How can we make them care about us?

[Indenturedebtor]

They take our votes for granted because they know that our eyes are open to the horrible chasm before us. They know that we will do everything we can to get those little crumbs they occassionally throw our way like a slightly stronger FDA and EPA, or cute little programs for the poor.

I for one intend on continuing to vote Democrat. As Obama has said "The hour is late.", and I don't think that we have time to get the system to complete reform itself by voting for Nader or by staying home.

But how do we get them to listen? They care absolutely nothing for what we say or want. This congress has spent the last two years doing everything it can to advance the Bush agenda. Perhaps because they're completely complicit, or maybe because they want to rile up the "Independents" by just running the country COMPLETELY into the ground first.

I dunno, but either way they're playing politics and they don't even bother playing politics with us. Today they effectively ammended the Bill of Rights in complete opposition to the desires of their base, and even in opposition to many RW'ers. What do we have to do to get a Constitution amendment that guarantees the right to healthcare? What do we have to do to get them to hold our interests higher than the Corporate Oligarchy?

How do we make it happen quickly?

Are we just completely hopelessly lost to Fascism now? Is it over?

Seriously - flame me if you must, but I'm really feeling adrift right now.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. It seems...

That the list of options grows smaller every day.

[MichiganVote]

2. Revolution. Its the only thing that says, we hate you.

[Truth4Justice]

23. I agree. But now revolutionaries are terrorist

[MichiganVote]

42. The distinction I think are in the intent and the actions

[Truth4Justice]

45. According to what I have read * can declare almost anyone as a terrorist.

[lukasahero]

3. Run for office. Change the "them" to "us". eom

[Indenturedebtor]

7. Nobody would elect me... I'm a Liberal Jew with a history of drug use and violence

And I had to sell cars to survive for 3 years... What a package :lol:

[stray cat]

4. How do you make them care more about you then the rest of America?

[Indenturedebtor]

6. Oh please. If that was what I was after I would be a Puke

Most of America wants this war over yesterday, AND wants socialised medicine for starters. Did most of America want huge corporate bailouts with virtually nothing left to help homeowners? Did most of America want warrantless wiretaps and telecom immunity? How about astronomically high credit card rate limits? I could go on... do I need to?

[Selatius]

5. George Carlin had some choice words about this situation. Watch here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMqJvhmD5Yg

[Indenturedebtor]

12. Yeah he summed it up pretty well there :(

I didn't know that he was such a Liberal.

He also has some choice words on FISA from about a year ago here. It's a few minutes in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UVXj8F9Fmk&feature=related

[Greyhound]

31. "It's a big club, and you ain't in it". Words to always keep in mind.

"It's called the American dream,'cause you have to be asleep to believe it".

[datasuspect]

41. "continue to elect rich cocksuckers who don't give a fuck about you at all"

[bdamomma]

43. that is it right there, they feel that they are entitled.

:mad:

[Ytzak]

8. The only way to punish a party is...

to make them loose. Do not loan them money, but write your congressmen, Senators, and Presidential candidates and tell them why. Do not vote for them. Write your congressmen, Senators, and Presidential candidates and tell them why.

I will vote green or write in my own name before I vote for those who choose, with malice and forethought, to violate the Constitution.

[Taverner]

9. Firebombs.

Other than that - revolution.

[TheWatcher]

10. The Answer to 1984 is 1776.

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

[Greyhound]

38. Love this reply, thanks.

I think we are too far gone for anything else to make any difference and that course is so terrifying, and we have become so craven, that I don't believe it will happen. So we are left with the near certainty that the next decades will see world wide turmoil and the United States ostracized by the civilized world.

So sad.

[TheWatcher]

47. I know greyhound, I know.

It's just breathtaking.

I was looking over just the Economic News this morning, and I am simply beyond words. Then I consolidate all of that with everything that has happened and come to light in just the past week, and I just don't know anymore.

And to make matters the most sweetly ironic of all?

What's the biggest buzz, the most pressing concern facing our country this morning?

Standing in line at the Apple Store to get your hands on one of those hot new 3G iPhones.

Are We Not Entertained?

[Greyhound]

48. Entertainment and military are all we have left after 30 years of looting.

I like to hope that as the fecal matter really starts raining down on more and more of us, there will be enough people with the courage to take back what has always been ours.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Make your vote valuable.

By NOT letting them take it for granted.

[Indenturedebtor]

14. The hour is too late for that though

The planet is dying. Nothing else matters so much as that. That's why I don't know what to do :(

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Try this.

http://kiva.org/

It actually does something. It has no politicians involved. And, it's a sure cure for the "I can't do nothin' blues".

