Out of town for an Improv Reunion weekend. I'll have more when I get back. In the meantime, check this out. While it is *very* left-leaning, it is also an innovative new approach to populist political action.
The bottom line: They send you an email with an issue that they are spotlighting and have taken a position on. If you agree with that position, just reply to the message and hit send and it will automatically generate a fax to your congresspeople. So you get to filter what you are for or against, and thus, unless you are against *everything* this group has to say, it is an opportunity to participate without doing much work. Lazy social change!
EFF's action center has a similar system where you go to their website and just click on the issues you want to respond to, but TrueMajority.org takes things to a new level of laziness, which I fully support.
Personally, I think that activism should retain at least some level of difficulty, even if all it entails is the requirement of being able to look up your senator's office address and affixing a stamp to an envelope.
Too many people listen to Rush Limbaugh, or watch Farenheit 9/11, get fired up about something for a good five minutes, and "sign" an online petition or generate an automated email without educating themselves on the issue and expect to be taken seriously. Maybe politicians are so craven today that they would, I don't know.
I'm also against making voting "easier" by offering internet voting or some such thing. Anyone who's not interested enough to go to the local polling place and wait in line once a year (or every four years depending on their prediliction) has no business deciding anything important that affects other people.
Democracy shouldn't be hard, necessarily, but there should be some requirements. I'm not particularly sure I want to live in the world where the lazy people are calling the shots. The bread and circuses mentality is bad enough already.
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And that Geiko Gecko... who the fuck does he think he is? Employee of the month my ass!
I still support making it easier to be involved in the political process, since most people don't participate because they feel so disaffected.
So screw you, grumpy old man.
Heard a person today refer to the period before 9/11 as the Pax Americana, which I suppose makes the Islamists the Barbarians at the Gates. So perhaps you have some point. But in an age so dominated by bureaucracy and special interests, having an easy line in to fight for the issues that mean something to you isn't too much to ask. Do you think the oil companies or the trial lawyers association have to work very hard to speak to Senators? So why should it be so much harder for the rest of us? Punishment?
Access to senator:
Oil company/trial lawyer assoc. method:
-Hire full time lobbyists (about $100,000 a piece per year)
-Buy a jet ($20,000,000)
-Fly senator on jet to memorable outing and see that they have a good time ($300,000 per senator per trip)
-"Bundle" campaign contributions "from" every person you employ ($2000 per employee)
-Feed the national parties, even the one that, in theorey, doesn't like you ($$$$$)
Private citizen version:
-Write a letter ($0)
-Put in envelope ($0)
-Affix stamp and send ($0.33)
You can guess who makes the bigger impact, but I'd have to say that the private citizen version is mildly easier.