Mike Gravel and Joe Lauria to join Think Youth for an interview.

Mark your calendars! Think Youth will be conducting what promises to be an exciting interview with Former United States Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate, Mike Gravel. Also joining us will be renowned investigative journalist, Joe Lauria.

Senator Gravel and Mr. Lauria will be discussing their book, “A Political Odyssey, The Rise of American Militarism and One Man’s Fight to Stop It,” which chronicles Senator Gravel’s life and career.

The interview will be published on Think Youth, both as an audio podcast and a written transcript, on Friday, August 15.

Election 2008: Ralph Nader in Athens, Georgia

On July 25th, 2008, my father, my thirteen-year-old brother, and I went to go see Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and 2008 Independent Presidential candidate, speak at “Master’s Hall” on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. I had been incredibly excited to see that Nader was coming to Georgia on his “Southern Tour”, and no more than forty miles away from my town, no less! My father, being the good open-minded fellow that he is, agreeably drove myself and my uninterested brother there and paid the $10 each to get in. We each received a free Nader/Gonzalez ‘08 pin for this payment. There was a long table set up just outside the hall for this practice of collecting money, and for collecting signatures on a petition to get Ralph Nader on the ballot in Georgia. The number of signatures necessary to get Nader, or any Independent candidate, on the ballot in Georgia is inane: 42,489 signatures by July 8th. Such ballot access laws are implemented so that independent candidates cannot make a significant challenge to the two major parties in power (who are the ones that make the laws, of course).

The event was at 5:30 in the afternoon; we three were situated in our seats by 5:00, and we watched as the hall filled up with likely about two hundred people. Since Ralph Nader had held an event in Columbia, South Carolina, at 12 o’clock that afternoon, and since he had run into some bad traffic on the way to Athens, he did not arrive at the hall until about 6 o’clock that evening.

After giving a brief press conference upstairs, Nader arrived, amidst a burst of applause. He walked down the aisle, right next to where I was sitting (close enough that I could have touched him, if I lacked judgement and prudence), towards the podium. Nader sat down and briefly rested from his busy schedule while a young African American campaign volunteer, a “concerned citizen”, gave an earnest introductory speech. In this speech, the young man affirmed how much he cared about the country and the issues at hand, and how important it is for everyone to care and be civically involved. And then he said, “And now I am proud to present a more-than-worthy 2008 presidential candidate, Mr. Ralph Nader.” The crowd erupted into applause. This was the moment that we had all been waiting for. We three were not disappointed.
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Think Youth invited to “The Big Tent.”

In May, the Think Youth staff received word that the site had been granted credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Today, we are pleased to announce another development. It has just come to our attention that Think Youth has also been granted passes to “The Big Tent.” This is very exciting news. For those who have not yet heard of The Big Tent, here is some information about it from the website:

The Big Tent will be the place to be for new media journalists, bloggers, reporters, and non-profit leaders covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.

We’re creating a 9,000 square foot, two-story structure that will house the work space for journalists, bloggers and new media, a Digg Stage with prominent national leaders, as well as a Google Retreat with a YouTube kiosk where you can make your own YouTube videos. The Big Tent will be open throughout the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 25- 28.

In the New Media Lounge, your pass will be a ticket to to enjoy all the benefits of the blogger / new media lounge, including free WiFi, work space, television-coverage… And you get to hang out with some of the top bloggers, new media journalists, and non-profit leaders in the country.

The Big Tent is being made possible by a number of sponsors including Digg, Google, New Belgium Brewing, and The Wright Group. We would also like to recognize the hosts of The Big Tent: ProgressNow, Daily Kos, and The Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado.

On a personal note, we couldn’t be more thrilled or grateful that Think Youth has been given this opportunity. There is no doubt in our minds that having access to The Big Tent facilities for the duration of the Democratic National Convention will greatly increase our ability to provide readers of Think Youth with coverage of the highest quality.

- The Think Youth Staff

Progressive verses Liberalism: Faith, Why Obama is Right

The uproar over Sen. Obama’s plan to keep President Bush’s White House Office of Community and Faith Based Initiatives from the left of the Democratic Party shows the growing split in the nation’s largest political party. This is a split between the vocal and to their credit active liberal wing that icons like Howard Dean, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Russ Feingold, and more. It is clear that they are at odds with their inter-party rivals who are quickly gaining attention as progressives with leaders like Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and more.

