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The DCP Guide to the Website
Good Morning Hitchhikers...
(Oh sorry-took my son to see the movie last night. Assessment: God, I miss Douglas Adams. We all need to grab our towels these days, don't we? Go see it--stunning work).
About the DCP:
How many have noticed what is on this website beyond the Blog and Forum? Let's go to the newsreel:
1. The Front Page: Have you noticed that it changes daily? This is where we put the Five Minutes of Democracy a Day, Talk About It, and Learn About It suggestions. We also put late-breaking important news at the top when necessary. The photos come from the DCP Crew members, but you can also submit photos for this page, along with...
2. the right nav bar has a place for photos of your groups or gatherings. We see democracy cells happening all over. Take digital photos and send them in to info@democracycellproject.net and we can change them more regularly. There are lots of other links on the right nav bar; follow them--the right nav bar leads you inside the site, as opposed to the...
3. left nav bar, which has links outside the site. The organizations listed are worth your time, in our humble opinion. The list is hardly exhaustive, but we have vetted all those sites and found them to add value to what we do here. There is one other item on the left nav bar that I want to bring to your attention...
4. the button that says Grow Democracy Cells/Donate Here. The DCP is a participatory community, and we all learn from each other, but we are also a nonprofit and the site needs maintenance and updates regularly. Right now, no one gets paid to do this work, but we would love to be able to support our volunteers with occasional trainings and participation in conferences, so we can grow and expand our community. If everyone who came to the site clicked on that button once a month and donated $10 or more, we would be able to relax a little and move this effort along.
5. There are six tabs at the top of the page, under the logo. If you haven't read ABOUT US, take a minute to do so--we think we are a unique site precisely because we are not made up of experienced politicos (except for Dick Bell, of course), but real people in communities across the US, learning as we go.
6. The LISTEN tab takes you to the podcast page--we are working on a new one right now, but YOU CAN DO THESE TOO. Crew member Andrew has recorded directions and offered help to anyone who finds themselves somewhere interesting with a digital recorder.
7. LEARN takes you a section of the site we are working on--we are planning on doing some serious online training in both Democracy 101 and Organizing 101. Your donations will help get that going. In the interim, there are a number of resources listed for you to use. If you have questions, please do email us at info@democracycellproject.net, or come onto the irc chat around 9 pm EDT.
8. RESOURCES takes you to the library and resource center on the forum. The DCP crew maintains and builds this part of the forum for you, but we also welcome your additions. Please add as you see fit.
9. And finally, we come to the most hidden, but useful part of our website: BUY STUFF. Let's look at what is there:
a. aaah, CLOTHING. The lovely Sarah is modeling this year's spring collection for the DCP: The T-Shirt. Buy one for everyone in the family--it is our best advertisement. The front says "We Teach Democracy". The back has the logo. All shirts are US cotton, union-made, by a woman-owned corporation.
b. BOOKS--whenever you purchase a book from Powell's, off of our website, we get a little bit of the profit back. Powell's was chosen, by the way, because it is the only unionized online bookstore. We have found their service to be extremely efficient and helpful as well. They are located in Portland, Oregon, and come with all progressive credentials. Please support us by supporting them.
c. The Book Room: The books we are reading can be purchased by clicking on the link, which takes you to--Powell's. Get ready with the Wallis book--it will be a little controversial, I think. Therefore, we can have some spicy discussions--in the direction of rich strategies as well.
And there you have it, folks. We have built this site in less than four months, thanks to all of you. We are all working our programs, keeping each other honest and forward-looking, so keep coming back...
and that button over there <<<< --thanks for clicking!
Thank you, Karen. This is great work as is the rest of the site.
And good morning freedom worshipers!
Thanks Karen,
There are so many things happening to this site and to the communities where we all live. We are like those threads said earlier..."a train leaving the station...whooo whooo" so hop on board click those buttons.
I can't wait to get my t'shirt for D.C.
