Democracy for New Mexico

Mencken -- Journalist, Social Critic ... Prophet?

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
(Thanks to John McAndrew for submitting this.)

The Depressed Democrats Guide to Recovery.

>Mark Fiore comes through again.

Tell America About Your Values

Purple Ocean, the public membership arm of the SEIU, will be purchasing an ad in the NY Times at the end of the month that will use comments submitted at the website called My Moral Values about what people believe are genuine moral values:

How did Republicans claim the moral high ground in this election? Is wanting health care for all immoral? Is believing in the value of community and helping others immoral? Don't let them call your values into question. Fill in the form . . . to tell America how your moral values have affected your vote. We'll use some of the most compelling stories in a New York Times advertisement to be published on November 26th. America needs to have this conversation. They may have won the election--don't let them win this battle of ideas.

We know what to do, don't we?

And if you need some motivation, here's a few excerpts from of congratulations to Bush sent by Bob Jones, of the infamously right-wing-nut Bob Jones University:

In your re-election, God has graciously granted America—though she doesn't deserve it—a reprieve from the agenda of paganism. You have been given a mandate.

....Don't equivocate. Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will honor you.

....Undoubtedly, you will have opportunity to appoint many conservative judges and exercise forceful leadership with the Congress in passing legislation that is defined by biblical norm regarding the family, sexuality, sanctity of life, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and limited government. You have four years—a brief time only—to leave an imprint for righteousness upon this nation that brings with it the blessings of Almighty God.

And if you think you have the stomach for it, check out Focus on the Family's Mullah Dobson's hateful pronouncements at a "Christian" rally before the election, including this gem:

“Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage,” Dobson said. “It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.”

Tanks in the Streets

 

Indymedia reports this:

LOS ANGELES November 9, 2004 - At 7:50 PM two armored tanks showed up at an anti-war protest in front of the federal building in Westwood. The tanks circled the block twice, the second time parking themselves in the street and directly in front of the area where most of the protesters were gathered. Enraged, some of the people attempted to block the tanks, but police quickly cleared the street. The people continued to protest the presence of the tanks, but about ten minutes the tanks drove off. It is unclear as to why the tanks were deployed to this location. Uploaded here is video from the event.  Be patient. Apparently the site is getting swamped.

(Thanks to Andrea S. for this item.)
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I wonder how many tanks they'll have on the streets of Washington DC when Bush is inaugurated. According to this Washington Post article, the "security" that will be imposed in the nation's capitol will be tighter than anything we've seen so far.

Ironies, Ironies

OHHHH NOOOOO, as Mr. Bill used to say on Saturday Night Live. Bush has chosen Alberto Gonzales to replace asscroft as attorney general. You may recall that Gonzales wrote the memo that said it was just fine if Rummy wanted to ignore the Geneva Conventions and torture people at Gitmo and Abu Graib. Alberto also served as Enron's general counsel back in their heyday of fraudulent stock-price pumping. It's just another piece of evidence that undermines the BushCo claim that they are bringing back "integrity" to American politics. If this is integrity, especially in terms of the top law enforcement post in the nation, I would hate to see what the opposite looks like.

OH YES! In other news, Cat Stevens was awarded the Man for Peace prize from former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev's Foundation at a Rome meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Yusuf Islam was honored for his charity work and for standing by his convictions despite personal hardship. This is the guy BushCo kept out of the country because of his "terrorist connections." Lordy (to use the Red State jargon), what the world must think of us now.

Heart of Darkness

From the Taos blog, FarrFeed, by John H. Farr (whose daily photos alone are worth a visit):

Here's a joke from a Canadian reader:

Q: How many American voters do you need to change a burnt out light bulb?

A: None, they're perfectly happy being in the dark.

Hard to argue with that!

Frames and Memes and Us

You probably have heard of Howard Dean's favorite linguist, George Lakoff, and his "frames" theory that explains why Republicans are so successful in gaining support for their ideas by using language carefully. His new book, "Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives" explains his concept concisely and clearly. Many believe it's a must-read for all progressives as we strategize our message and approach to issues after this devastating loss. Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

"Frame Wars" in the The Texas Observer summarizes Lakoff's theories as well as those of Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster and consultant who helped them use "context" to their advantage with such terms as " war on terror" and "tax relief."

A thoughtful and enlightening article on Dead Reckoning called Applied Memetics for Disillusioned Dems goes deeper and explores the use of "memetics" and "memes" to establish positive attributes for democratic and Democratic values.

These concepts may sound complicated and confusing, but Lakoff's latest book and these two articles are actually quite good in explaining them in a way that is easy to understand. They demonstrate how these concepts can be used effectively by progressives in our efforts to overcome the Republican advantage in "marketing" ideas to voters.

Only the Faithful Allowed to View the Master

I know this is a little late, since Bushbomb has already achieved his Pyhrric victory and all, but I thought it was still worth sharing just to emphasize the environment of repression we will be confronting at the dawn of the Moralitygate administration.

You may recall Leanne Potts from her days as an entertainingly snide reporter and sometime concert critic at the Republican talking point disseminator that passes as our morning newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal.  She recently fled the Journal and now has a local blog, and is pursuing freelance writing gigs. I came across this post by her today and think it speaks volumes about the fear-driven people who now control so much about our world.

Read all about how the Secret Service and RNC teamed up to make sure no Democratic sympathizers were allowed into the seats reserved for Albuquerque's Journal Pavilion workers and their families during Bush's last-minute rally there on the eve of the election. Venue workers and families who could prove their Republicanism were treated royally with close-up seat sfor Bush's speech, while venue workers and families who were discovered to be sinful Democrats were barred from the event, including a four-and-a-half month-old baby. Also note that the "massive crowd" reported to be more than 10,000 people was really only in the 6,000 range. But then again, facts just get in the way of the Republican faith-based, blind-leading-the-blind assault on reality.

Click here for the story.

Never Give Up

Never give up No matter what is going on Develop the heart Too much energy in your country Is spent on developing the mind Instead of the heart Develop the heart Be compassionate Not just to your friends But to everyone Be compassionate Work for peace In your heart and in the world And I say again Never give up No matter what is happening No matter what is going on around you Never give up Tenzin Gyatso, XIV Dalai Lama (Thanks to Nancy G. for passing this along.)

Red + Blue = Purple

There's alot of discussion on the internet debunking the concept of a red and blue state America. Here's a map of the U.S. that shows allegiance to Republican and Democratic candidates in a more nuanced way, showing that most states are actually purple -- a mix of red and blue:

Click the image for a larger version. Thanks to BoingBoing via Daily Kos for the map and concept.

The idea is that Democrats can successfully appeal to a wider range of demographics if we frame our discussions of issues to emphasize our common ground and shared dedication to moral values that have always been in the democratic mainstream.

Nancy G. suggested what looks like an excellent book on the myth of a polarized America, which emphasizes how much common ground we all share, despite the recent emphasis on certain wedge issues by right-wing Republicans:

Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America

Authored by one of the most respected political scientists in America, Morris P. Fiorina's Culture War? supports a compelling narrative with polling data to debunk commonly believed myths about American politics -- particularly the claim that Americans are deeply divided on fundamental political issues. His use of figures and statistics visually engages readers and dispels common misconceptions about politics. This unique text examines controversial topics such as abortion and homosexuality and finds that even on these issues 'culture war' is a myth.

Here's the Amazon link.