Health Care Plea to Obama

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Friday September 04, 2009 · 2:31 PM PDT

2009/09/04 · 14:31

Okay, this is serious now. We need real health care reform and I don't mean tomorrow. The only appropriate time for a response to our health care emergency is today.

I get this. And so does my wife. She wrote the following plea to President Obama in the hope that he would listen. It touched me deeply enough to feel like my fellow Kos'ers would appreciate hearing it too.

Will you help spread this around?

joe at rockridgeinstitute

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Friday September 05, 2008 · 7:09 PM PDT

2008/09/05 · 19:09

I just watched a video clip of Joe Biden being interviewed on CNN about Sarah Palin's despicable slanderous spew of vomit at the RNC. Throughout the interview, the right-wing interlocutor (John Roberts) posed question after question in frames that directly attack Biden's character or Obama's character.

How did Biden respond? By repeating over and over again HOW GREAT SARAH PALIN IS!!!!! What the crap??!! No wonder progressives keep getting their asses kicked. By accepting conservative frames and responding within the frame, instead of breaking the conservative frame and replacing it with a progressive frame, they simply reinforce the assertions underlying the character attacks.

How should Biden have responded? More below the fold...

Poll

133 votes Show Results

When Obama and Biden are under attack, they should...

133 votes Vote Now!

When Obama and Biden are under attack, they should...

Stand firm and counter the attacks directly.

115 votes

Accept the assertions as truth and "be polite."

5 votes

Pull out a yo-yo and ignore the question entirely.

12 votes

Media Trick for Making Obama Look Shallow

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 31, 2008 · 2:01 PM PDT

2008/07/31 · 14:01

How is it that the media still gets away with saying that Obama "lacks substance" when he has taken sophisticated stances on every major political issue? The answer is simple: the media is perpetuating a bogus claim and reporting in a manner that makes it seem plausible.

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 01, 2008 · 11:30 AM PST

2008/01/01 · 11:30

Today we embark upon another tour around the Sun on this precious spinning rock we call home. It is an honor to be among you – the great messengers of change in our time of need. Our journey this time around can be purposeful and productive if we keep in mind the quintessential human capacity that makes progress possible – hope. With it, we can rise up to face the great challenges that define our times. Simply kindle the hope that resides deep within our hearts.

I would like to take a moment to share an insight that gives me hope. Perhaps it will shed light upon your path as well.

This diary is cross-posted at Celsias.

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday August 08, 2007 · 10:24 AM PDT

2007/08/08 · 10:24

Conservatives have been very successful at shifting political discourse in their favor. This diary explains how they have done it. Progressives can reclaim the debate by knowing their values and articulating their political ideology honestly and openly.

Yesterday I posted a diary about the Overton Window. Today I would like to talk about the strategies that lead to success.

More below the fold...

This diary is cross-posted at Rockridge Nation

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 07, 2007 · 10:01 AM PDT

2007/08/07 · 10:01

As progressives, we want to shift political discourse in our favor. Hopefully this diary will help clarify why we may not want to use the Overton Window to do it. Knowing our values and presenting ourselves with authenticity is the key!

Yesterday I posted a diary about the limitations of thinking about politics in terms of left and right. Today I would like to talk about the problems with a strategy called the Overton Window.

More below the fold...

This diary is cross-posted at Rockridge Nation.

Poll

16 votes Show Results

How can the net roots (and net tops) shift political discourse?

16 votes Vote Now!

How can the net roots (and net tops) shift political discourse?

By orchestrating a unified voice that is distributed across the country (and world!)

1 vote

By interjecting new ideas that don't penetrate standard media sources

1 vote

By establishing an Open Source Democracy

0 votes

By sharing insights and tactics to improve our abilities to initiate change

1 vote

All of the above!

13 votes

Shifting Politics - Pt. 1: Model of Left and Right Falls Flat

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday August 06, 2007 · 9:07 AM PDT

2007/08/06 · 09:07

This is the first of a three part series, to be published over the next few days. Part 2 dissects the metaphors behind traditional political strategies based on the political spectrum of left-right politics - including a detailed discussion of the Overton Window. Part 3 presents the real strategy used by conservatives to shift debate in their favor and offers guidance for progressives to turn the tide.

