What Can We Do to Help?

We finally have a president who doesn't insult our intelligence but who of course inflames the contemptible, angry faction that seethes at the thought of a black president and a progressive agenda.

We are finally having a national discussion that reinvigorates intelligence and throws light upon ignorance.

We are once again gaining acceptance from the world's nations who value American leadership and global participation after enduring eight years of boneheaded triumphalism and just plain, destructive policy.

And the person we elected, who is so obviously capable, who has the education, the sense, the ability to lead our country away from the corrosive behavior it has engaged in for so many years, is having a hard time doing what he was elected to do.

And it's not just because he is up against an entrenched opposition which would rather get rich quick than live long and well. It's not just because he is having to clean up the gargantuan mess he inherited from his unscrupulous forerunners. And it's not just because he is one man against many who desperately hang onto an illusion of America instead of the reality of America®.

We have forgotten a key element to all of this, the key element to the preservation of our own liberty. We have forgotten to acknowledge that while we may feel all grown up in having elected this president and used our collective muscularity to ensure a that hope and change matter, we forgot one thing.

Us.

It's not enough to elect someone and trust that he, she or they will fix things while we continue on our merry, consuming way. It's not enough to feel we've matured and are now taking our democracy more seriously than we have for some time and, having said that, do no more.

Because a leader is nothing without the people who validate that leadership. And a movement is a myth without the people asking:

What can we do?

How can we help?

We are ready to rally, to confront the lies, to keep insanity at the margins rather than where the disloyal opposition would have it -- front and center. We see and hear what the elected leader, the person who so nobly articulated our own need for hope and change, wants.

But clearly, hope and change is not just one person, never was. It is all the people who voted for it. It is all the people who have had enough of the bullying and bullshit. The disloyal opposition talks about grassroots movements? That's what carnival barkers and their shills co-opt and bottle like snake oil to distribute at the highest prices to the hungry, slack-jawed public.

We are talking about the deepest and most basic human needs, finally articulated and attainable after so long. We are talking about the things this nation can finally achieve after two centuries of hard fought gains and retrograde pains.

"We" is the operative word.

And We know what we are up against.

And We hear the toxic deceptions coming the terminally wrong Right.

And We sense the fear and division even within ourselves and understand that the only way to exorcise the demons which plague the American psyche are to act and to act with one voice. The time is now and the place is here. So, Mr. President:

What can We do to help?

Comments

[WWWoDMOCRATSoORG]

I have these actions to stand for HR 676.

Print these out on index cards and bring them to library bulletin boards and other bulletin boards so others can take action.

Read and Sign these 3 petitions

1. http://bit.ly/HR676

2. http://bit.ly/single_payer_ross

3. http://bit.ly/drug_benefit

4. Boycott Tyson Foods of Arkansas who gave Mike Ross $37,000 for his campaigns. Call lobbyist for Tyson Foods Chuck Penry 202 393 3921 and tell him politely that you refuse to buy Tyson chicken until the Tyson Foods CEO gets Mike Ross D-Arkansas the leader of the Blue Dogs on health care gets the entire house and senate conservative Democrats to help get HR 676 enacted into law. Tell others to call. Send me email after you call to [e-mail]

5. Boycott American Express who gave Max Baucus $50,000 for his campaigns. Call Joanna Lambert at 212 640 9668 and politely tell her you will not use any American Express cards until the American Express CEO gets Max Baucus to get HR 676 enacted into law. Email me after you call.

See our blog http://blog.democratz.org

[JXJASON]

Sign the petition if you want a public option. GO TO:

http://www.standwithdrdean.com

Stopoilspe­culationno­w is another website.

Call or email your members of Congress to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME FROM IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, EUROPE AND SOUTH KOREA.

Use common sense in your daily lives.

