I am very happy to see Al Gore pursuing this avenue in speaking his mind on these issues now being out of the political beltway that I don't believe ever truly appreciated his prescience and intelligence on these matters. It has certainly given him the chance to be a great advocate for the people and for Democracy to truthfully speak his mind on issues of great importance to the life of our Democracy without worrying about what "handlers" will say, which also extends to the truth of An Inconvenient Truth.

Democracy Enhanced
Our nascent American democracy has a long way to go before it approaches the ideal toward which most citizens appeal.  Large groups of people are yet unrepresented, excessive power accrues to too few, and the ideal is more of an illusion than a reality.  How can we present to the world this illusion and expect all others to strive for it while our own political system is so apparently dysfunctional?

Al Gore's response on this dangerous program is below, which I agree with. Just what will it take before we realize the capabilities we have to destroy ourselves, and that in the hands of the wrong people that well may come to pass?

Try to suppress your initial, gut reactions and let the following ideas sink in.

We tend to think of exercising power through the application of force or by strong overt action. Another, perhaps more Eastern, way of seeing power is through withholding something or through denial. For effective patriotic behavior today we must deny the corrupt political and economic system of what it wants from us - our participation. Through denial we can remove credibility and legitimacy and open opportunities for fundamental change that no exercise of traditional raw power can achieve. Populist power is the goal.

In Mr. Gore's magnificent treatise on government and the excesses of Presidential power that he gave on January 16 of this year he used the phrase, "the consent of the governed." He called those of us who are the governed to seek within us the same spirit that steered our Forefathers through the tossed and stormy seas of great change to birth a nation to now guide us to a new "golden age." His words were daring, bold, brave, visionary, and at the same time reminiscent of that very spirit that first saw Colonists fighting an empire and changing the course of history. And that is the same spirit that is the truth in his movie, An Inconvenient Truth. However, for me, he isn't just talking about climate change in this movie; he is also talking about saving our country and renewing the spirit of true Democratic debate in this country that will lead to that positive change in not seeing that window on this climate crisis close.

That is the title of the next book to be released by Mr. Gore, scheduled for next May (2007.) It is to be released by Penguin Press. It is reported to be about the difficulty politics has with making decisions based on facts and reason. I am sure it will then go into great detail regarding the Democracy crisis we face on the whole, and the name of the book does sound like something Thomas Jefferson would have written.

There's a battle waging today in America that will decide the future of the Middle Class.

On one side are those like Thomas Jefferson who believe that a free people can govern themselves and have the right to organize their government to create a strong middle class - which will, in turn, keep the government democratic. On the other side are those like Thomas Hobbes who believe that only a small elite can and should govern and that the people should be willing to pay the price of poverty in exchange for security.

This diary was written expressly for Daily Kos, but I thought other progressive bloggers might find it interesting.

Yesterday I was devastated. A friend told me my favorite TV show Stargate, had been cancelled. This was actually announced last week, but I'm not involved in online fandom, so I had to get the 411 the old fashioned way. My friend is entrenched in online fandom, so I guess I'm in the second tier for info propagation from Stargate fandom ground zero. This is approximately where I would put myself in the progressive politics information stream, as well. Not in the room, but an interested party with my nose stuck to the window.

The word "devastated" might strike some as grotesque hyperbole in the context of a cheesy sci fi show. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for me to be devastated over Darfur or the warehousing of the poor in the U.S.? I've been pondering this for the last 24 hours, and I believe I've come up with some insights that may be of use to Kossacks and other people involved in political campaigns.

I just read the NYT article about the stained glass ceiling for women in the church, and I was especially struck by this comment:

...in the marketplace of ideas and values, men matter most and...by definition, women have to take a back seat...

Why do men matter most in the marketplace of ideas?

A few weeks ago, an old friend of my called me while I was driving. She was frantic. She'd been reading the news in a late night stupor and came across an article at IndiaDaily.com  
discussing a row between government leaders over whether to reveal long-withstanding and complex communications with advanced extraterrestrial societies. Communications are based on 5-D gravity wave technology.

This is absolutely wild. Where is the world?!???!!

Over the past century, total world production has increased an incredible twenty-fold, placing increased pressure on the ecology of our planet. Everywhere we look -- in the atmosphere, oceans, watersheds, forests, and the soil -- it is now clear that rapid ecological decline is setting in and threatens to extinguish all economic activity if something is not done soon.

This fact, however, seems to be completely lost on Wall Street analyses and the federal government who assure us that continual economic growth will lead to prosperity for all and a cleaner environment.

After reading about various interesting events that had taken place in virtual venues within the world of Second Life, it finally sunk in. This might have a potential as a civic space, where I could talk to people all over the world about the idea of dignity as a human right.

Second Life is a massive virtual reality environment. It's not so much a game as a global conference call that takes place in fantastic imaginary settings. All sorts of activists could set up kiosks around the virtual public square. People with common interests could meet and coordinate for political action. One day there might even be ways to facilitate voter registration. Enthralled by the vision of cyber-democracy, I set up an account.

Democrats are divided over whether appealing to the moderate center or galvanizing their progressive base is the better strategy. Given the public's declining confidence in Republican leadership, either strategy may enable Democrats to win at the polls. But neither approach will give them the electoral mandate required to govern effectively and retain the public's support once they're in office.

Fortunately, choosing between these two strategies is unnecessary. There is an alternative to left-right politics and by adopting it Democrats can remain true to progressive principles while attracting millions of voters from the non-ideological middle.

The step beyond the "New Deal," the "Fair Deal," and the "Great Society" is a "Dignitarian Society." The slogan is Dignity For All.

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!)

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An increase in the minimum wage is once again hovering around the Congressional docket, as Democrats try to wedge it into various bills while Republicans try to sink it.

And once again, as reliable as clockwork, defenders and opponents are snapping into action, dusting off briefs and arguments, updating the analysis for inflation and generally doing the same dance we always do (I'm a defender).

There's got to be a better way.

Facts matter, so I'm not for a second saying that progressives should ignore the superior research, summarized below, that supports an increase. But I think we should also fight this one on basic fairness. It's simply shameful, in an era of sharply increasing economic inequality, for Congress to incessantly cut rich people's taxes yet refuse to help low-wage workers.