Thank you Casey for the thorough wrap-up. This site is becoming one the best political decompression chambers on the web!
Posted by: Fe at April 29, 2005 02:34 AM
I think Fe said it best. This site has helped people garner the energy to link with others determined to help this country have a government that is responsible to all the people, not just a select few.
For myself, I can say that I am grateful to all the wonderful people who have contributed their time and energy to help make this site as successful as it is.
We all knew that it would just be a matter of time for Bu$hco to implode and that the DCP would be here to coordinate our efforts. Though Bush is still staggering like a boxer who has gotten his head bashed in, the fight still goes on, and DCP is here to help all of us fight the good fight.
We have to make our presence more obvious in our communities and on the net as well. We have to let others know we are here. People are hungry for a site like ours. From my own experiences, I can tell you that people are genuinley relieved to know that there are others out here who support a government that represents all Americans. Bu$hco has created a fear which prevents others from talking about their concerns. The DCP gives all of us the opportunity to work together for a common good.
Thanks, Karen! And thanks everyone! I'm so proud to be a part of the DCP!
~Thanks Karen & all who contribute to this site!
In search of information I was not getting from TV news during the '04 election, I originally found my way to the JK/JE website and then found this site via Ron & Pamela's sites following the election.
I continue to return here on a regular basis because of the never ending wealth of information I find here. No matter what the thread topic(s) of the day might be, I usually find something posted here that I can then use to sharpen my skills as an informed voter. This in turn enables me to take a more pro-active role in my own community, at the grassroots level, in the suburbs of a very conservative area of a mostly red southern state. I just wanted to add my voice of appreciation to all who contribute their effort, time & treasure to keep this DCP site going. Its scope is growing and its making a positive progressive difference!
Hey Everyone, I got this story from one of my Yahoo! political groups. We need to pay attention:
THEN THEY CAME FOR THE CHILDREN
Feds Arrest Girls for Teen Snottiness
Ted Rall
Apr 26
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&e=1&u=/ucru/20050427/cm_ucru/thentheycameforthechildren
They've vanished into the netherworld of a Homeland Security gulag and
their story has already disappeared from the headlines, but the shocking
case of two 16-year-old girls from New York City arrested a month ago
ought to inspire outrage among every American worthy of the name. Since
the government's reasons for the girls' imprisonment could apply to
virtually any teenager, it should also spark fear.
Like many rebellious teens, I fought with my mother. Local police,
called to my home during at least one particularly impressive clash of
wills and voices, talked us back into the land of the calmly reasonable.
Then they left.
Like many young people, I was fascinated by morbid, violent subjects.
After I turned in an essay depicting a political assassination from the
killer's viewpoint, my creative writing teacher sent me to talk to my
guidance counselor. After I assured him that I had no desire to knock
off any politicians, he returned me to class.
A quarter century later, my mom and I are best friends and I haven't
done anything the Secret Service ought to worry about. Right now,
however, two girls from New York City are rotting in a HomeSec prison in
Pennsylvania for doing nothing more than I did--one for fighting with
her parents and writing an essay, the other accused of being her friend.
In early March, the New York Times reported on April 7, one girl's
parents "went to the local police station house" in the Queens Village
neighborhood because "their daughter...had defied their authority."
Things calmed down and the parents, believing their daughter had been
scared straight, asked the NYPD to forget the whole thing.
It was too late for that.
Without a warrant, NYPD detectives and federal agents burst into the
girl's home--no wonder they don't have time to look for Osama!--where
they "searched her belongings and confiscated her computer and the
essays that she had written as part of a home schooling program," say
her family. "One essay concerned suicide...[that] asserted that suicide
is against Islamic law." The family is Bangladeshi. They are Muslim.
That, coupled with the mere mention of suicide bombing in her essay, was
enough to put the fuzz on high alert.
Although she is conservative and devout, the girl and her parents
vigorously deny that she is an Islamist extremist (not that such
opinions are illegal), but this is post-9/11 America and post-9/11
America is out of its mind.
