The Reasonable Activist

This is an article from alternet by George Lakoff discussing the concept of ‘framing’.  There are alot of high-level think-tanks out there which do nothing but try to figure out how to get the public to believe one thing or another to further a particular ideological agenda.  ‘Framing’ is the latest tool, which uses some pretty sneaky psychological tricks to actually trick a person’s brain into thinking some idea as their own belief.  Now this particular article is more liberal than I generally lean, but understanding how framing works is important.  It is not conservativism that bothers me, it is that these conservative higher-ups are LYING TO THEIR OWN GROUP to further their political power base.  Once you understand how this sneaky marketing ploy works, you can better avoid its effects.

Alternet: Lakoff Why Conservative Lies Spread and What Progressives Can Do To Fight Them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(social_sciences)

What is sinking this country today isn’t the American populace, it is the bad politicians and the greedy corporations.  In an ideal world, all politicos would be working solely for the public good.  In an ideal world, big corporations would use their power to help large quantities of people, both by providing desirable jobs and spending money on community enrichment programs.  Both of these things do happen; neither occur often enough.

But the American people ultimately control the power.  Without our consent, their can be no governance.  The outcry of a nation can be heard throughout the universe.  It is past time to be heard.

It starts, of course, with campaign contributions.  For too long we’ve allowed our attention to be diverted to minor issues while the elephant sits bloated in the room.  We’ve prevented lobbyists, who may be well educated in a subject, from becoming advisories.  My friends, it is not their knowledge we need fear, it is their money.  We’ve prevented them from giving large gifts, convinced by the very politicians themselves that this will end thee powerful influence of lobbying.  This is, in effect, dancing nimbly around the true sources of injustice, which are campaign contributions.

 There is a rule in place which allows for candidates to use public money to run their campaign.  And it seems every year, in a show of fairness, some campaigning politician promises to use this money to run their campaign… up until the point their private contributions exceeds the amount of the public fund.  See, if you use the public’s money, you can no longer use private contributions. 

If we were to end all campaign contributions and require all major politicians to run using only this set fund, the most effective campaigns would belong to those who handled their budget with thrift and efficiency.  This is in stark contrast to today’s campaign races, where often enough when the money starts to run dry, they put out a call for a fresh influx of dollars.

Who do you want creating the new national budget?  You have a choice, America.

The latest US report shows that more than 1 in 10 juvenile offenders are molested or raped.  Around 85 percent of these occurences are at the hands of a staff member, rather than another inmate.  Surprisingly, 95 percent of all youth reporting staff sexual misconduct said they had been victimized by a female. 

For the full article, read:

Alternet: Shocking Report Reveals Epidemic of Sexual Abuse in Juvenile Prisons

“The mission of the Internet Society is to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.”

With these opportunities come new challenges. Will competing companies work together on critical standards or lock in customers using proprietary software? Will efforts to address Internet security vulnerabilities be successful?

Join us for an informal, wide-ranging discussion of where the Internet is headed. The Internet is forty years old but still evolving–at an accelerating pace. In the next ten years we will see even more growth and new applications than we’ve seen in the last forty. Entire industries will be transformed. The Internet of Things connecting hundreds of billions of devices and sensors, new mobile applications, cloud computing, and virtual worlds.

Discussion Leaders:

• Leslie Daigle, Chief Internet Technology Officer, Internet Society
• Eric Burger, Chief Technology Officer, Neustar
• Steve Crocker, Internet pioneer and CEO, Shinkuro, Inc.

 
Moderator:

• Michael R. Nelson, Visiting Professor, Internet Studies, CCT Georgetown University

Details, visit www.isoc-dc.org.

 This organization is the pivotal point of moderate.  They stress a non-agenda and wish only to be the forum for opposing groups to have a conversation to decide the future of the internet.

Fiji’s military government says anonymous pro-democracy bloggers are a “threat to national security.”

READ FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-28-voa11.cfm

This article is cross-posted with my sister site, http://jadxia.livejournal.com. LJ is my personal weblog.

Image linked from http://www.kensavage.com

 Due to the current recession, our nations largest employer may be facing a work cut. The post office is debating cutting service to only five days a week.  This can’t be helpful to our economy.

I’ve always liked the USPS.  I know some swear by FedEx and UPS, but they have lost or delayed just as much of my mail and the USPS is at least efficient at the counter.  (I shudder when I have to mail a package at FedEx/Kinkos, where one can often stand a good fifteen minutes before being acknowledged.)  Not to mention the mailman/mail-lady is an iconic symbol of Americana.  I still remember waiting anxiously for our mailman to arrive every day so I could scour for anything which might have my name on it – even junk mail was a thrill back then.  Holidays or my birthday was a doubly-good time; who knew what delightful cards (complete with cash) might be lurking in the mailbox?

