Wanted: One Big Idea

[Robb]

Think about DU for a second. DUers get together at the drop of a hat for something as simple as bowling or a backyard BBQ. You know if a DUer had trouble you could help with, you'd help. Probably you already have, in some way.

There's a lot of us. And we're dedicated to one another, and to getting * out of office.

So what's the "killer app"? What's the One Big Idea? Let's hear your suggestions. You've got all these people, is there a direct action you'd like to see? A campaign of some kind? Speak your OBI, give it a name.
:shrug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Outing the Media whores

What I'd like to see is a direct action whenever the media (CNN, FOX, etc.) distort the facts or just plain lie about Shrub and the Democrats. My idea for an action would take place once the primaries are done and a Democratic candidate is selected. Here's what could be done:

1. Mass emails/phone calls (ala Move On's Virtual March on Washington) every time one of the mediawhores spins in favor of Shrub and against the Dem.

2. Letters to editors of local papers telling the truth about what is going on.

3. One on one interaction to let people know the truth.

These would all happen in response to something reported in the media-for example if Bush lies or distorts facts about the Democratic candidate.

[nostamj]

3. ayeshahaqqiqa is 100% correct

all the attacks in the world against * will not help if the media remains complicit in keeping him in power.

the best candidate in the world will not help if the media remains complicit in keeping him in power.

the media's failures must become a STORY for the media to cover.

not easy. not impossible.

direct protests wherever and whenever the media attempts to cover a story.

relentless phone calls, emails, snail mail and faxes COORDINATED by targeting a specific outlet and a specific issue.

relentless phone calls, emails, snail mail and faxes COORDINATED by targeting a specific media instance of bias or spin.

[Nlighten1]

4. Atrios had an "Adopt a Journalist" concept on his website.

The original idea goes to someone else but essentially Atrios and others are advocating people to "adopt" a media whore and fact check them on all their articles.

[DUreader]

15. Adopt a "Media Whore" is the best Idea, we fact check all the time here

Unfortunately it often goes not much further than DU but when it does

we gat retractions/corrections. Atrios is right on with this idea

[nostamj]

18. it's a good idea

but it also replicates work being done (check out MWO and TBTM) and is really too narrow for the kind of impact and 'choir-building' we need.

people (beyond DU) need to understand that information they need and want is being kept from them.

no one lies to be lied to and everyone to listens to corporate media (aka bushco) is being lied to every day.

[LWolf]

5. I have to agree with this one.

We get our news from out of the mainstream. We discuss it. We point out all of the discrepancies in public discourse...

but until those discrepancies/discussions appear publicly, we're preaching to the choir.

We must be heard, not distorted, by the rest of the world.

[cally]

12. Yes, working on the bias of the media

During the Clinton years, I had the naive view that when a Repub was in office that the media would attack the Repubs as relentlessly as they attacked Clinton. Now the Repubs have all four branches of our government. Without a free press, unbiased, and willing to broadcast and print the truth, there is no way we can take our country back. The press is the key.

[moof]

2. A war is unjust if you cannot say ...

you are willing to trade places with any of the soldiers

that have been killed or wounded in the war.

Now if you past that test try the next step.

You are willing to have your child trade places with any of the

soldiers that have been killed or wounded in the war.

Now, is the war in question still " worth " it ?

Or is only worth it if someone pays the price of your pride ?

[waylon]

8. I hate to do this...

but I dont agree with your reasoning. Im being a contrarian today but, I live and work around repubs, forgive me.


Would you ever go to war, for anything? I would, but not with enthusiasm.

Do you have children? I assume you do...I have 4. I would not willingly put my child in a war, REGARDLESS of how just or noble that war is.

Conclusion: I cant see how anyone would want to trade places, or have their children trade places, with any of the soldiers, even if it were a just war but, that does not make this war unjust. Nor does it make those who support the war unjust or wrong-headed.

I would go to war and I would expect my sons to go if they were required. I wouldnt like it, but that doesnt mean I could call a war unjust.

[are_we_united_yet]

16. I hate to do this...

But your reasoning sucks.

[Lostnote03]

6. Good question......

.....with the 911 hearings upon us I believe that timing is everything.....w/o a doubt 911 propelled the Bush corporate agenda into an unchallanged uphill spiral.....Tipp O'Niels' quote that "all politics are local" is more relevant now than ever before.....my contention is that if a website were to dedicate itself to organizing a nationwide event delivering a brief summary of events(timeline) concerning 911 to each and every city/town council across the country, the elephant in the living room would have to be discussed openly.....Roberts Rules Of Order allow for the introduction of new issues for open discussion......if one week across the country were dedicated to this initiative I'm certain that the issue of National Security would not be favorable to the Bush administration going into the 04 election.....various websites with knowledgable editors could jointly summarize the critical questions surrounding 911, those agreed upon questions could then be delivered to representative local councils across the country by a network of vollunteers....this would be "grassroots" w/o overhead.....best wishes

[thebigidea]

7. monkey tennis - the killer app of 2004

[eileen_d]

28. I thought you were the one big idea?

:hi:

[luisao]

9. Revoke Corporate Personhood

We're constantly fighting defensive battles against corporate abuse. How about getting a broad coalition together to take away corporations' illegitimate claims to constitutional rights.