Based solely on an essay written by one of the two, the FBI says both
girls are "an imminent threat to the security of the United States based
upon evidence that they plan to become suicide bombers." But the feds
admit that they have no evidence to back their suspicions.
Nothing.
"There are doubts about these claims, and no evidence has been found
that such a plot was in the works," one Bush Administration official
admitted to the Times. "The arrests took place after authorities decided
it would be better to lock up the girls than wait and see if they
decided to become terrorists," another told the New York Post. The same
logic could be used to justify locking up any Muslim, or anyone at all.
Heck, maybe that's the idea.
The Bangladeshi girl, who was homeschooled and wears a veil, says she
never even met her outgoing and more Americanized "co-conspirator" from
Guinea before the cops accused them of plotting to do...something.
Maybe.
She says FBI agents threatened to deport her parents and place her
American-born siblings, a four-month-old baby and an 11-year-old, in
foster care unless she confessed.
Even in PATRIOT Act-era America, alleged fantasies of martyrdom aren't a
crime. So HomeSec's ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is holding
both two girls as illegal immigrants--one for entering the U.S. without
an inspection, the other for overstaying her visa. And even that charge
rests on razor-thin ice: "This is a girl who's been in this country
since she was two years old," the Guinean girl's teacher says. Ditto for
the one from Bangladesh.
Holding kids accountable for the actions of their parents is crazy,
which is why immigration authorities don't usually do it. Two-year-old
babies don't wade across the Rio Grande or overstay their visas.
Deporting American teenagers--American in every way that matters--to
countries they've never even visited is equally insane.
I would be the first to applaud the FBI if they had arrested two proven
would-be suicide bombers before they had the chance to strike. If they
have evidence to that effect, they should make it public and bring
charges in open court. But that's clearly not the case here.
When this story first broke I didn't write about it because I assumed
that a public outcry would soon lead to its reasonable resolution.
Sadly, this has not happened.
Homes searched without a warrant, kids thrown in prison for thoughts
real and imagined, people's lives destroyed by an out-of-control federal
government--will Americans speak up for what's right?
Please call and
write your congressman and senator to demand the release of the two
girls from Queens.
NOW THEY'RE COMING AFTER CHILDREN. WILL IT END WHEN THEY COME AFTER US?
Oncall:
I know this is a not for profit but how about if we print up a couple of hundred cheap bumper stickers to promote the site that say something like Progressives Go To DEMOCRACYCELLPROJECT Blog or
JOIN US AT
DEMOCRACYCELLPROJECT BLOG
and encouraged us all to kick in $5-10 or$20 and for it we would receive a packet of bumper stickers to spread the word of our site and raise a few dollars. Sounds like a bunch of work but it may kill two birds, money and spreading message.
Thanks Oncall for what you have contrinuted to this cause.
Update on Washington Governor Race:
Christine Gregoire (D) beat Dino Rossi (R) by 129 votes in the 3rd recount and the case is headed to court (May 23, Chelan County, but next Monday a judge determines how felon votes will be dealt with).
The GOP has so far turned up 946 felon voters, most of whom came from King County, where Gregoire won with a good margin. The Republicans filed names of 389 more voters they claim cast improper ballots -- mostly King County voters whose provisional ballots.
Now the Democrats have turned up 428 felons who voted apparently without being qualified to do so and most of those come from parts of the state where Rossi won. The Democrats will counter with their own claims of 1,939 mishandled provisional ballots cast mainly by voters in counties won by Rossi.
It will be to the GOP's advantage if the judge rules on Monday that votes be counted the way they want, whereby improper votes are deducted proportionally to the percentage of the overall vote each candidate received in each precinct.