Well, it works for me and my wife when the politicians inevitably sell-out, screw up, or prove their utter worthlessness when it comes to actually accomplishing anything of value.

[Indenturedebtor]

19. That's a great site! Thank you.

Maybe I should just give up on our national politics and focus on areas where I can make a difference.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. You're very welcome.

We have 16 loans out now. We just recycle them as their paid off.

BTW, the guy, Muhammad Yunus, who originated the idea won the Nobel Peace Prize.

There are a lot of similar organizations like Kiva.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=microlending+organization&btnG=Search

I consider politics highly overrated as agents of change - or at least change for the better.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. The only way is my signature line...

[Bluerthanblue]

15. 'we' can't. BUT- if you really want to make a difference, begin

living your own individual life true to your ideals.

What they truly are, is something only you know. Quite often, we think 'we' would never do the things that others do.
And that gives us a kind of 'noble' or more honestly, easy place to stand. If we wait for others to 'save' us- we don't have to live our own talk- and we can blame all our faults/failures/disappointments on anyone but ourselves.

A wiser person than me said this, and said it better

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world". We ourselves need to be more than just words.

peace~

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. Well said. And, utterly true.

[Peace Patriot]

18. Throw Diebold, ES&S and all election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

The voting counting system in virtually every state is now run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations, with virtually no audit/recount controls. Both parties were/are complicit in this outrageous assault on our democracy--privately controlled, non-transparent electronic voting--that was fast-tracked into place during the 2002 to 2004 period, with a $3.9 billion boondoggle from the Anthrax Congress, to defeat the American anti-war majority, which stood at nearly 60% (all polls) in Feb. 03, just before the invasion of Iraq, and has grown to a whopping 70% percent today.

The legislation to destroy all transparency in U.S. vote counting, and put it in the hands of private Bushite corporations--whose SECRET CODE we have no right to review--called the "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA)--was passed in the same month as the Iraq War Resolution (Oct. 02) and is closely related to it. The IWR guaranteed unjust war. HAVA provided the means of shoving this unjust war down the throats of the American people.

The only place this can be changed is in state/local venues, where ordinary citizens still have some influence, and where the decision-making power over election systems still resides. (Congress is hopeless; in fact they are a menace to election reform, since, with every new action or bill proposed, they aim to take more power away from state/local jurisdictions and give it to private corporations.)

The global corporate predators who rule over us are flirting with revolution. I didn't think they would push things this far. However, I don't think they will steal it from Obama, because he does not pose much of a threat to their power. He is no reformer. I think the best we can hope for is that he won't interfere too much with reform from "below." Nothing is going to change until we restore transparent vote counting. This is why most of our elected officials are deaf to us. They are not beholden to us any longer. They have to please the rightwing fuckwads at Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia, and the global powers behind them.

[Indenturedebtor]

20. That would be a good start. Can I get involved in voting reform with a day job?

I telemarket to business owners over the phone. I can't leave the house but I could... I dunno what. Any ideas please?

[Peace Patriot]

30. Yes, I have an idea for you. Get informed about 'TRADE SECRET' vote counting

and spread the word on the internet. Help me spread the word here at DU. Or pick other web sites to join, and begin teaching people the facts of the election system and how they are related to events in the political world. There is a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth right now over this goddamned, so-called 'Democratic' Congress, which ESCALATED the war, when 70% of the American people want it ended, and who are giving Bush everything he wants, and who refuse to impeach Bush/Cheney for a list of "high crimes and misdemeanors" long enough to circle the earth--and over Obama's vote for FISA immunity and other rightwing positions he is now taking. Explain to people WHO he has to please to get (s)elected in November, when there will be NO CAUCUSES (the primary caucuses are NOT COUNTED BY DIEBOLD & brethren). Explain to folks that these Bushite voting machine corps, with their secret code, can easily--EASILY!--steal the election. The public has no rights in the election system any more. We are barred from reviewing the secret code!

THIS is why so many terrible things are still being done. THIS is why our Constitution is being shredded before our very eyes. It's the "TRADE SECRET" CODE, and we must get rid of it. We must! It will be difficult. We can't do it overnight. Congress is useless. We have to work in state/local venues, where ordinary people still have some influence--in a widely spread out campaign, all over the country. I'm in a similar situation to yours. I can't go to meetings, can't travel, live in a sparsely populated area, etc.--so I can't do traditional organizing. But I can keep reminding people here at DU--mostly leftist political activists, involved in many issues--what the root of our problem is: We have lost control of our election system.

