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sspl05 - Sat 02 Aug 2008 07:21 AM CDT
ihatehogconfinements - Mon 21 Jul 2008 06:45 PM CDT
no4gman - Tue 15 Jul 2008 10:46 PM CDT
evaroberts - Tue 15 Jul 2008 01:20 AM CDT
Sam Garchik - Mon 02 Jun 2008 10:10 AM CDT
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Saturday, December 11
Rapid Response Network: An American Conversation
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 11 Dec 2004 10:06 PM CST
 Rapid Response Network: An American Conversation
Progressive Democrats of America - www.pdamerica.org
"In our nation the people are sovereign, not the government. It is the
people, not the media or the financial system or mega-corporations or
the two political parties, who have the power to create change."
-
Governor Howard Dean
Rapid Response Network, first formed as a grassroots effort to advance
the campaign of Howard Dean, acts as "first responders" to media
coverage that contains factual inaccuracies or biased reporting. Since
its inception, nationwide membership has grown to approximately 2,500.
Rapid Response Network in its action alerts makes a simple request: We
want a debate in this country based on substance rather than form,
based on truth rather than misquotes, misrepresentations and outright
lies.
As the media increasingly speaks with one voice, Rapid Response,
at its heart, is a vehicle for insuring many voices are heard, for
engaging "We the People" in our democracy. The action alerts are the
product of a day's worth of discussion on our 52 Yahoo groups - state
coordinators talking to people in their states, in turn talking to the
other state coordinators, reading newspapers, identifying issues,
researching information and sharing resources. The reports we send out
are a phenomenal collaboration - an American conversation.
As RR members are consumers of publications across the country, our
efforts can play a critical role in insuring responsible, principled
journalistic efforts, thus allowing the public a more fair hearing of
progressive candidates and causes. The unique Rapid Response structure
provides the muscle of national resources and organization with the
effectiveness that can only be achieved by acting at a local level.
State RR groups can become powerful tools for supporting local and
state progressive candidates, providing a counterbalance to the
organizational strength of the GOP in smaller cities across America.
RR letter writers achieve victories on a daily basis all over America.
Rapid Response alerts have been picked up by Columbia Journalism Review
Campaign Desk, Buzzflash, and Democrats.com, among others. In the lead
up to the Iowa Caucuses, RR organized Iowa letter writers to correct a
misquote, resulting in a page 1 correction in the Des Moines Register.
Each day we focus large numbers of letter writers on the important
issues of our time, resulting in capable fact-based letters published
across America, from the tiniest hometown papers to the Washington Post
and New York Times.
Rapid Response letter writers have affected
television coverage as well - in one instance RR letters forced a
retraction of a misquote on CNN's American morning with the comment "we
heard from a lot of you on this one."
Speak up. Join Rapid Response. Five minutes of your time, multiplied by
all of us, yields powerful results. Just imagine the power of this
network if we were 10,000 or 100,000 people. Imagine 100 Rapid
Responders in every town in every state of this country. Imagine what
we could do.
With your help, we can grow to numbers of 100,000 strong who, together,
have the power to change the face of this country one media alert, one
letter, one phone call, one person at a time.
Here's how you can help:
• Join your state and the national RR group
• Spread the word--tell others about Rapid Response
• Volunteer as a state RR coordinator, researcher or a writer
Join your fellow Iowans in the fight to take back the media for ordinary citizens. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
Uncle Sam Wants You
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 11 Dec 2004 09:51 AM CST
 Uncle Sam Wants YOU!
fyrewede.blogspot.com
That's right -- you can stop looking around. I'm talking to YOU.
Republican, Democrat, Green, Independent, I don't care. Your country needs you to answer the call.
A call to arms, you ask? No, no...the call to serve in public office.
I know, I know - "Eww," you say, decent upstanding citizen that you
are, "I couldn't do it. Soil my pristine soul shaking hands with those
slimebags? Never. I'll leave that to the manipulators, weasels, and
corrupt dirtbags of the world."
Fine. I hear you. It's something I said for years and years and years
until I really started thinking about what that attitude has bought me
thusfar, and where it will leave us 50 years from now (with a special
thanks to Kate Coyne-McCoy of Emily's List for opening my eyes in that
regard). Now I charge you to think about it.
If only the palm-greasers and back scratchers run for office, what kind of government will we have?
We deserve better don't you think?
Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives Gaye Symington said
something very wise at this year's State Democratic Convention and I am
paraphrasing her loosely here (if anyone has the exact words she used,
please forward them on to me) - she said, "Do not trust your democracy
only into the hands of those who are naturally drawn to politics."
Look at what doing so for the past 25 years has bought us, especially
at the national level. Vice, graft, divisivness, hypocrisy - enough
already! Haven't you had enough? I know I have.
We do not need any more career politicians, movie stars, and
billionaire playboys running for office. What we need are more nurses
and firemen, day care providers and teachers, stay-at-home parents and
construction workers, and (dammit!) ordinary Janes and Joes. People who
have been out there living life, up to their elbows in the muck of
reality struggling to make ends meet, whose life choices and decisions
have been centered around supporting their family and their community,
not on what would be most politically expedient or financially
rewarding.
If all of us regular Joes and Janes get involved - serve on the school
board or run for the Senate, it matters not -- then regardless of Party
affiliation, we'll end up with a government worthy of our attention and
loyalty (and the world's respect) once again. It IS possible. But only
if you become the change you wish to see in the world around you -- you
set the tone and, if the fire is in your belly, lead the charge so that
others like you can follow.
Calling Mr. (or Ms.) Smith. Like it or not, Washington needs you.
NOW.
"Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty.
"Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what
his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!"
Jefferson Smith, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
posted by Fyrewede
Join your fellow Iowans in the fight to take back the media for ordinary citizens. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
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