Lubbock Left

It never ceases to amaze me how effective a grassroots organization MoveOn.org is. There are maybe 2 dozen people who make a living at MoveOn, but 3.2 million members nationwide who make it go.

Yesterday, they raised $500,000 from 12,000 donors, with an average donation of less than $50 per person. Let me repeat — half a million dollars in a single day from small donors only.

What’s all the fuss? MoveOn ran a very effective ad in the New York Times about a betrayal of trust from those responsible for leading our military.

The Republican response? “How impolite.” The Republican Senators put forward a resolution, sponsored by Texas’ own John Cornyn, condemning the MoveOn ad (voting record). Apparently, a single newspaper ad was more important to the Senate Republicans than actually providing adequate time at home for our troops in the field. And people wonder why congressional approval ratings are so low.

MoveOn’s response is to fight back with a new video that highlights the betrayal of trust from the Senate Republicans. You can watch the ad to see their message yourself and donate online if you are moved by it as I was.

A few minutes ago I ran into a friend downtown. “I just donated to MoveOn,” he told me, as I was about to return to my office and do the same. True story.

Today on Digg there was a video of Stephen Colbert’s segment “The Word,” which was made popular because of a shout-out to digg.com. (The video in question was removed from YouTube because of copyright — use the preceding Comedy Central link and watch the video called “Solitarity.”) The content of the video caught my attention, though, because Colbert is right — the current young generation does not know how to become active in the real world, even to the point of doing nothing while a classmate is excessively tasered a few feet away.

For me, this is a key issue: how to empower obviously concerned citizens who are active online but will not speak up offline. Obviously, I’m not saying that online political efforts are useless; I would sure be wasting my time writing this if that were the case. However, a certain amount of political work has to be done in the public space and “in the streets.”

In all honesty, I do think both laziness and a postmodern sense of detachment are working their ill effects throughout our democracy, as the Colbert “Solitarity” clip suggests. We do, in addition to personal foibles, have a very palpable society-wide resistance to activism in general to overcome. In many American cities, but especially in Lubbock, we have a pervading atmosphere of “don’t speak up; don’t make trouble.” That’s where online activism and organizing can help the most — we don’t suffer the disapproving glares of the local conservative status quo in front of a computer screen. So, begin your activism online because it’s safe and convenient, but don’t forget to take it with you when you stand up from your keyboard.

To borrow a phrase from a popular textfile group from my youth:

Save yourself! Go outside! DO SOMETHING!

Maybe saving the world is really that simple too.

Democracy for Texas has a poll about which Democratic Senate candidate to support — Rick Noriega or Mikal Watts. What I like about this poll is that they have posted each candidate’s answer to the DFT Questionnaire, which gives a pretty good idea of where each candidate stands on many important issues.

Rick Noriega DFT Questionnaire

Mikal Watts DFT Questionnaire

This is a great resource if you are following this exciting race for the Democratic Party nomination.

Here’s another gem from MoveOn.org’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country, this time about responding to biased reporting:

The media are indeed biased, but, if we speak up when the facts as they report them do not match the facts that we or others have observed, we can help neutralize the propaganda and get back to the reporting.

I don’t care whether you believe that the overall media leans conservative or liberal — biased reporting is harmful either way, especially on the local level. So, how do we fight it? Some of my favorite suggestions from this chapter are (paraphrased):

Let your passion be your guide; select an area that you care about for your media watch.

Make a note to yourself whenever you notice something that doesn’t sound right or something that is obviously false. Do research online and in person to seek the truth.

Choose your battles. It’s ineffective to become the “crank” who complains about every story, but you can save notes on a specific trend you see in your local media and then make a larger complaint.

I can say with confidence that I know some Lubbockites that are “cranks.” Being a crank is a speedy way to marginalize yourself and decrease your effectiveness. Of course, even a crank can tell the truth; the question is whether anyone will listen.

I’m still at a loss for how to address Lubbock’s right-wing radio stations that present nonstop cherry-picked news with conservative commentary. Who do you complain to there? They know what they’re doing, and are sometimes directly run by Republican Party leaders. (The state of talk radio shows how Reagan really screwed us when his administration did away with the fairness doctrine.)

I believe that TV and print media in Lubbock are generally more responsive to media watchdogs, because they have a reputation of reliable news to maintain.

