All things political, great and small.
I started a new group on Change.org to defeat Elizabeth Dole in the 2008 Senate race. Please join and donate!
Also check out the nascent http://WhereIsLiddy.com and follow http://BlueNC.com/tags/dole for updates.
Note: Too bad Change won’t let me make a widget for this group or this fundraiser. š
Cross-posted at techPresident.
Warning: visiting the front page of Amigos de Obama will cause an enthusiastic reggaeton paean in Spanglish to Barack Obama to start playing and offer you no way to stop it. Which is why I recommend you skip right to the about page, which contains the lyrics (excerpted below) and explains how the words came to the (anonymous?) author in February after having been inspired by the candidate’s “authentic” message. Gosh, where do you think he picked up that talking point?
Anyway, the interesting tech angle is that you can also download an MP3 or put the ringtone on your phone.
Having lived in Miami for 5 years, I do speak a little Spanglish. And of course I love to see people doing their own thing instead of just being tools for the campaign. So I think this is cute, and might even help a little down the path of people spreading the word within their own communities, although the message is not really very unique.
Dicen que no contamosā¦
Invisibles porque no votamosā¦
Pero aqui estamos y todo esto va cambiarā¦
We did the marchas y ahora vamos a votar.
Listen to me gente, es tiempo para algo diferente..
What we need is un nuevo presidenteā¦
Como Se Diceā¦Como Se llama?
OBAMA! OBAMA! (Repeat)
Ruby’s gringa translation:
They say we don’t count…
Invisible because we don’t vote…
But here we are and all of this will change…
We did the marches and now we’re going to vote.
Listen to me people, it’s time for something different.
What we need is a new president.
chorus:
How do you say it*… What’s he called?
OBAMA! OBAMA
* Or: What’s it called
[Via Wonkette.]
A few weeks ago, my friend John asked me about my presidential preferences and blogged my reply. Today he has come up with a slate of his own that may be even more brilliant.
10:47:57 AM johnjosephbachir: i have decided on my dream ticket
10:48:08 AM ruby_sinreich: Finally! š
10:48:11 AM ruby_sinreich: Quien es?
10:48:18 AM johnjosephbachir: Ron Paul / RuPaul
10:48:29 AM ruby_sinreich: Genius !!!!!!!!!!!
10:48:40 AM ruby_sinreich: :))
10:48:47 AM johnjosephbachir: The two things I think this country could benefit from most: States’ rights and gender theory
[…]
10:50:54 AM johnjosephbachir: “Congratulations, paulpaul08.com is available!”
10:51:12 AM ruby_sinreich: ;))
10:51:16 AM johnjosephbachir: although, rupaul’s last name is not paul
10:51:27 AM ruby_sinreich: True.
10:51:32 AM johnjosephbachir: ronpaulrupaul.com
10:51:35 AM johnjosephbachir: heh
10:51:42 AM ruby_sinreich: or paulsquared09.com
Speaking of Rupaul, I highly recommend the movie “But I’m a Cheerleader.”
Have a rocking weekend, readers. I will be back to blog about NetSquared, but probably not until tomorrow.
Great, funny 97-second video. “Are you a Republican suffering from memory Loss? Try… SUPOENAS!”
Have you seen LOLcats? Go ahead and read about it or look at some, I’ll wait.
… Done ROTFLMAO yet?
OK, if you thought that was funny and you’re lefty enough to read my blog, I think you will appreciate this: LOL president.
Many of their works have already been featured on Wonkette, appropriately enough.
Wow. Please read (and sign) Liza Sabater‘s fabulous manifesto on People Powered Politics, based on the seminal Cluetrain Manifesto.
It starts…
Online Constituencies…
Networked political constituencies are beginning to self-organize faster than the governments and political organizations that have traditionally served them. Thanks to the web, constituencies are becoming better informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from most political organizations.…People of Earth
The sky is open to the stars. Clouds roll over us night and day. Oceans rise and fall. Whatever you may have heard, this is our world, our place to be. Whatever you’ve been told, our flags fly free. Our heart goes on forever. People of Earth, remember.
– The Cluetrain Manifesto for People Powered Politics | culturekitchen
These days, folks interested in how the Internet is affecting politics have more than one conference to choose from. My pick for the very best in this increasingly crowded field is the Personal Democracy Forum. The web site and annual conference were founded by Micah Sifry and Andrew Rasiej several years ago.
My only major complaint about the conference has been that it’s too short (only one day), and that it’s overly focused on folks with famous names. Fortunately, this year PDF is also having an unConference, the perfect antidote to my concerns. I’ll be there talking about local blogging and who knows what else.
They’re also using a snazzy system that allows participants to make their own profiles, write reviews of sessions, and build networks with each other (of course). For example, here’s my profile. I’ll be moderating a very challenging, but hopefully also very mind-opening, session called “Is Cyberspace Colorblind? Addressing Race and Class Online.”
Follow the PDF2007 tag to see what emerges.
Bill Richardson‘s new campaign ads (below and on YouTube, natch) are both funny and enjoyable to watch, and effective at communicating his qualifications to be President. But the best thing about them is they are authentic. You get exposed to his personal sense of humor, and feel like you are in on the joke with him.
Bonus link: Richardson wants to know what you think of the ads.
According to Lawrence Korb, a former senior Pentagon personnel official now affiliated with the Center for Defense Information and the Center for American Progress:
The current use of ground forces in Iraq represents a complete misuse of the all-volunteer military…
If the United States is going to have a significant component of its ground forces in Iraq over the next five, 10, 15 or 30 years, then the responsible course is for the president and those supporting this open-ended and escalated presence in Iraq to call for reinstating the draft.
– Experts: Force increases may not be enough – Military News, Marine Corps News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports – Marine Corps Times
The ACLU has launched a new campaign styled after missing-persons ads: FindHabeas.com. You can friend Mr. Corpus on MySpace, download a buddy icon, make your own t-shirts and stickers, sign a petition to Congress, and send postcards from the past (a reminder of how long he’s been around).
Habeas corpus isnāt a fancy legal term, itās the freedom from being thrown in prison illegally, with no help, no end in sight and with no due process. No president should ever be given the sole power to call someone an enemy, wave his hand, and lock them away indefinitely. The Founders made the president subject to the rule of law. They rejected dungeons and torture, and instead chose due process and fairness.
The concept of habeas corpus is a centuries-old legal procedure that is even older than the United States. The first recorded use of the phrase habeas corpus dates back to 1305, to the reign of Englandās King Edward I.
So when the 109th Congress passed and the President signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and, in a specific context, effectively abolished the writ of habeas corpus for certain people, they were turning away from a centuries-old tradition that is a cornerstone of our Constitution, and our freedom.
– Find Habeas: About habeas corpus
Check out the site and spread the word. This may seem like just some legal wrangling but it’s actually fundamental to a functioning democracy!