Making Democracy "Safe" for Whom?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 20, 2006 · 7:15 PM PST

2006/11/20 · 19:15

The week before the election, I had the opportunity to hear Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Rahm Emanuel speak in San Francisco at the Warfield Theatre. They were all cautiously optimistic and upbeat about the chances to regain Congress though more reserved about Phil Angelides’ bid for Governor of California. Angelides was there as a surprise guest and I’m afraid I was not surprised when he lost to Arnold.

Emanuel was a very funny and engaging speaker, making me wish that more urban Jewish types would run for office. Pelosi spelled out the Six for’06 Priorities and promised to focus on getting the country back on a cooperative track rather than going for revenge. Clinton was great—relaxed, humorous, clearly enjoying the loving reception he was receiving. He talked about the “diving board voter” who may never have voted for a Democrat before but needs to feel that it is safe to do so now. He encouraged the collective audience and the Democratic Party to make it "safe" to do so. Let's talk about what THAT means.

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 01, 2006 · 3:01 PM PST

2006/11/01 · 15:01

I admit it. I'm wildly jealous of Mike Stark and the attention he gets on this site. I just learned that he's been asked to be a reporter for Air America. Sure, he gets in people's faces and asks tough questions but does he get any answers? Does a totally confrontational approach change anyone's mind? Will the DKos community support techniques that might actually pursuade Republicans and Independents to vote differently?

As I've mentioned before on this site, using art to promote social change is an exercise in emotional upheaval, giddiness, and angst. It requires time, attention, and obsession to reach even a modest audience. Today when I went to swim practice, I was incredibly nervous the entire time thinking about the book review that was scheduled to appear in the local Palo Alto paper. When I got home and looked online, I saw no mention of my book yet there was a review of Carly Fiorina's memoir instead.
Read More

My editor was right: I should have stuck it to Lieberman when I had the chance

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday October 16, 2006 · 8:08 PM PDT

2006/10/16 · 20:08

One of the most fun parts about writing a novel is getting to play God. You get to decide how you want the universe to work and you can impose divine retribution if you choose. Frustrated with the people who keep voting Republican yet are pro-choice, pro-environment, gay tolerant, and believe in separation of Church and State, I adopted the attitude, "Look what's going to happen to our country if you keep voting this way. Wake up! YOU'RE going to get a life you don't like either."

In my dystopian world of Doublethink, Jeb Bush succeeds his brother at President. When my editor, James O'Shea Wade, advised me to change Jeb's 2012 running mate from the omnipresent Cheney to Lieberman back in 2005, I couldn't bring myself to do it for reasons I'll explain below the fold. I've been furious with Lieberman's decision to not honor the results of the primary and when today in the New York Times, I read Paul Krugman's column, "Party Matters," I deeply regretted I had not listened to my editor.
Read More

The Narrative Gap: How Dems Can Win Without Moving RIGHT

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday October 14, 2006 · 12:17 PM PDT

2006/10/14 · 12:17

We all know the Democrats have better values than the Republican Leadership and they have better plans to address every issue, so why does it seem like we are at such a disadvantage? (The corporate media consipiracy is just not enough of a reason IMHO.) I had an amazing week where the universe gave me many gifts and my politics merged with my life. I walked away with some new insights and more hope that we can contribute to a better political outcome for our country.

Last Friday, I went to the first day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. While the Blue Angels practiced overhead in anticipation of Fleet Week exhibitions; Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Elvis Costello, and Emmylou Harris sang songs calling for peace and justice. Warren Hellman, an investment banker, philanthropist, and the financial benefactor of the festival, declared there was "war in the air and peace on the ground." There was a warm sense of community among the audience, which that day probably numbered about 50,000. Read More

Are Kossacks Clairvoyant or Just Awake?

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 29, 2006 · 5:34 PM PDT

2006/09/29 · 17:34

Doesn't it make you crazy when you hear people like Rummy or Thomas Friedman or your aunt Mabel from Des Moines say, "how could we have anticipated that the situation in Iraq would get this bad?" I know you're dying to say "DUH!" or "I only told you so a kazillion times." Maybe you've already sent a letter to GW saying, "those millions of anti-war marchers weren't focus groups, Mr. Decider-in-Chief, they were people who paid attention to the facts and history of the region."

So here's a little video prediction you can send to your friends and family who JUST DON'T GET IT. If reality can't do it, maybe clever commentary can. This news spoof covers a lot of ground in two minutes: globalization, the impending burst of the housing bubble, the economic impact of outsourced American jobs on millions of our citizens, and the deterioration of the Pop music scene. Read More

Markos and influence of DailyKos on NOW

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 15, 2006 · 10:42 PM PDT

2006/09/15 · 22:42

Did anyone else see the segment on NOW, a PBS program tonight? http://www.pbs.org/...

A TV news magazine originally started by Bill Moyers, it is now hosted by David Brancaccio who continues to do great work. The gist of the piece tonight was whether liberal bloggers are having an impact on actual races. They focused on John Tester in Montana and Ned Lamont in CT and asked whether this vibrant, activist community will help win races in the general election? Kos came off extremely well in the interview BTW. Read More

Is America Really Ready for a Jewish President?