[Social Construct]

Mike Lux offers a great read on how progressives can continue to contribute to the Obama administration's more socially necessary, and for we citizens of the US, radical changes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-lux/the-constant-challenge-of_b_267191.html

Although I am proudly, perhaps at times too much so, one of the "left of the lefts" that Mr. Lux describes and I did not cast my ballot for Mr. Obama, he is still my president and I will support him as much as I am capable while also trying my best to nudge for a social agenda I favor. Pragmatically, I do understand the two-party political system's centrist tendencies yet, ideologically, I must answer my conscience and work towards those ends, also. For better or worse, we radicals do, at times, have a positive effect on our political process. Anyway, I do feel that my voice is heard by my current president much better than that of the current right-wing power holders.

[FerrellGummitt]

Maybe the question isn’t what WE can do but what YOU can do.
Some suggestions:
1. Get an education or learn a trade (folks who mow lawns earn 25 bucks an hour)
2. Get a job, show up on time and do your job.
3. Keep learning, earn promotions
4. Stop having kids you cannot afford
5. Stop living beyond your means
6. Save and invest
7. Stop blowing what you earn on junk food and trash you do NOT EVER NEED TO SURVIVE
8. Educate yourselves
9. Stop living a high risk lifestyle, illegal drugs, drinking and screwing everything that moves.

ONLY in the USA do the very poor have pristine water to flush their toilets.

And before you the government even THINKS of Healthcare legislation they should do this one thing:
Cap Malpractice lawsuits at $250,000. Put a ceiling in and you would immediately cut the cost of malpractice insurance and the cost of “CYA” medicine practices. Why doesn’t the Obama do this? Answer: Because he is beholden to the Trial Lawyers who gave him contribution monies.

Follow the money trail.

[BizHippy2]

FarrellGummitt
You are incredibly judgmental and do not know what you are talking about.

[JacqueItch]

Some good suggestions: getting and education is always a wise choice. Many of the college grads unemployed because their jobs went overseas thought so too.

Living within one's means certainly sounds noble-----until something happens and you suddenly find your health insurance will not cover any of it (because this is one of the primary ways insurers make their money, by denying claims).

And saving and investing sounds really good too. Those folks who lost their retirement savings to Enron or the latest Wall St collapse would probably agree with you all the way.

"Educate yourselves" might mean self education through reading . . .but if college is involved, be prepared to have some major money and then owe a lot more.

Malpractice payouts account for only a tiny fraction of the money paid out by insurers for this reason. Most of their money is NOT paid out. They keep it, and then claim they don't have enough.

You hit the problem on the head though----as long as it's " you and them" and not "we and us" nothing changes.

[SonofLiberty1]

And there are a heck oaf a lot of us who have done just that and now our jobs have been outsourced.

[chosenson]

Stand with Howard Dean to support a Public Option. Sign the Petition:

http://standwithdrdean.com/

Please sign the petition.

[Roses]

Done.

Now write the President.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aug20forumlive/

And write your Senators and Representatives

http://www.senate.gov/

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

[hoosier96]

And this one.

www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/

[SonofLiberty1]

WRITE TO MANY CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS

[TylerRose]

March for PUBLIC OPTION on September 13, 2009 in Washington D.C..
If you cannot go to Washington D.C., click on events to sign up to attend an event in your state. I signed up for the event in Austin, TX on that date from 12:00P.M. to 3:00PM.

http://www.marchforhealthcare.com/

[creolechild]

Part II --

"The message will be unmistakable: caravan with us to Washington and help make a public demonstration of support for Single Payer Health Care that will be heard around the world."

"Imagine..."

"Thousands of cars pulling into the nation's capital for a protest on the White House lawn. The sidewalks are filled with supporters carrying signs in support of the Mad As Hell Doctors who have captured the imagination and the ignited the passion of their fellow citizens. We wave and honk at the camera crews, as do the endless line of cars behind us, as we wend our way toward the White House. On every antenna, on the backside of every car, and flapping like flags from sidewalk supporters, is the symbol of this new movement: the White Ribbon."

[creolechild]

So far, this appears to be the most coordinated effort to demonstrate for the single-payer option. Many of us were focused on September 13th as the date to demonstrate in Washington. Maybe we should throw our support behind these physicians' efforts. Please help me spread the word.

