When life seems difficult, which is part of the web (yes, I meant web) and flow of existence, I often listen to Nothing is Easy by Jethro Tull.
Nothing is easy
Though time gets you worried
My friend it’s okay
http://www.youtube.com/...
Wisconsin was not a defeat in any stretch of the imagination. The powers that be did everything in their dirty tricks bag to defeat the recall, and it still didn’t work.
They used voter suppression, they gerrymandered, they ran fake democrats, and even sent out bad ballots with bad instructions, not on purpose mind you. Just politics as usual in America. It’s not the turnout, it’s the voter turnoff. Making voting a distasteful thing is all part of inverted totalitarianism and has always been part of American politics. Someone has always been unable to vote, blacks, Indians, women, blacks, felons, people without id. And if those don’t get you out of voting, they will make politics so disgusting people won’t want to watch or have anything to do with it.
Wolin calls this form of democracy, which is sanitized of the political, managed democracy. Managed democracy is "a political form in which governments are legitimated by elections that they have learned to control".[11] Under managed democracy, the electorate is prevented from having a significant impact on policies adopted by the state through the continuous employment of public relations techniques.[12]
This brings us to one major respect in which Superpower resembles Nazi Germany without an inversion: the essential role that propaganda plays in the system. Whereas the production of propaganda was crudely centralized in Nazi Germany, in Superpower it is left to highly concentrated media corporations, thus maintaining the illusion of a "free press". Dissent is allowed, although the corporate media serves as a filter, allowing most people, with limited time available to keep themselves apprised of current events, only to hear points of view which the corporate media deems to be "serious".[13]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
So the fact that in spite of all these obstacles, tricks and manipulations, Democrats managed to defeat two Republicans, and almost another last night, in a very short time means that we are changing hearts and minds. Just like that was always supposed to be our strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is the true purpose of all politics. And as we know, changing hearts and minds can be the hardest thing in the world to accomplish. You have to do it one on one. You have to make a connection with people. You have to speak to their minds and touch their hearts. And this was accomplished in Wisconsin. We have spent a decade in Afghanistan trying to accomplish this. We are up against the most pervasive propaganda machine, the media, in history. But heart by heart, mind by mind, we can change this country back into a country that cares about people and works for the good of everyone and not just a few obscenely, wealthy, greedy individuals.
Another source I like to turn to is the I Ching. After all great bursts of activity and energy one must have reflection. A time to evaluate and celebrate the victories and calibrate the strategies going forth. It feels to me like “Working on What has Been Spoiled" can give us guidance at this point and time.
What has been spoiled through man's fault can be made good again through man's work. IT is not immutable fate, as in the time of STANDSTILL, that has caused the state of corruption, but rather the abuse of human freedom.
Work toward improving conditions promises well, because it accords the possibilities of the time. We must not recoil from work and danger-symbolized by crossing of the great water-but must take hold energetically.
Success depends, however, on proper deliberation. This is expressed by the lines, "Before the starting point, three days. After the starting point, three days." We must first know the cause of corruption before we can do away with them; hence it is necessary to be cautious during the time before the start. Then we must see to it that the new way is safely entered upon, so that a relapse may be avoided; therefore we must pay attention to the time after the start. Decisiveness and energy must take the place of inertia and indifference that have led to decay, in order that the ending may be followed by a new beginning.
THE IMAGE
The wind blows low on the mountain:
The image of DECAY.
Thus the superior man stirs up the people
And strengthens their spirit.
http://deoxy.org/...
Wisconsin was a big win for democracy. It proved you can fight big money. Estimates so far are that more than $40 million dollars was spent on a recall election. If I would suggest a mantra for our party going forward it would be, "don’t let money buy our country or our political system."
The staggering dollar amounts being showered on the eight recall campaigns — which after a July 19 election and Tuesday’s six contests will conclude with two elections on Aug. 16 — are shattering state records. In 2010, when the 99-member assembly and half the 33-member state Senate was up for election, outside organizations spent $3.75 million in Wisconsin — 15 percent of this year’s total.
“The spending is so far off the charts. It does not compare to anything we’ve ever seen,” said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks campaign spending in the state. “
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of our country. This would be a good time for decent Americans to come forward and run for office. I know there are lots of good decent people who really love this country out there. I know we can do better and get better than what we have now in DC and many of our state governments.
Our job before us is to talk to people, get more people to vote and get good people to run for office. We are under the longest, most financed assault on our democracy ever in history. We must defeat the powers that would buy our government and turn us into a nation of two people, the rich and the poor. Wisconsin said, yes we can.