An irregular heartbeat from d.o. to you.
Not like a daily kos, more like a sometime sloth. Fast relief from the symptoms of blogarrhea and predicated on the understanding that the world is not a stage for our actions, rather it is a living organism upon which we depend for our existence.
The distance to resistance
Given that the forces of darkness have again taken over the U.S. government; given that the Bush regime and its supporters have chosen to literally rule the world; that it invades other nations at will and bullies other people into kneeling before its golden throne; given that the tattered remains of democracy here at home may well be stamped out entirely in the next four years, wouldn't you think the streets would be ringing with protest?
How is it that college auditoriums and community meeting rooms in progressive communities around the U.S. fill to capacity when some high-profile speakers come to town, but only a handful of people turn out on Main Street to demonstrate for progressive issues? Are those missing in action waiting for things to get worse? Are they waiting for the last straw, that critical mass? What final heinous outrage will bring them to their feet? Or is it that public displays of protest or action no longer, or never did, work for the absent activists? Has something changed in the theater of public affairs? The last time this observer looked, corrupt and immoral regimes were still brought down by masses of people fed up with business as usual, seldom if ever by symposiums and speeches alone.
The worlds most recent example of citizens taking to the streets to reclaim their government appears to be in the Ukraine. Over there a highly flawed election has resulted not only in outraged mass public reaction, but also in condemnation by international observers such as U.S. Senator Richard Lugar. The Republican senator said he did not like what he saw in that nation's presidential runoff election. We have not read any such statements from Lugar concerning our own recent elections, even though some internationals observers expressed similar sentiments.
But congressional slaves to the status quo aside, how is it that the highly flawed U.S. presidential election, replete with examples of disenfranchisement, voter suppression, miscounts, breakdowns and errors in voting machines, and seemingly endless irregularities, has yet to stir this nation?
A pro-democracy demonstration in Columbus, Ohio this past weekend, called in advance of a hard fought for recount, drew only 1,500 people. Why are the streets so quiet? Are activists waiting for the corporate media to finally report on the vote fraud in Ohio, Florida, or New Mexico? Are they waiting for the results of the recounts? Suppose those recounts are stalled in the courts long after the contested election deadlines or the meeting of the so-called Electoral College on December 13? Suppose several months from now, after various recounts have been performed and any number of vote fraud scenarios are proven, it is revealed that George W. Bush did not win the election; will the streets in the U.S. then come alive with protest then? If the present atmosphere of lethargy is any indication, such events seem frightfully unlikely. Wake up people!
In 1786 the people of Western Massachusetts rose up in protest to the disenfranchisement and inequities suffered under the rule of wealthy ruling class in Boston. Their rebellion, named after Captain Daniel Shays, shook the region and the nation. Shays Rebellion led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, yet it remains nearly forgotten history in mainstream America today. One can only wonder if so-called progressives in this nation, not to mention the minions of the Democratic Party, have also forgotten that powerful legacy. They forget at their peril. Where are the Shaysites when we need them?
http://www.51capitalmarch.com
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/volunteer.html
http://ohvotesuppression.blogspot.com/
http://www.helpamericarecount.org/
How is it that college auditoriums and community meeting rooms in progressive communities around the U.S. fill to capacity when some high-profile speakers come to town, but only a handful of people turn out on Main Street to demonstrate for progressive issues? Are those missing in action waiting for things to get worse? Are they waiting for the last straw, that critical mass? What final heinous outrage will bring them to their feet? Or is it that public displays of protest or action no longer, or never did, work for the absent activists? Has something changed in the theater of public affairs? The last time this observer looked, corrupt and immoral regimes were still brought down by masses of people fed up with business as usual, seldom if ever by symposiums and speeches alone.
The worlds most recent example of citizens taking to the streets to reclaim their government appears to be in the Ukraine. Over there a highly flawed election has resulted not only in outraged mass public reaction, but also in condemnation by international observers such as U.S. Senator Richard Lugar. The Republican senator said he did not like what he saw in that nation's presidential runoff election. We have not read any such statements from Lugar concerning our own recent elections, even though some internationals observers expressed similar sentiments.
But congressional slaves to the status quo aside, how is it that the highly flawed U.S. presidential election, replete with examples of disenfranchisement, voter suppression, miscounts, breakdowns and errors in voting machines, and seemingly endless irregularities, has yet to stir this nation?
A pro-democracy demonstration in Columbus, Ohio this past weekend, called in advance of a hard fought for recount, drew only 1,500 people. Why are the streets so quiet? Are activists waiting for the corporate media to finally report on the vote fraud in Ohio, Florida, or New Mexico? Are they waiting for the results of the recounts? Suppose those recounts are stalled in the courts long after the contested election deadlines or the meeting of the so-called Electoral College on December 13? Suppose several months from now, after various recounts have been performed and any number of vote fraud scenarios are proven, it is revealed that George W. Bush did not win the election; will the streets in the U.S. then come alive with protest then? If the present atmosphere of lethargy is any indication, such events seem frightfully unlikely. Wake up people!
In 1786 the people of Western Massachusetts rose up in protest to the disenfranchisement and inequities suffered under the rule of wealthy ruling class in Boston. Their rebellion, named after Captain Daniel Shays, shook the region and the nation. Shays Rebellion led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, yet it remains nearly forgotten history in mainstream America today. One can only wonder if so-called progressives in this nation, not to mention the minions of the Democratic Party, have also forgotten that powerful legacy. They forget at their peril. Where are the Shaysites when we need them?
http://www.51capitalmarch.com
http://www.blackboxvoting.org/volunteer.html
http://ohvotesuppression.blogspot.com/
http://www.helpamericarecount.org/
posted by D.O. | 3:57 AM
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