The internet is what it is because nobody owns it.  You don't have to ask permission from anyone--CBS, Comcast, etc.--to post, to make a website, to provide video or content.  More and more that's changing.  Bell South wants to be able to slow down DailyKos.com and speed up the Freeper sites--depending on how big a bribe each site will cough up.

Bell South made a statement yesterday that's an important step in destroying and privatizing the internet and making it like any other concentrated media.  

I think we should let the FCC chairman (KJMWEB@fcc.gov) and the great Democratic commissioners (michael.copps@fcc.gov, jonathan.adelstein@fcc.gov) know this is dangerous.

We should also contact Bell South and threaten to switch from their services (including Cingular).  Is calling their DSL support a good idea?

A summary of the Washington Post Story on the flip.

I received this email from a listserve.  I think this is a brilliant idea: a nonprofit white knight for knight ridder.   but not sure which nonprofit organizations could buy a newspaper.  I know some universities have enormous endowments, like Harvard and Yale, and their fund managers may consider it in keeping with the spirit of an academic institution to own a newspaper and have no editorial control over it...
It could be interesting to have a daily kos hostile takeover  in small donations ...  I think we'd have to pitch in like ten thousand dollars a piece, but maybe we could petition Al Gore and his media venture capital friends to help...

The Roberts nomination may be the end of the media reform movement.  He can overturn the most important media case that permits access-regulation (a 5-4 decision with Rehnquist in the majority, called Turner) and has argued that media ownership rules are unconstitutional.

Questions should be asked.  Get the word out; Fox, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC will not (hint: they oppose media reform).

I'm confused.  
Rove never had a real position in the administration until February 8, 2005, when he became deputy chief of staff in charge of policy.

All our noise about firing Rove is kind of ironic.  It's like Rove was given a position five months ago just so he could resign from it.  

Before Feb. 2005, without a position, Rove was already considered Bush's most important advisor. The book about Paul O'Neill made clear Rove's role on advising on politics and even all policy.

So what if Rove resigns--does he become what he was before, Bush's most important advisor. But no fancy deputy title...

Hey,
I posted How to Take Power, Step 2 last night.  It either fell through the cracks or was just too long.  

Short version: 1) let's make 1 page fliers on specific topics that could also be used as 1 page of a 5-8 page direct mail.  We can make that content together, or use posts and diaries--a good example would be recent on MSM.
2) let's also make up lists for ourselves of 25 or more people to receive our direct mail.  

The long version, which I am shamelessly pimping once, is here--again: How to Take Power, Step 2

On Monday, we discussed a media movement. The first project is spreading information on accurate media sources, like Air America, Kos, and Krugman and liberal activity like Moveon.org through collaborative direct mail, email, fliers, etc.  The concept is now refined, thanks to hundreds of comments and conversations.  

This means we can take the first steps towards implementation. Action-date is March 20. We'll need the weeks to prepare, at an even pace. A thousand minds and bodies are better than one; almost all the strategy below comes from your comments. Now comes the lifting.  

Why March 20?  Because March 27 is Easter. We want scattered churches full of people across America discussing this. We want extended families at dinner tables, stuffed with food, asking about the truth. March 20 is Sunday, so mail won't go out till Monday. You can finalize the project or flier or poster that Sunday.  Monday morning drop off the mass mail.  After Easter give us feedback.

Step 1 is on the flip. The plan is long, but revolutionary.  If you don't read it, the freepers will.   Join us.

I've been thinking about how we--DKos, liberals--can become more powerful. One theme emerges. And we at Kos can make it happen. It requires some action, so join me on the flip.

I got two emails from Kerry about the election of Dean to the DNC.  
Both provide a link to "Build the Party"  which means give money.

This reminds me of the ads and emails during the campaign--give money, give money, give money...  

I won't give money for two reasons.

1) There are a lot of other things I can do to help build the party--like meetups, talking to people, posting, emailing, volunteering, etc.

and
2) I don't trust the Democratic party with my money.  They misspent their cash during the election.  They had about as much money as the Republicans and lost to a president without a 50% approval...  They were outspent and outthought.  Most of the action that built the party came from Moveon, Dean, Meetup, DFA, AirAmerica, Alternet, etc.  If I give money, it will be to one of these organizations who use it well.

There's at least one other diary annoyed at the letter--http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/10/12756/0074
but his beef is because Kerry is benefitting internally among Democrats.

In the mail we got a 2005 Republican Natioal Committee Sustaining Member Drive with this pledge for money:

To Chairman Gillespie: I understand that President Bush needs my active support to help overcome liberal Democrat obstructionism in Congress so he can enact his winning agenda for our nation's future.  That's why I'm accepting my 2005 Republican National Committee Membership Card and enclosing a supporting contribution of: 25 35 50 75 100 other $

On the back it says, in part:
The RNC also does more to support the enactment of President Bush's compassioinate conservative agenda than any other party committee.

So this is their pitch, short and sweet.
Liberal.  Obstructionism.  Winning agenda.  Nation's future.  Compassionate conservative.

And they give you a fancy blue card that looks like a credit card.

How can we refute this pitch in the same short space?

I am not sure we at Kos, or anywhere, have provided a one-sentence explanation of what Dems stand for, nor a good historical narrative.  This is a problem.  The Repubs are defining Dems--Dems favor gay rights, porn on television, flag burning, hate America, are wimps, and love big government.  The following frame is very effective when speaking to people, and does not even sound alarmist.  
I think the historical narrative, #2 below, goes a long way to helping argue with non-Dems.

1. What the Dems stand for: a middle-class society (not just "the middle-class").  Dems stand for not turning our country into a third-world country with a small ruling elite and vast poverty.  The Dems don't stand for just "the middle-class" at the expense at the expense of the rich--the rich benefit from a vibrant middle class, as Henry Ford determined when he decided to pay his workers enough for them to own cars.  Nor at the expense of the poor, although Dems want to protect the middle class from becoming poor.