We’ll see how online media in the area evolves.

Thoughts?

Last night’s Lubbock Democracy for America Health Care Forum was an interesting experience. The panel was great — very engaging and a good balance of professionals in different areas of health care. The discussion was great too (there were about 25 people there), with questions and personal stories that kept it fresh and moving.

One of the consensus thoughts from the audience was that America needs to expand its government health insurance program. Medicare / Medicaid could be expanded more or less as they are now, but in a more universal way. In other words, the battle for universal coverage does not have to be won all at once. Also, to show what is currently on the legislative table, copies of HR 676, John Conyers’s bill for single-payer universal health care, were made available at the forum.

A few moments stick out in my mind. There was some interesting back-and-forth between two panelists about tort reform. There were also spirited-but-not-mean exchanges between audience members about achieving a balance of business-driven and government-backed health care coverage. One woman, an American who has lived much of her life in England, raved about the national health system there.

Overall, I was very excited to see people getting together to talk about health care in a serious way for the first time in a decade or so. The tide is turning on this issue, and I think real progress will be made in the next few years.

(No pictures this time — forgot my camera.)

Lubbock Democracy for America is hosting a public forum about healthcare on this coming Monday, September 10. It will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Science Spectrum, which is at 2579 S Loop 289
between Indiana & University.

The event will feature a panel of professionals in the healthcare industry. The panel members are:

• Rev. Ted Dotts
• Dr. Rufus Mark
• Jennifer Bard, J.D.
• Dr. Elizabeth Davidson

You can learn more about the event and RSVP for it at the event page on the DFA website.

Tonight’s MoveOn.org vigil in support of ending the War in Iraq was a success.

The event began with volunteers displaying signs along 82nd St. — one of Lubbock’s busier streets. The signs from L to R are “Peace is Patriotic,” “Iraq War: Wrong Way,” and “Keep Them Safe.” It was at this time that someone from KCBD put a camera in my face and I flubbed through some statements about the event, so I might have been on your TV last night.

After that, the group gathered near the Veterans’ Memorial in five groups of this size to read through rolls of this year’s U.S. Soldier casualties and injuries in Iraq. It was a powerful moment, followed by an equally powerful minute of silence to honor the fallen.

The event ended with remarks from Bobby, the organizer, about contacting our representatives to tell them that we want out of Iraq.

Overall, it was a very tasteful event. It brought out more than the usual mix of activists as well, which is really one of MoveOn’s great strengths.

Lubbock Democracy for America will be showing “The Corporation” this Wednesday at 6PM at Mahon Library downtown. The film looks at corporations in terms of actual personhood. What is the character of the corporate entity, a legal construct with the same rights as a citizen? Turns out that it’s a sociopath.

From a user comment on the IMDB page for the film:

It should make you angry. If not, your conscience has long been stilled by your big screen TV, your gas-guzzling SUV or your stock options. Probably won’t show in most of your towns….too much of a threat to the corporations that are shown up in this show.

Event details and RSVP are available at the Lubbock DFA event page for the screening.

See you there!

A 24hr coffeehouse.

Lubbock used to have one called Renaissance Coffeehouse on 19th just east of University where a Radio Shack is now. It was half of the building that used to be Mad Hatter’s House of Games about 10 years ago. Having a place to hang out with friends and “just be” at any time of the day is pretty great.

What is your favorite Lubbock coffeehouse these days, reader? I don’t really have a favorite any more. There are about 5 that I stop at “regularly” — and none of them are Starbucks.

I mention coffeehouses because they are great places to meet with fellow activists to get going and get organized. Lubbock Democracy for America got started at J&B Coffee and met at other coffeehouses like Aroma’s, Hastings, and Daybreak.

Local activists from MoveOn, DFA, and other groups will meet for a vigil to end the War in Iraq.

Here are the details:

National Take A Stand Day
H. Huneke Park 82nd at Nashville
4001 82nd St at Nashville (East Kingsgate)
Lubbock, TX 79423
Tuesday, 28 Aug 2007, 8:00 PM

You can sign up to attend the vigil at MoveOn’s website.

I will attend and try to take some good pictures. Let’s show our representatives that we still want to end this war, and we will not quit until our troops come home.