This week while progressives, who use to call themselves moderates, praised the new position of the Junior Senator from Illinois to make outreach and involvement with communities of faith a cornerstone of his campaign and if elected administration, liberals led by the Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State took it to the trash. However Obama’s plan and the reaction by the very group that propelled him to the forefront of the parties nomination for President who why so many people refuse to own the liberal label. They are wrong!

I must be up front and remind some that I was a very vocal and supportive advocate for Senator Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House. We refuse to be called moderates because we believe that our values and our politics are what built the party to the strength we have today. A party that is center left as opposed to one that is far left. The reaction to Sen. Obama saying that he intends to reform and revitalize an office that believes that organizations of faith don’t deserve equal funding opportunities to serve their communities instead of special treatment.

The sad opposition from the liberals on the far left can be summed up in the fact that this is a failed Bush Administration policy as Rev. Berry Lynn said. What their opposition refuses to hear is the reform and change that during the primary they belted was a call to unite behind and what the Senator is proposing. A gut opposition rooted in being the opposition for the sake of opposition instead of listening and hearing the change and positive services these programs can provide is why liberals lose out to progressives on a number of issues that include: education reform, the economy, FISA, healthcare, and the list goes on. It is hard for many of the most passionate liberals to get past the ideology and compare it with the very real lives of the American.

An example of this disconnect with their reality verses real reality is their unwillingness to view Sen. Obama’s plan for faith outreach compared with our knowledge of the Bush Administration. As I see it the new President’s Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will from the plan the campaign released, “work to engage faith-based organizations and help them abide by the principals that federal funds cannot be used to proselytize, that they should not discriminate in providing their services, and they should be held to the same standards as other federal grant recipients.”

Liberals like Rev. Berry Lynn and others who are up in arms about Sen. Obama’s plan have offered no real alternative for the communities that the plan was created to reach out to. Communities like mine. Communities that have been underserved by the government in the past and some that have an unwelcoming attitude towards government authority. It is communities like these that are held up by these very churches who provide in some instances education, health advice, legal counsel, and so much more. Examples below the fold:
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Politics of Insanity

Over the past couple decades, the American people have seen the incompetence, corruption, and inability to get anything done among the collective group of their elected officials. These elected officials find themselves indebted to lobbyists and corporations who donate to their political campaigns, rather than their constituents, and so they often find it necessary to represent and work for their corporations rather than their constituents. Many Americans these days are probably now wondering, “How do I go about picking a candidate who is competent and able and who is not corrupt, so that I can then vote for them and work for them, so that they can get into office and work for me?”

It is difficult attempting to scrutinize each candidate to try to determine what exactly they are thinking, so I have come up with a better solution to ascertain that the candidate that you elect will work for you, and work hard. For those candidates running for elected office, what the constituents need to do is to all get together, have the candidates in front of them, and then everyone stand back and each throw one dart towards the candidates. I almost can guarantee you that the candidate who receives the most darts will work, and work hard, for his or her constituents. They shan’t want any darts thrown at them again.

But, seriously, friends, there is an incompetence, corruption, and ineffectiveness that seems to be held collectively among our elected officials, with a few exceptions. It also seems to be held, generally, among both of the major political parties. What we, the American people, have essentially been doing these past several decades is swinging back and forth between the Democrats and the Republicans, reverting from one to the other when one does not satisfactorily execute its promises. When we tire of one party, the other party shouts, “Here! We can do all of the things that you want, and more! We shall be a ‘change’ from this other useless party!” But this new party does not deliver on its promises either.

We switch back and forth, finding each party unsatisfactory over and over again, and we expect different results each time the Democrats or each time the Republicans promise to bring different results. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is, according to Albert Einstein, the very definition of insanity.
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I Am An Angry Voter

I am an angry voter. I worry that a McCain or Clinton administration will continue the same Washington politics that are destroying our nation. Like politicians getting free vacations trips to tropical destinations for signing free trade deals at the request of lobbyists.