If you click on the link their website it provides additional information, a sign-up for the events, and a map that indicates the cities they will stop in enroute to Washington.

http://www.madashelldoctors.com/

"On September 8th, a caravan will cross America to deliver a clear and simple message to our elected officials in Washington."

"On September 8, 2009 a group of dedicated Oregon physicians will take the message of Universal Health Care "on the road" in a wrapped and branded Motor Home headed for Washington D.C. Our cross-country mission: to stop in big cities and whistle stops alike, conducting pre-booked, local and national media appearances for a curious press. Every move we make along the way will be recorded on camera and then edited and uploaded to the internet that same day. This will allow our Mad As Hell Doctors Tour to leverage the edited video segments on social networking web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, et al. In this way, our effort becomes an unprecedented hybrid of reality television and political activism that offers people the opportunity to follow us, in real time, as our story unfolds."

[Bowlingkev]

Pres Obama may have education, but nowhere on his thin resume does it list "experience". Dems have the majority in the house and senate so the argument that the evil, racist, stupid, ignorant conservatives are to blame for every problem in the 21st century is falling on deaf ears. Toxic deceptions??? I don't think so. Let's stay on track. The current health care debacle started over a 1100 page piece of crummy legislation that NO ONE READ. It contains more pork that a South Carolina pig farm, just like the stimulus package. Bottom line is that your leader, the person who so nobly articulated your own need for hope and change through use of the teleprompter, lied.

[PunKinPai]

Then, by all means, let's continue with the "health care" we have now.

[Roses]

Let's get over this stupid, defensive, divisive, sick noise of "conservatives" and "liberals" and focus on being smart Americans.

Write the President and your elected Congressional Representatives and tell them about your health care and what you want and need. If you are happy with it tell them that, if you are not happy with them tell them that. If you think your insurance company is taking you for a ride tell them that. If you don't have a job, tell them that. If you are just one happy-go-l­ucky-felle­r tell them that. If you feel ripped off tell them that. If you think the economy is going to h**l tell them that.

I'm tired of the whining.
Steven is right. You have power. Do your job.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

[SonofLiberty1]

Sounds like you are sitting pretty.

Guess what will happen if a public option doesn't occur?

[-0013]

"We finally have a president who doesn't insult our intelligen­ce......."

I guess you've missed the health care debates and town halls recently.

[FlamingLibrul]

Yes, those townhall proudly-se­lf-proclai­med "terrorists" have insulted the intelligence of the entire country with their anti-democratic tactics, and made America (yet again), the laughing stock of the world. Well, those who aren't completely shocked and appalled at the level of ra cist ignorance coming from seemingly every-day Americans may spare a moment to point and laugh. Those for whom the health care debate may really mean life-or-death however, don't have time for the mountain of lies and misinformation coming from the Party of Greed.

[chosenson]

It is the "Death Panels" group who insult the intelligence of the Nation and prey on the fears of those who do not know better!

[PunKinPai]

I think you are the one who missed them. Or maybe you were too busy shouting about putting grandma down like a dog to listen.

[Level7]

What can we do to help? Write, e-mail, call, SHOW UP!
I find that Democrats are shockingly un-energetic, (one of my friends calls Democrats "docile"), when it comes to fighting for their beliefs.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contactissues
BlueDog@ma­il.house.g­ov

[TylerRose]

March for PUBLIC OPTION on September 13, 2009 in Washington D.C..
If you cannot go to Washington D.C., click on events to sign up to attend an event in your state. I signed up for the event in Austin, TX on that date from 12:00P.M. to 3:00PM.

http://www.marchforhealthcare.com/

[Roses]

Thank you. Ditto.