Maureen Dowd | Swindler on a Gusher
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005F.shtml
Tom Hayden | Open Letter to Howard Dean
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905E.shtml
Molly Ivins | Dumb Dems Let GOP Run Wild
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905F.shtml
Paul Krugman | A Private Obsession
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905G.shtml
Renato Redentor Constantino | The Colors of Memory
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905L.shtml
Joe Conason | Rogue Officialdom
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905N.shtml
William Rivers Pitt | The Crawling King Snake Returns
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905Y.shtml
Thomas Frank | What's the Matter with Liberals?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805H.shtml
Sidney Blumenthal | The General's Revenge
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805N.shtml
William Rivers Pitt | Hostile Information
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705A.shtml
Jonathan Steele, Dahr Jamail | Fallujah Is Our Guernica
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705C.shtml
Jack Hitt | Jesus Was No GOP Lobbyist
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705H.shtml
Kennedy: US Response to Abu Ghraib Still Inadequate
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705L.shtml
Dean Baker | Numbers before Politics
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705O.shtml
Steve Weissman: America's Religious Right | A Deadly Culture of Life
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042605B.shtml
Molly Ivins | The Nuclear Option and Judicial Activists
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042605G.shtml
Juan Cole | Mainstream Media and Bloggers
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042605H.shtml
Howard Dean: GOP 'Evil,' 'Corrupt' and 'Brain-Dead'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042605Y.shtml
Stirling Newberry | Rove's Revolution
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505B.shtml
Kit Kincade | Constitution, Not Religion, Under Attack
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505H.shtml
Leslie Weise | A "Volunteer" Police State
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505L.shtml
Paul Krugman | The Oblivious Right
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505M.shtml
Bob Herbert | The Agony of War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505O.shtml
Posted by: DiAnne at April 30, 2005 04:02 PM
Dianne:
It all boils down to exactly what the HAVA person told me, which was, "LEARN about the people who your electing even the minor local registrar to the top elected official. Each one needs to represent YOUR views and have accountability. Don't just ignore a vote, don't just fill in a circle, and don't just stay home! Each person YOU are hiring. And YOU MUST HIRE someone who will accurately and expertly perform their job duties."
This is what elections are about.
Pope Obstructed Sex Abuse Inquiry
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1469055,00.html
such a moral moral man
Sparrow
Bev Harris of Black Box Voting said a big problem across the land was not just the machines but corrupt local voting officials with agendas.
I wish they'd do it like in some countries, where it's handled like jury duty & there is a day off work. The big elections like President or Senate or Governor are held at one time, but not a bunch of minor elections as well. That's the excuse given for why we can never do it the simple way.
Well split them up.
Possibly reform the electoral college system and do not constantly project who is going to win before people in some states have even voted! After Ohio, I didn't feel my vote counted or even some of my political work. Felt very cheated.
Enjoy the Observer War Blog - very informative & the British election WILL reflect on Bush. Even if Blair is re-elected, he will have alot of Opposition both in Parliament & among the public.
He lied and more evidence is coming out all the time.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/observer/archives/2005/04/25/oh_go_on_then_mention_the_war.html
This corruption and lying is morally wrong.
Those who do it almost always belong to the party that talks about "moral values" and who gave us the "moral majority" (that was a myth and that wasn't so moral).
May the truth catch up with all of them & it's getting harder to hide the bodies.