If you are creative and tech savvy, you can maybe put up stuff at YouTube--eye-catching or humorous vids that inform people, and maybe figure out a way to get viewers to spread the word. There are great election reform groups you could contribute money to, or go to their web sites and sign their petitions and blog, if they have a blog, and encourage others' efforts.


Election reform resources:

Here is a list of states and their current voting systems, for reference. All e-voting systems are run on TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code. The biggest of these democracy-killing corporations are Diebold (now called Premier), ES&S and Sequoia.
http://electionline.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1099

For an overview of the 2004 election theft, see:
"Was the 2004 Election Stolen?" by Robert Kennedy Jr. 6/1/06
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen
"Secret Vote Counting Crammed Down the Throat of Democracy, " by Michael Collins (DU's Autorank) (--a searing election reform article for New Zealand's Scoop.com)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x971363

Information on electronic voting:
The Princeton study (2006) (e-voting machines extremely hackable)
http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/
(comment on the Princeton study) http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3467
www.votersunite.org (MythBreakers - easy primer on electronic voting--one of the myths is that HAVA requires electronic voting; it does not.)

Activist and informations sites:
www.UScountvotes.org (statistical monitoring of '06 and '08 elections--they need donations)
www.votetrustusa.org (news of this great movement from around the country)
www.votersunite.org (good general info, and state links)
www.verifiedvoting.org (great activist site)
www.solarbus.org/election/index.shtml (fab compendium of all election info)
www.freepress.org (devoted to election reform)
www.bradblog.com (also great, and devoted to election reform)
www.TruthIsAll.net (analysis of the 2004 election) :patriot: :applause: :patriot:

Read this and you will never vote on another electronic voting machine in your life:
"Poll Shock," by Bob Koehler (11/24/05)
http://commonwonders.com/archives/col321.htm

---------------------------------

:patriot: :think: :woohoo: :think: :patriot:

[Indenturedebtor]

35. Wow what an awesome group of resources!

Thank you. I will go to those sites and see if there's anything I can do.

[cags]

22. According to my husband... A huge "vote out the incumbent movement" would do it

[unauno]

24. Want your

officials to listen? Write your concerns on a thousand dollar bill and donate it to them.

[Edweird]

25. You can't force them to love (care about) you.

But they can definitely be made to fear you. Voter backlash and reclamation of the airwaves from the fundie nutbag RW'ers are good starting points.

[Peace Patriot]

29. They already fear us. Why do you think they took the trouble to fast-track voting machines

all over the country, during the 2002 to 2004 period, run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by private, rightwing, Bushite corporations, with virtually no audit/recount controls? They fear what we would do if we were able to elect real representatives of the people!

[Solon]

26. Hold them hostage, and wait for Stockholm syndrome to set in...

On a more serious note, there is no way to make them care about us, they have a narcissistic personality, and can't think beyond their own needs, to stay in office, by any means necessary.

[Contrary1]

27. Send them millions of $$$. Seems like that makes them care...a lot. n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

28. Make caring for us, profitable.

[Joe Stirling]

32. Exact same here in the UK

Great post.

[hatrack]

33. You can't. They don't.

To quote George Carlin, "It's one big club, and you and I are NOT in it."

[ForrestGump]

34. Incorporate

and start throwing lots of money at them.

[spin]

36. After the next election we give politicians two years...

to actually start doing something. When the next election comes we start voting them out.

[Tyler Durden]

37. Not Possible. Seriously.

The game is rigged, and the powers that be insist you bet on the table via taxes.

Heads they win, Tails you lose. The only way these extreme situations change have been demonstrated in the past: 1776, 1789, 1812, 1861, 1917.

It's just the way things work.

[bdamomma]

39. just stop and do nothing no work

general strike.

[Indenturedebtor]

44. Now that might actually work

Stop giving their masters money in the form of time. Why did that stop here in the US? Anyone know of groups that I could help organise a general strike with?

[dkofos]

40. Vote for REPRESENTATIVES instead of POLITICIANS

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. the first thing you must stop doing is compromising

the second is take that energy to your class and to your side

And no, it is not over, but the long night has just started

You can resist,, in small and major ways... but you must start thinking on how to act, proactively

And stop expecting those who are part of the problem to help you.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

49. Face it. They're just not that into you.

I wish I were kidding. You and everyone else are just incovenient bystanders that they have to pretend to care about while they get on with the business of feathering their own nests.

[Skittles]

50. ELECT PEOPLE WHO REALLY CARE

STOP VOTING FOR THE CORPORATE-MEDIA'S HAND-PICKED FRONTRUNNERS