Friday, April 06, 2007

Out of Beta, huh?

Hopefully I'll have less trouble logging in now, eh?
It's been a while hasn't it? No, you're not that lucky, I'm still alive and kicking. But since blogging wasn't helping me meet chicks I decided to wait until I had something truly blogworthy to write about before I posted anything new. And this is it.
MoveOn.org has asked the entire bloggin' world to help put the word out on their Virtual Town Meeting with all of the progressive Presidential hopefuls. This meeting's topic is Iraq. Imagine a press conference with 3.2 million reporters and you can get an idea of the kind of chaos that might ensue. So my guess is that you're not going to get a question in unless you're really lucky or know somebody. But it's worth knowing where these folks stand on the issue -- especially since Il Bushe seems to be bent on staying in Iraq until the electoral process pries it from his cold, dead fingers.


Join MoveOn.org's Virtual Town Hall: Iraq


This is one of those "Unprecedented Events" you always hear about, so I don't know what to expect from it. That's the thing about unprecedented events... but if you're interested in hearing what people who might be in a position to do something about the war have to say about it, this might be the way to do it. These people want your vote (uh, you do vote, right? good. thought so.) and you can't vote for them all. So educating yourself about their positions is the only way you can make an intelligent decision on which one best represents you. Despite what the electoral process in this contry has become in the last 40 years, it's still the most effective means of bringing about change in the way our country is run. But it depends on the voters being educated on the issues -- and not being led by the sound bite down the garden path to ruin. We've allowed candidates to do this to us because the typical American voter is lazy. We don't bother to research any of the issues and as a result we're swayed by catchy phrases and campaign bumper stickers. This is one way to change that -- even if it's only on one issue. Presumably, if this first event goes well there wil be others to follow on topics important to all of us. For now, I'll settle for a concrete plan to stop our role in the bloodletting in Iraq.Stumble This!

1 comment:

Winged Hussar 1683 said...

My question to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, and Joe Biden is, "Why are you appearing at an event hosted by what is arguably an anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic hate organization?"

In 2005, MoveOn.org published a derogatory picture of Pope Benedict waving a gavel outside the U.S. Supreme Court. The theme was identital to Thomas Nast's "The Catholics are taking over America" cartoons of the 19th century. (Google on "MoveOn.org" and "Pope Benedict" in image searches to see this cartoon, mostly yellow in color.)

Until it was taken down in disgrace in September 2006, MoveOn's Action Forum, with the full knowledge and approval of the moderators who were exercising editorial control over it, served as a platform for anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, and anti-Evangelical hate speech, with prominent (Republican) African-Americans being denounced as "house slaves." MoveOn Action Forum participants, again with the full knowledge and approval of the moderators, used "Jew" as an epithet for prominent Jewish members of Congress. (Google on "Jew Lieberman" for an example.)

Furthermore, MoveOn's own credibility is totally shot as far as "stopping the bloodletting in Iraq" goes. Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan says it fabricated a poll that misrepresented its members' views, and that Eli Pariser is a "wannabee power broker." Does MoveOn exist to serve its 3.2 million rank and file members, or the ambitions of Eli Pariser?

Re: "...you're not going to get a question in unless you're really lucky or know somebody." Since (per Sheehan) MoveOn's leaders fabricated the poll, maybe they will also be asking all the questions and only a few token questions from members, if any, will be presented.