Four US Soldiers Killed by Iraq Car Bomb
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005B.shtml
Seven Killed in Central Afghan Airstrike
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005C.shtml
Vietnam War's Painful Legacy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005D.shtml
New York Times | Puncturing Another Weapons Myth
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005E.shtml
17 Bombs Kill 50 Across Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/043005Z.shtml
Pressured by FOIA Demands, Pentagon Releases Coffin Photos
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905J.shtml
National Research Council: Bunker-Buster Bomb Plan Won't Work
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905K.shtml
Blair's Dark Day as Iraq Row Erupts
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905O.shtml
N. Korea Nuclear Capability "Troubling Beyond Words"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042905Z.shtml
Iraq Gets Partial Cabinet, Chalabi Deputy PM
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805B.shtml
Memo Blair Tried to Hide Raises New Doubts over War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805C.shtml
Bob Herbert | On Abu Ghraib, the Big Shots Walk
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805K.shtml
Michael Schwartz | Between Iraq and a Hard Place
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805L.shtml
NOW | Prisoner from Abu Ghraib
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805O.shtml
Tenet Admits WMD 'Slam-Dunk' Remark "Dumbest Ever"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042805X.shtml
Jonathan Steele, Dahr Jamail | Fallujah Is Our Guernica
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705C.shtml
US Offers Israel 100 Bunker-Busting Bombs
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705D.shtml
Terrorist Attacks Tripled, State Department Hides Data
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705E.shtml
Kennedy: US Response to Abu Ghraib Still Inadequate
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705L.shtml
Italy Furious over Exoneration of US GIs
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705M.shtml
Iraqi Woman Lawmaker Slain as Violence Surges
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705X.shtml
Rights Watchdog Calls Abu Ghraib 'Tip of the Iceberg'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042705Y.shtml
Final Curtain Falls on Iraq WMD Myth
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042605Z.shtml
Iraqi Rebels Show New Strength as Politicians Stall
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505C.shtml
US Rights Groups Demand Special Prosecutor for Torture
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505D.shtml
Philippe Gelie | Bush Worried about Saudi Fragilities
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505I.shtml
Tom Engelhardt | Iraq 'Uptick,' Superpower Downtick?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505J.shtml
Bob Herbert | The Agony of War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505O.shtml
Guard Members Denied Ground Zero Retirement Credit
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505X.shtml
Marines Break Code of Silence on Fatal Deficiencies
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042505Y.shtml
US Soldiers Killing Civilians, Dead go Uncounted
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/042405D.shtml
Speaking of institutionalized lies & corruption - 2 stories that are not dead, as more truth is about to emerge:
1. The Italian incident
2. Bolton Bolton Bolton
& amidst the distraction of Jacko or whatever next week's petty blockbuster is:
1. Will Korea test nukes? US says no, China
says yes.
2. Will Iran cooperate re weapons? Looks iffy.
New failure to hide the coffins:
http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB152/index.htm
TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY:
NEW YORK — If Republicans rewrite Senate rules to more easily end filibusters, the country will experience "exactly the kind of 'tyranny of the majority' that James Madison had in mind," former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said today.
Cuomo, in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address, said Senate Republicans "are threatening to claim ownership of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, hoping to achieve political results on subjects like abortion, stem cells, the environment and civil rights that they cannot get from the proper political bodies."
"How will they do this? By destroying the so-called filibuster, a vital part of the 200-year-old system of checks and balances in the Senate," Cuomo said.
"The Republicans say it would assure dominance by the majority in the Senate," he said. "That sounds democratic until you remember that the Bill of Rights was adopted, as James Madison pointed out, to protect all of Americans from what he called the 'tyranny of the majority.'"
This needs to be our mantra next week:
Stop the Tyranny!
Awesome Postings.
Some people want to have their cake and eat it too. This Administration wants to also throw it in our faces.
Before the President spoke, the announcer mentioned the current Administration has the least amount of interaction with the press. I would go further and include the nation as well as the world.
It is no wonder we are looked upon with suspicion and anxiety. The president has very few state dinners, few visits and trips abroad. There is little interaction with world leaders or the general population of other nations. This White House is completely out of touch
When President Clinton traveled abroad, he was referred to as Uncle Bill, Went out of his way to greet people, eat at regular restaurants, and mingle with anyone and everyone that happened to be around.
Its important for the Leaders of a Nation to interact and mingle. They get unfiltered access and feedback from People.
When Leaders do not get this access and feedback, they may as well live in a bunker, hidden away and controlled by their handlers and advisors. And when they have a press briefing they appear uncomfortable and out of place, unable to answer questions or give a clear explanation of their vision for this Nation.