes place - into a small band around the inside of the cranium. Still, the bureaucrat married, had two children and went to work clerking at the tax office. Life imitating the comedic arts. This story is bound to elicit a few chuckles, and a few Duh's.

I am, however, intrigued by the conclusion of the physician involved, who said: "Obviously these few nerve cells can achieve just as much as the millions more cells that other people have." There's another side to this story and a lesson to be learned in that conclusion. Probably more than one. It has long been argued that brain cells don't regenerate. Therefore, as the argument goes, we only use a percentage of the gray matter we have as we need extra cells available for repatterning after brain injury. There is some debate in academia around that issue, as new evidence suggesting cell regeneration is in play. Nevertheless, examples like this one - and it's not the only case of its kind - seem to support the notion that just a few nerve cells can get a lot done. I'm going to stretch at this point, and suggest that this same model applies to the Internet and specifically to the blogosphere. A small plexus of progressive blogs, pulsating with YouTube bursts, can achieve as much as the millions of dollars and mountains of resources available to the MSM and corporate globalists. My grateful thanks to the almost brainless French civil servant for this epiphany.

4th Annual Blogosphere Day

Celebrate the 4th Annual Blogosphere Day with ActBlue. Today, we celebrate the bottom-up, netroots revolution that heralds the end of politics as usual and the dawn of the new age of net-driven progressive activism. And just see what we've done in four years. Just changed the face of activism, altered the political landscape, and forever changed the way that campaigns communicate and are financed. So reach around and pat yourself on the back, because you're part of the process. A sea change. And around the Blogosphere, the focus is on ActBlue - who got the proverbial ball rolling in the most unorthodox manner. The rest, as they say, is history. So have a glass of wine and toast the great folks at ActBlue as you celebrate our 4th anniversary. -- Yo-Duh