[Dredd]

What we the people can do is thwarted at times by we the government and even the government is thwarted by the shadow powers that often seem to be the real power source.

http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/08/shadow-of-time-governs-earth.html

[CompashCat]

I blame the media for what has happened so far in the Obama Administration. It seems to me that he wants to have thoughtful, rational discussions about complex things -- like healthcare, like climate change, like our crumbling infrastructure, etc. Trouble is -yawn! - these topics, handled in this way, does not bring in those high ratings that cable news covets and demands. So we get the "outrageous" accusations, the tea-parties, the town-hall screamers because they are like the car wreck on the side of the road that everyone slows down to look at. How can we make our sensible thought-process, empathetic reasoning, historically based facts and scientific data into something "newsworthy?"

[PunKinPai]

After reading this your other posts, FANNED.

[Notrepublicrat]

Thank goodness for statists like Weber for telling us that opposition to Obama and his righteousness are ignorant or racist.

I will henceforth simply accept everything our leaders tell us (except for those that Weber tells me are not righteous).

I was a lifelong Democrat, but wavered when my party opposed school vouchers for poor kids, didn't oppose Bush's eavesdropping and torturing programs and voted retro-active immunity for telco companies. I was sceptical of the financial bailout under Bush and Obama, and of the escalation of the drug war under Clinton.

Silly me!

Thanks so much for moving the debate forward Mr. Weber. The message is clear: shut up and accept Obama's righteousness.

[FlamingLibrul]

Anyone who refers to President Obama as a statist is clearly a Glenn Beck drone, whose chances of ever having been a Democrat are about as good as the teabaggers not having a racist agenda. I see the new 'Drudge' tactic is whining about racists and bigots being called out for what they are.

Progressives will not stick our heads in the sand and back away from what is a glaring truth. When folks show up with Tim McV eigh shirts, carrying loaded guns and Obama-as-Hitler signs, that is not only racist, it's white supremacist. And that is where the Grand Obstructionist Party seems be heading, because that is what's left of its base. Funny you should use the term righteousness- pot calling kettle...

[Notrepublicrat]

FlamingLibrul called me out.

Rather than paying attention to what I wrote, FlamingLibrul said I was a liar about ever being a Democrat. A quick new paragraph and we discover I am a racist, too. I won't bother with volunteering my ethnicity, because if it doesn't fit, I will of course be lying.

There couldn't be a better demonstration as to how useless we mere individuals are in the face of those who just know better and who just are better. We are all racists and liars if we disagree with the Democrats. I'm sure the Republicans who said we were unpatriotic if we opposed the war are very happy for the validation!

[NoFactsJustTruth]

Democrats have largely ALWAYS opposed the voucher system that would fund religious private schools with taxpayer dollars, violating the Constitutional principles of combining church and State, so you dishonestly present yourself as EVER having been any sort of Democrat, much less a lifelong one.

It clearly epitomizes though how republican'ts, in their smug self-righteousness, believe any distortion of TRUTH is acceptable to achieve THEIR goals. The invisible being in the sky is on THEIR side.
Uh huh, sure...

[agave68]

Ad hominem. And why do so many people assume that anyone who criticizes Obama is a Republican? Are you saying that you had no issue with Obama’s reversal of his FISA stance? His continuation of rendition? His undermining of whistleblower protections when he promised the opposite? His failure to post bills at least 5 days before signing as he had also promised? His support of the bankster bailouts? I mean what exactly would it take for you to simply question the man? You do realize that there are many African Americans who are highly critical and suspect of Obama, don’t you (just check out www.blackagendareport.com)? Are these people all racists? Try to practice some civility in your discourse, and remember that it is in fact possible to interact respectfully and intelligently with people even if you don’t agree with or understand all of their views. I mean DUH, right?

[jfkennedy]

Can't we discuss Obama's agenda on its merits without playing the race card?
" . . . the contemptible, angry faction that seethes at the thought of a black president and a progressive agenda."
Do you have credible evidence that those who oppose his agenda are racists, or does any opposition to an Obama proposal automatically constitute rascism in your view?
In my opinion, unwarranted accusations of "rascism" are worse than useless in advancing any cause.

[PunKinPai]

Gee, I don't know where we got that idea.... Try here for an answer: http://gawker.com/5064741/the-racist-anti+obama-gop-newsletter-listicle