[camero]

14. It would take a constitutional amendment.

But I agree this is the first step to taking our country back.

[newyawker99]

27. Hi luisao!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Lone_Wolf]

10. Design a game

A role-playing game that simulates how the system works in real life; with the wealthy benefiting while the poor needlessly suffer. A game like this could be a fun way to educate normal people about how their lives are determined by the power brokers. A game like this would cut through all the propaganda so people could see for themselves.

[Ani Yun Wiya]

25. This game already exists.

It's called "Monopoly".
And far from having the outlook you seek, it instead trained quite a large number of this population to take up the "cause" of competition and winning at any cost.

[rman]

29. an interactive simulation

of the powers, the connections, the actions and the flow and aggregation of wealth.

kindof like what artist Mark Lombardi did, exept in 3D, live and interactive;

"Mark Lombardi (1951-2000) draws on the major political and financial scandals of the day to create large-scale linear diagrams that at first glance look like celestial maps; a closer reading reveals the intricate web of connections that lurk beneath current headlines. From Whitewater to the Vatican Bank, Lombardi uses dotted lines and broken arrows to chart the paths of illicit deals and laundered money, keeping track of it all in a handwritten database of 12,000 index cards. By scrutinizing the mutable boundaries that separate artistic practice from daily life, Lombardi wrings visual poetry out of dirty secrets--the results are a chillingly beautiful guide to the facts of life."

http://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/work/lombardi/

http://www.pierogi2000.com/flatfile/lombardi.html

[GCP]

11. Print out the stuff we know about 911, Bush's AWOL status etc

In other words, all the stuff we know but 98% of the population don't.

Print out flyers and leave them in places like libraries, Starbucks, wind-shields.

It's a start.

[nostamj]

13. it's a start IF it gets more to question the media...

until WAY more than DU members look at the news and shout:

STOP LYING TO ME!

force the media to cover massive protests occuring under their live cameras. (like, the TODAY show, FAUX & Friends in NYC)

[alfredo]

21. It has to be simple. Maybe just two words like

BUSH
KNEW

in big black letters on a sheet, or half sheet left around, put on bulletin boards and lamp posts.

It doesn't have to be that, but something, a few words that expresses our feelings, that expresses the truth.

RESTORE
DEMOCRACY
FIRE
BUSH

you get the idea. Just keep it simple. If it is done in enough communities, maybe the media will take notice.

[BroadswordNLance]

17. Speaking of help...

I run a small internet message board, that just recently got invaded by right-wingers. These guys are really offensive. I was just wondering if any of you were interested in going over there. You know what they say: "There's strength in numbers." Well, if you're interested, go here: http://swordnlance.conforums.com/index.cgi

I'll understand if you don't want to go there. Bye.

[cthrumatrix]

19. I would add Black Box Voting to the cause...w/o the vote we have nothing

maybe include this in your media reality campaign.

[nostamj]

20. a GREAT think about BBV is....

it IS a non-partisan issue.

but, many (most?) of the *current* activists are progressive/liberal and, democratic.

but, conservatives and republicans who VOTE should be no less concerned about the validity of their vote.

so, bringing them into contact and cooperation with more progressive-minded people might demonstrate that progressive have more on their minds than killing babies and burning bibles...

an opening, perhaps, to find common ground and an opening, perhaps, to demonstrate that the institutional republicans (and the bush administration) have little interest in the common man.

[Robb]

24. Yeah, but

it's not really non-partisan. There's a reason the GOP has fought tooth and nail against every initiative that would "get out the vote": they know they are truly in the minority. Deep down, most of the right-wing loons in the country know it, too.

I don't think we're ever going to get much help on BBV or any other voting issues from the right.

[OneBlueSky]

22. build a case around corporations and pocketbooks . . .

it's what people understand and are interested in . . . announce that you will be appointing a Presidential commission to look at the role of corporations in our society and to examine related issues such as corporate offshoring, corporate taxes, corporate lobbying, corporate responsibility (to their shareholders, to the public, and to the nation), the role of corporations in foreign policy (particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan), the regulation of corporations (particularly public utilities), and the whole notion of corporate personhood . . . ask the question -- over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again: "Is a corporation a person?" . . . get people thinking about it . . . embed it in their consciousness! . . . and appoint Bill Moyers to chair the commission . . .

[zeemike]

26. You are so dam right

That question and the others you asked should be perused vigorously. And you must realize it is a struggle for life or death as far as the corporation is concerned.

[maggrwaggr]

23. We need our own cable TV news network

that's what I think day after day after day ......

News and commentary from people who actually speak the truth.

There would be a huge market for it.

We just need massive capital.

I've got twenty bucks. Who's with me?