The Generals and Rumsfeld

(Cartoon via TruthDig.com)

Recommended Books

This is a brief list of some books I recommend highly — these are books that have informed and shaped my way of thinking on an array of issues. By the way, if you plan on purchasing any of these books, please consider the following: Amazon rates as a republican leaning company, based on its political contributions; while Barnes & Nobles rates as a strong Democratic party supporter, based on its political contributions. That said, I, like the overwhelming majority of the Web using population have, and continue to use, Amazon for some online purchases (it’s just a fact that Amazon is a convenient place to shop online).

My list of recommend books:

• Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror, by Michael Scheuer

• Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, by George Lakoff

• MoveOn’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country: How to Find Your Political Voice and Become a Catalyst for Change

• Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, by Robert Wright

• People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present, by Howard Zinn

• Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals, by Saul D. Alinsky

• The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by Robert Wright

• The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How it Corrupts Democracy, by David Brock

• The Stock Ticker and the Superjumbo: How the Democrats Can Once Again Become America’s Dominant Political Party, by Rick Perlstein

• What Liberal Media?: The Truth About Bias and the News (Art of Mentoring Series), by Eric Alterman

Of these, I highly recommend Rules for Radicals to anyone looking for practical insight on what it takes to be an effective grassroots leader — something we desperately need more of.

Rumsfeld: On His Way Out

Is the old man at the Pentagon, the incompetent Donny Rumsfeld, on his way out? One can only hope, of course.

What’s even sweeter is that, with Rummy out, America can begin to recover from the damage that this man created within our military; and, as Liberal Oasis notes, there’ll be some added benefits to make his departure even better:

[I]ncreasing pressure can potentially create a distraction for the Administration, sapping staff energy and crowding out news stories helpful to Bush’s agenda.

And if the pressure finally succeeds and Rummy leaves, there would certainly be a transition period at the Pentagon that would slow down the start of any new projects, say, war with Iran.

Since Bush’s clock is ticking, any delay could be a big help in saving us from another senseless war.

One can only hope, one can only hope.

Gallery: Anndra Dubhacan

There are some really compelling portraits in this gallery — I love the processing:

Democrats: Motivating the Base

There’s some talk around the liberal, Democratic leaning blogsphere about what it is that the Democratic party can do to energize and motivate the base, given the apparent grassroots passivity that some observe. The apparent grassroots passivity seems counter intuitive, given how poll after poll shows that Democrats are preferred over republicans to take control of Congress after the November elections; and, yet, Democratic voters do not appear to have turned out in large numbers in the recent CA-50 special election for. Understandably, one wonders, What can the Democratic party do to motivate the grassroots and the general public?

Here are my suggestions:

1. For better or worse, all movements need a leader… a central voice that crystallizes the aspirations and motivations of the countless of faceless, and voiceless masses. Elected Dems have not provided that single voice/leader that crystallizes our hopes and frustrations. The 2006 elections, even though they are “just” a midterm election, should be approached by the Democratic party as if the elections were a presidential election — even going so far as to hold a national convention to present a New Democratic Deal for America (think of it as a New Deal 2.0) to the country.

Dems must capitalize on the “perfect political storm” that exists at the moment. But to do so, the Democratic party must designate one person to be the voice of the party, and then the party must make sure not to undermine that voice by keeping saboteurs from running to FauxNews and/or the Hannity radio program. For my money, I’d love to see either Dean and/or Feingold as the voice of the party that crystallizes my aspirations and motivations. Unfortunately, the inner circle of the Democratic party establishment would never allow Dean nor Feingold to be the voice and face of the party; nonetheless, although I will not get my ideal Democratic representative to speak for me, Dems should consider designating one person to be the voice and face of the party because it’ll facilitate communication with the public. (Please note that, even though I’ve suggest the designation of a single voice, I understand that this is unworkable; accordingly, the next best thing is to designate a handful of representatives (2-3) to be the voices of the party — that is, select 2-3 voices that can speak to different audiences (clearly, centrist/corporatist Dems would think it intolerable if they don’t have a seat at the table)).

2. Though some elected Dems have moved closer towards a draw down/pull back position on Iraq, more Democratic representatives must come out in favor of a pull back from Iraq; moreover, elected Dems need to speak with one voice on this issue. We, the American public, are disillusioned with Bush’s Iraq invasion and are actively looking for alternatives to simply “staying the course” and other such lame slogans as “A Plan for Victory.” It’s clear that elected Dems are split on this issue on policy grounds, and not merely on the politics of the situation — that is, some elected Dems do fear that a precipitous pull back down of troops from Iraq would create even worse repercussions over the long term; however, the Democrat hawks are not presenting an alternative to the current course, which simply unacceptable, because the public craves something different, period. I, along with the vast majority of the Democratic grassroots, and an ever increasing number of the John Q public support immediate pull back from Iraq. The bottom line is that Americans want to be presented with an alternative plan on Iraq, because we know that simply staying the course is, in fact, a plan for failure; unfortunately, Democrats have not coordinated the formulation of an alternative plan, even though they have at their disposal an imminently credibly, digestible and workable Democratic response to the quagmire in Iraq. That plan, of course, is the Murtha Plan — which: Every. Single. Democrat. Should. Support. It’s good politics and good policy.

3. Follow the Ross Perot model. Perot spent millions of dollars on long-form infomercials during his ’92 bid for the presidency; an act that, to my mind, was the biggest single factor to propel his insurgent candidacy in that election. Dems need to do the same thing. Create half-hour or hour-long infomercials wherein the designated voice(s) of the party intimately walk the American public through a narrative presenting, in stark contrast, what the Democratic Party stands for and, too, how the New Democratic Deal for America will touch and improve our lives. The key of these long-form infomercials is that Dems would control the message and presentation, with no moderator to interrupt with some pretension at objectivity. Moreover, the long-form infomercial would allow for an adult conversation, on a myriad of issues, with the American public.