Conservative strategists have successfully shifted political discourse in their favor. Progressives can shift the debate back by understanding how the political mind works. In order to do so, however, it is necessary to move beyond the faulty idea that there is a horizontal political spectrum from left to center to right.

More below the fold...

This article is cross-posted on Rockridge Nation.

Poll

123 votes Show Results

Which strategy should progressives use?

123 votes Vote Now!

Which strategy should progressives use?

Take principled positions and express our values honestly and accurately

111 votes

Treat politics as if it only has one dimension

4 votes

Try to sound as "mainsteam" as possible

3 votes

Be silent and hope conservatives make us look good

5 votes

The Coming Biofuels Disaster

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday June 27, 2007 · 3:16 PM PDT

2007/06/27 · 15:16

The climate debate has gotten underway and biofuels have been promoted as a strong candidate for solving the problem of oil dependence. In this article, I explore how framing has caused public discourse to overlook the major disaster that lurks behind biofuels.

The problems with biofuels stand out starkly when the framing is right, reinforcing the understanding that truth only becomes fact in the right context.

This article is cross-posted on Rockridge Nation

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday June 01, 2007 · 1:22 PM PDT

2007/06/01 · 13:22

President Bush announced his international development agenda yesterday, making headlines for declaring that the world’s wealthiest countries should talk about climate change. As an atmospheric scientist who analyzes the language of political discourse, I would like to share my perspective on what was said (and not said) in his proposal.

There are two major themes in his speech. First, he promoted the development of clean energy technologies to replace conventional fuels and production practices. And second, he recommended the elimination of "tariffs and other barriers to clean energy technologies" to promote the spread of these wonders of modern science. All of this was embedded within a story of American compassion to bring prosperity to the world’s poor.

Let’s have a look at these ideas more closely.

This article is cross-posted at Rockridge Nation.

Poll

25 votes Show Results

How do you feel about the fact that conservatives hijack progressive values to disarm the populace?

25 votes Vote Now!

How do you feel about the fact that conservatives hijack progressive values to disarm the populace?

It gives me warm fuzzies!

1 vote

I am filled with hope when I remember that most Americans are inherently progressive.

5 votes

Geez, I wish I'd known that before running for Congress!

0 votes

What?! I don't believe you.

0 votes

Ripples of disgust boil in my veins.

19 votes

Global Security & Climate Crisis

joe at rockridgeinstitute

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday May 17, 2007 · 4:00 PM PDT

2007/05/17 · 16:00

As a Fellow at the Rockridge Institute, I’ve been exploring the framing of security and it’s relationship to climate change. While climate change is a relatively new idea, our ideas about security have been around since the birth of the nation (and before). They have shifted dramatically since the cold war. In the contemporary context of international terrorism and climate change, ideas of security have become much more global and, at the same time, more individualized.

This diary is based on my paper Shifting the Climate of Security, which has recently been published on the Rockridge Institute website.

I just posted a shorter version of the paper for discussion on our blog site for the progressive community, Rockridge Nation.

Poll

102 votes Show Results

Are you part of our immediate community?

102 votes Vote Now!

Are you part of our immediate community?

Yes, I am already registerd at Rockridge Nation.

28 votes

Yes, I receive Rockridge Institute email updates. (Sometimes, I even open them!)

19 votes

Yes, both of the above.

44 votes

OK OK, I'll sign up now!

3 votes

Who ARE you guys?

8 votes

RSS

Health Care Plea to Obama

Biden Embraces Assassination of His Own Character

Media Trick for Making Obama Look Shallow

A Message of Hope for 2008

Shifting Politics - Pt. 3: How Conservatives REALLY Shift Public Opinion

Shifting Politics - Pt. 2: Overton Window Presents Distorted View

Shifting Politics - Pt. 1: Model of Left and Right Falls Flat

The Coming Biofuels Disaster

Rockridge Analysis of Bush's Trade Barriers to Climate Success

Global Security & Climate Crisis