Emails are great for keeping in touch day-to-day, but a thank-you note beats an electronic message hands-down every time.  No matter how goofy or thoughtful the electronic card, a handwritten letter will be more meaningful, even if on plain notebook paper.  How many people save e-cards?

There’s the joy of commemorative stamp collecting with a friend or relative.  The laughter of the mail-order fruitcake.  The excitement of a foreign pen-pal.  Don’t let our post office die out.  Look up the address of a dear old friend and send them a letter.  Write a soldier overseas.  Tell your favorite author how much you appreciate them with a quick note via publisher.  Learn the name of your delivery person and always remember to wave and say hello.

 REFERENCES:

Washington Post Article

http://www.usps.gov

Scales of Justice

Below are my favorite outrageous comments taken from an AlterNet article by Julie Millican, Media Matters for America.  Originally posted December 11, 2008 on http://www.alternet.org/story/111857 )

MICHAEL SAVAGE:

Responding to a caller who said, “I had to explain to my young son why these two men were holding hands the other day,” Savage stated, “You’ve got to explain to the children why God told people this was wrong. You have to explain this to them in this time of mental rape that’s going on. The children’s minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that’s my position. They’re raping our children’s minds.” (June 16)

Savage on autism: “A fraud, a racket. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out”: “Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I’m not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. You know what autism is? I’ll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out. That’s what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they’re silent? They don’t have a father around to tell them, ‘Don’t act like a moron. You’ll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz.’

CHRIS BAKER AND LANGDON PERRY:

Chris Baker and fellow KLTK-FM host Langdon Perry agreed that “Magic faked AIDS,” referring to former basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who announced in 1991 that he had tested HIV-positive:

    PERRY: What about diseases that are eminently treatable and you can live with for a long, long time quite healthily if you just get some basic drugs?

    BAKER: Like Magic Johnson.

    PERRY: Like Magic with his faked AIDS. Magic faked AIDS.

    BAKER: You think Magic faked AIDS for sympathy?

    PERRY: I’m convinced that Magic faked AIDS.

    BAKER: Yeah, me too.

    PERRY: It falls apart –

    BAKER: Which is horrible.

    PERRY: — when you get into motivation. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure he faked AIDS.

    BAKER: I’ve got a great email here from –

    PERRY: ‘Cause he’s the only cured AIDS guy ever.

(October 8th)

BILL O’REILLY:

Responding to MoveOn.org’s “Petition Against Fox’s Racist & Hate-Filled Smears,” O’Reilly said: “Obama must condemn organizations like MoveOn and the Daily Kos if he truly wants to run without a race component. These are the people that are dividing Americans along racial lines. It is not a stretch to say MoveOn is the new Klan.” (July 23)

LEE RODGERS:

“Look at these ugly skanks, who make up the female leadership of the Democratic Party. I mean, my God — you know, guys sitting around, talking, perhaps in a bar someplace — they have a way of scoring them. I know, it’s sexist. It’s sexist. It’s unfair, and all of that, but they will look over a female who comes in and just make an announcement: How many drinks it would take before you’d jump her bones, you know. You look at most of the headline women of the Democratic Party, you’re thinking, ‘It’s gotta be closing time and five drinks, and maybe not even then.’ And that’s what they’re really PO’d about. [Gov.] Sarah Palin’s good-looking and they hate that.” (September 17)

JIM QUINN:

Quinn called NOW the “National Organization for Whores,” said columnist Fatimah Ali should “get an American name”: “Yesterday, I said, I wonder how long it’s going to be before one of these Alinskyites — formerly known as Democrats — one of these Alinskyites out there suggests that Sarah Palin is not really a woman. Remember [Sen.] Kay Bailey Hutchison [R-TX] was a female impersonator, according to the National Organization for Whores?” Later in the program, Quinn aired a clip of Fox News host and Washington managing editor Brit Hume discussing a Philadelphia Daily News column by Fatimah Ali. Following the clip, Quinn said: “[Y]ou know, Fatimah, what’s your real name? Come on, seriously. I mean, get an American name, will you, if you want to be an American. You don’t suppose she’s a liberal black Muslim, do you?” (September 3)

REFERENCES:

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/111857/

http://www.woodhullfoundation.org

http://mediamatters.org/

I would like to thank everyone for stopping by to my new weblog all about standing up for what you believe without running anyone over.  This blog is for you if:

• You believe people have the right to be different from yourself.
• You grasp the awesome power of a single ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• You understand that peace is a learned skill and must be taught for violence to end.
• You make the effort to understand all sides of an issue, even when at first the opposing view may seem distasteful.

In short, if you believe in freedom of speech, even for those who offend you with their words, stay-tuned for more!