Hi Cortexers,

After much anticipation I wanted to share with you the project I have been working on, that I am very excited about:

http://www.gorehub.com !!

This is a one-stop news portal for all things Al Gore. This site featuers:

• - The latest Al Gore headlines and blog posts, automatically updated continuously (powered by Google News and Yahoo! Pipes)
  
• - links to take action for the Draft Gore campaign
  
• - tips and resources for starting a Draft Gore group
  
• - a Gore Campaign Volunteer signup -- to be given to Al if and when he announces
  
• - a combined feed from all Al's official websites
  
• - And a complete links list to all the major Gore sites and groups, links to Al Gore in various search engines and social media sites, links to Gore merchandise -- all the Gore information links you can handle!

More details after the fold ---

I'm posting this for David Brown, a Link TV producer who is making a documentary of YearlyKos. Here's an opportunity for 15 minutes of blogosphere fame!

(Feel free to spread the word!)

****

Over the past few months, the blogosphere has been abuzz with talk about net neutrality, blogger privacy (anonymity) and "citizen journalists" recognition, NSA wiretapping and the impact /influence of the internet and blogs upon politics and traditional media outlets.  What I had yet to see -- and it's possible that I simply missed it -- is an interview with an industry professional regarding these topics.  
With that in mind, I decided to track down someone who could provide some perspective.  I made contact with LA-based radio personality Robert Archer, who agreed to have a chat about life, radio, the internet and the impact of the blogosphere.

Robert Archer has been in the radio and broadcast media business for 26 years.  In addition to his work directly in the radio industry, he has participated in numerous charity fundraisers, combining his reputation as a popular personality along with his dedication toward helping achieve maximum benefit.  He lives in LA with his wife, their dog, their cat and a car that once saw the movie "Christine" -- and liked it.

Come on inside and check out what he has to say.

 

 

 

The Euston Manifesto. You've probably heard about it via Atrios or TBogg. On its face, it's just the compiled beliefs of a bunch of British pub dwellers. And thirty years ago, it would've remained a boozy pipe dream, but the Internet has changed things. Michelle Malkin's already endorsed it; it's only a matter of time before it gets support from the rest of the right-wing blogosphere. So it's probably worth discussing.

What is the Euston Manifesto? According to the authors, it's a compilation of beliefs from a group of progressives who grew tired of their party and are seeking to realign it. Sounds like an old Zell Miller speech, doesn't it? That's what I thought when I read it. In reality, it's a list of statements that pretty much everyone agrees with, mixed with strawmen and attacks against the Left (their capitalization) that sound like they came straight out of the Anti-Idiotarian playbook. To wit:

Holy Joe has been taking a lot of flack in recent weeks for this comment:

"It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.

Now, I believe Joe Lieberman's picture appears in the OED next to the word "douchebag."  But in his charmingly awkward "Joementum" sort of way, he actually kinda-sorta-almost hit on something worthwhile there, without intending to.

As usual, Joe was trying to suck up to the President and the GOP, which I'm convinced he's a closet member of.  In an attempt to spin flax into gold, I'm going to take the small kernel of an idea he dropped and try to nuture it into a beautiful flowering plant of electoral victory.

By now, most of you have probably heard of the so-called Open Source Media's superlegally restrictive Terms and Conditions agreement. For those who haven't, here's the gist of it; we aren't allowed to quote them, analyze their writings, or satirize them. We may not even be able to link to them. Basically, it attempts to completely override the concept of Fair Use to a ridiculous extent.

So, I have a plan. I plan on breaking that Agreement in as many ways as possible, and as frequently as possible, until Chuck and Roger realize how idiotic it is and change it.

Now, before I begin this endeavor, I'd like to say the following: This effort is being undertaken by me and only me. Neither the webmaster nor anyone else associated with this website in any capacity had any foreknowledge of this effort. Just to get that on the record.

By now, most of you have probably heard of the so-called Open Source Media's superlegally restrictive Terms and Conditions agreement. For those who haven't, here's the gist of it; we aren't allowed to quote them, analyze their writings, or satirize them. We may not even be able to link to them. Basically, it attempts to completely override the concept of Fair Use to a ridiculous extent.

So, I have a plan. I plan on breaking that Agreement in as many ways as possible, and as frequently as possible, until Chuck and Roger realize how idiotic it is and change it.

Now, before I begin this endeavor, I'd like to say the following: This effort is being undertaken by me and only me. Neither the webmaster nor anyone else associated with this website in any capacity had any foreknowledge of this effort. Just to get that on the record.

We all know that blogging has had a significant impact on political climate, legislative action, and government accountability, particularly over the last two years.

The Cortex, a "citizen's think tank," provides an opportunity for bloggers and non-bloggers alike to check in, browse, read, offer opinions and research, receive feedback (in the editing and voting queues), comment, provide suggestions, and enter the portals of political discussions that they might otherwise avoid.

But we're also interested in WHY people blog.

The progressive blogosphere is a liberal community offering lots of choices for community participation.  Unlike most sites that align themselves with the Bush Administration or the right side of the aisle, progressive bloggers generally lean strongly toward community-based interaction, democratic discussions, and free-flow of ideas, whether or not posters agree on a specific issue, policy, candidate, or strategy.

[It's Friday and a holiday: kick back and follow me after the jump.]

*** Join Political Cortex with a FREE member account. It only takes a moment, but the benefits last a lifetime! ***

That's what Armando argued last week in a diary at My Left Wing titled "Community Owned Blogging Is a Fantasy."  The diary was based on a comment I made at Booman Tribune in a diary titled "Banned from MyDD."

Let's see, counting Armando, frontpager at Dkos, that's four major liberal blogs mixed together in this.  All play valuable roles, but none of them functions as a democracy. And Armando argued that none could be. Needless to say, it boggled my mind that a citizen of democracy could say such a thing. And it delights me no end that here we are, in a so-called impossible place.  It reminds me of one of my favorite slogans from the 1960s, from the Paris Uprising of 1968: "Be realistic. Demand the impossible!"