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06 July 2006
Thu, 06 Jul 2006 13:52:05 GMT Mission Statement - Campaign Wikiavia Kjell Olsen2147 days agobringing together people from diverse political perspectives who may not share much else, but who share the idea that they would rather see democratic politics be about engaging with the serious ideas of intelligent opponents, about activating and motivating ordinary people to get involved and really care about politics beyond the television soundbites.
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02 June 2006
Fri, 02 Jun 2006 16:10:00 GMT So the US Presidential Election Was Stolen -- So What?via Kjell Olsen2181 days agoAmerica is massively broken:
The inmates are running the asylum.
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16 May 2006
Tue, 16 May 2006 20:35:00 GMT The alternative of a decent societyvia Kjell Olsen2198 days agoInvade Venezuela.
Chávez is, of course, a threat, especially to the United States. Like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, who based their revolution on the English co-operative moment, and the moderate Allende in Chile, he offers the threat of an alternative way of developing a decent society: in other words, the threat of a good example in a continent where the majority of humanity has long suffered a Washington-designed peonage.
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08 May 2006
Mon, 08 May 2006 22:40:38 GMTThe Corporation
(Again with the documentaries, I’ve been bingeing on them in procrastinating writing my final papers for school.)
Watching this film is for the most part, horrifying. I’m not going to go all to much in detail, there’s a sparse page over at wikipedia for you to browse.
Just a quote I figured I’d write up, it’s about the 1992 bolivian water revolt in the city of Cochabamba.
At the climax of the struggle, the army stayed in their barracks; the police also remained in their stations; the members of Congress became invisible; the Governor went into hiding, and afterwards, he resigned. There wasn’t any authority left. The only legitimate authority was the people gathered at the city square making decisions in large assemblies. Oscar Olivera, Coalition in Defense of Water and Life
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18 March 2006
Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:34:49 GMTUnder democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule
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21 December 2005
Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:23:08 GMT Deserves Impeachmentvia Kjell Olsen2344 days agoAs political strategy and as public policy, the impeachment of Mr. Bush is an unappealing prospect. (Besides, if he could be thrown out somehow, who would want Dick Cheney to succeed him?) And yet, the actions and attitudes of this President raise the question of how else we can preserve the bedrock principles of a democratic republic.
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19 November 2005
Sat, 19 Nov 2005 11:58:00 GMT Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats?via Kjell Olsen2376 days agoThe chances are slim that it hasn’t.
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16 November 2005
Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:25:00 GMT Deafening silence over GAO e-voting report, new evidence of abuse. | MetaFiltervia Kjell Olsen2379 days agoWhen the term ‘liberal’ (subscribing to an ideology, or current of political thought, which strives to maximize individual liberty through rights under law) is commonly used as an insult, liberty in essence is fucked.
Jefferson would say widespread corruption of the voting system amounts to grounds for revolution. Tree of liberty, tyrants, et cetera. When the voting system itself is circumvented, democracy no longer exists. mullingitover -
08 November 2005
Tue, 08 Nov 2005 19:01:00 GMTVote
It was my first chance at the poll booth, and I took advantage of it. Not much to say. There was an education levy on the ballot, which was just a little 4×4 square of yellow paper.
I just couldn’t not vote. I’m sure pissed enough about politics these days (you couldn’t tell?). And it’s not just your right as a citizen, it’s your responsibility. Not voting ought void your membership to the democracy or something.
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04 October 2005
Tue, 04 Oct 2005 11:10:00 GMT George Monbiot: The police abuse terror laws to penalise dissentvia Kjell Olsen2422 days agoNo act has been passed over the past 20 years with the aim of preventing antisocial behaviour, disorderly conduct, trespass, harassment and terrorism that has not also been deployed to criminalise a peaceful public engagement in politics.
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02 October 2005
Sun, 02 Oct 2005 10:49:17 GMT Perfection of Democracyvia Kjell Olsen2424 days agoAs democracy is perfected, the office of President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart
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08 July 2005
Fri, 08 Jul 2005 22:29:13 GMT The Democratization of Historyvia Kjell Olsen2510 days agoMillions of us have online journals—or, at minimum, send email—where we can take notes about what we’ve experienced, visible to anyone who is interested. Millions of us carry cameras with us wherever we go, allowing us to record events as they happen. Millions of us are now historians.
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Also somewhat recently