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 12, 2006 · 5:00 PM PDT

2006/09/12 · 17:00

Sunday there was a very good, enthusiastic diary by The Raven about Senator Russ Feingold. Lots of people on this site expressed support and hope that he would run for President in 2008. 222 comments were posted.

I raised the question whether progressives would support Feingold if he failed a particular litmus test on Israel but didn't get much of a response. The Raven explained Feingold hadn't said much in that particular speech. Quite a few people who self-identify as liberal see Palestinian suicide bombers as freedom fighters defying an evil occupying power rather than as terrorists using the murder of innocent civilians as their preferred form of political protest. In this line of reasoning, if a Jewish settlement in the West Bank or Gaza is attacked, it's the residents' fault for being there.
Read More

Commend CBS for a great 9/11 tribute

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday September 10, 2006 · 10:18 PM PDT

2006/09/10 · 22:18

As part of my protest towards the ABC airing of a biased, fictionalized account of 9/11, I watched an actual documentary on CBS. Annotated later, the film follows the activities of the men from a New York City Fire Station: Engine 7, Ladder 1. Filmmakers Jules and Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon did a phenomenal job and the team that did the 2006 update created a wonderful addition that integrated perfectly with the original. The Naudet brothers were part of the piece themselves, and their courage was evident as they documented what was happening in real time.

The original idea was to follow a probationary firefighter over the course of his nine-month probation period. Instead they were there on the scene when history intervened. The bravery, the fear, the joy was all there as the firefighters discovered that the members of their company had survived the horror of that day--this is such a beautiful story, exquisitely told.
Read More

Timing is Everything OR can the world no longer take a joke?

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 31, 2006 · 7:41 PM PDT

2006/08/31 · 19:41

In the world of netroots outreach, one aspires to those inventive ideas that can capture the imagination of our audiences. My plan was to take a stack of six copies of my political novel, Doublethink, leave them on a shelf in a bookstore at San Francisco airport on the way out and see if they were still there when I returned a week later.

Hopefully, when someone picked up the book to buy it, even if the barcode wasn't in the system, the clerk would ring it up anyway. Then I could approach the bookstore and say, "see, your customers want to read this book. It's the perfect length for a cross country flight and entertains while it educates." Read More

Self-induced bi-polar disorder, insomnia, and euphoria anyone?

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 16, 2006 · 4:17 PM PDT

2006/08/16 · 16:17

These are only some of the emotional disturbances one can generate by trying to do the impossible. I'm not sure now which was more delusional--thinking that I could have an impact on the future of American politics or self-publishing a novel. Disclaimer: I was duly warned by multiple people that the latter act was "impossible." I'm old enough to know better about the former but I suffer from Crusader Rabbit complex.

Not only do I routinely wake up in the middle of the night, as I did at 3:00 AM, but my brain rarely stops churning these days. Because I am a creative marketing professional, I am familiar with all the different ways one can generate attention for a cause and a message. Unfortunately, even though I systematically execute several of these activities each day, the awareness of roads not yet taken haunts me. My yoga teacher tells me forward bends will help reduce the anxiety but I have trouble bending over (on a lot of levels).
Read More

8 Simple Arguments for Electing Democrats in November

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday July 28, 2006 · 11:36 AM PDT

2006/07/28 · 11:36

The resident Republican who posts on my discussion forum almost every day at Raise the Bar Press talked last night about the Dem's plan to take back America. He referenced a CNN story and one from the ever-impartial (LOL)Washington Times He did seem to like Hillary's plan - "Saving the American Dream" because it emphasizes themes of personal responsibility.

Then I read MALiberal's diary today, We don't need no stinkin' plan, which, while I agree with the sentiment seemed a little more defensive to me than it needed to be.

I'm not going to get into a critique of the individual policy statements or whether I think the Dem's party messaging is what I would emphasize (it's not). However "Staying on message" and "framing the arguments" are not the most important arguments in my opinion.

Here are the reasons why I believe Americans should vote for Democratic candidates in November. They can be applied for all reasonable and competent candidates for Congress.
Read More

Dignity4all: Is this democracy's next step?

JESchwartz

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday July 24, 2006 · 5:34 AM PDT

2006/07/24 · 05:34

If Robert W. Fuller's hopes for the human race were to come true, the world would be a better place. In his new book, All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity, he describes a dignitarian society where everyone is valued that would transform our interactions at the personal, local, national, and international levels. Fuller doesn't argue that everyone has equal skills, abilities, or position power but suggests arbitrary delineations of "rank" are used to give people cover to treat others disrespectfully or abusively. (His web site is www.breakingranks.net)

Fuller describes "rankism" as a label comparable to racism, sexism, and ageism, where one uses the external characteristics of a person or group to render that person invisible or less worthy in some regard. While sometimes the offense is deliberate as in the case of discriminatory policies or legislation, often the questionable behavior is unconscious and unintended. Read More

Newer
Older

RSS