There are many blacks like me that share this same anger, and even bitterness.  Some blue collar workers might look at some blacks as lazy, destructive people on welfare and wonder why we’re surprised Wal-Mart won’t open and bring employment opportunities in black neighborhoods. And then some blacks might look at the white male factory worker as getting what he deserves, because for past generations he had a free “white male” card.

But in the end the white father and the black father are both angry when they find it hard to place food on the table. Whether as Americans, they scrape money from the grandparents or from the federal government, the shame of not being able to provide for your own family creates anger at the system.

But the media (which is funded by corporations) and selfish politicians are seeking to divide Americans that are affected by the same failed economic policies, so that they can rake in more money and profits. They’re creating “voter outrage” of Barack Obama’s “bitter” comments.

His statement was intended to help a group of elitist California fund raisers understand what the unemployed American feels. Every election cycle presidents and senators pose against shuttered factories and promise jobs. And the January after each election cycle we see more American jobs sent to places like Asia and South America.

The Washington and corporate establishment is scared that a candidate has finally called politicians on their economic BS. The establishment is worried that blue collar America and urban America might realize our economic issues are the same. If Americans are able to look past the small differences that separate us, and exercise our right to make America a better place, corrupt politicians and companies looking at short term and selfish gains will be forced to change or leave.

Bitter is not a bad word. I am “Marked by resentment or cynicism” as the dictionary says, when it comes to politics. When watching you, your family, your community, and your country slowly dieing because of irresponsible decision making, it is no shame to be a bitter voter.

Cross posted at my personal site.

Obama and Supporters Blocked Michigan Redo

The Obama campaign has been opposed to revotes in Florida and Michigan. In Michigan, we can finally know why they are opposed to having voter’s voices heard. Just listen to the last line from Obama supporter and Michigan State Senator Buzz Thomas, who helped block a revote in the state:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om3szT6Cv20

“I’m sleeping well at night knowing that we made the right decision. Luckily, I guess, you know, it’s good to be in the lead.” -Buzz Thomas (D-Michigan State Senator)

It is now clear Obama and his supporters blocked legislation for a revote in Michigan because they knew it would not be in their favor. The campaign, with the help of Buzz Thomas, has obviously been trying to run out the clock with their lead in delegates. It’s a shame that a Michigan elected official would disenfranchise the voters of his own home state to help get Barack Obama elected. I guarantee you Michigan and Florida will have representation in the Democratic Primary. Just like Senator Clinton said, “Let’s have the Democratic party go on record against seating the Michigan and Florida delegations three months before the general election? I don’t think that will happen. I think they will be seated. So that’s where we’re headed if we don’t get this worked out.”

“Democracy”

Executive Efficacy Expanded

Many, many people in these united states long for the day upon which George W. Bush will vacate the Presidency. During Bush’s terms in office, he has gotten us into a Quagmire in Iraq (and has engaged in a generally arrogant and foolish foreign policy), deftly removed many of our civil liberties from us, racked up record deficits, exploited the people’s fear of terrorism (which helped him to win elections, achieve his agenda, and rob us of our apparently undeserved liberties), and, most importantly, greatly increased the power and influence of the Executive Branch. The People long for Bush’s exit because they are tired of these repeated abuses and usurpations, and with the hope that, once Dubya leaves, we’ll be able to get a Democrat or at least a moderate in office and get America back onto the right track. This perspective is not in agreement with my own; in point of fact, I disagree with it very strongly. It seems to me that this belief is the product of the very ignorance which allowed Bush to expand his office and worsen the state of the country in the first place. Let me take just a few moments in order to explain my thoughts more clearly on this matter. Read more

Voting in the Potomac Primaries

I voted. Today I could wear that little sticker without feeling like liar. But best of all I could cast a confidence vote. Even though in 2004 I couldn’t vote I still wanted John Kerry to win. Not because I loved John Kerry but because I hated Bush. I assumed this election would be similar. But now there’s a candidate I can be excited about. Read more

Corporate Control

It is a well-known and unfortunate fact in the United States that businesses, corporations, and special interests play a much greater role in our politics and government than we would certainly like it to. There has been, for decades, if not centuries, the element to our politics that is the corrupting influence of money. It has become particularly pronounced in recent years, especially in this 2008 Presidential Election, where candidates of both political parties are raising millions and millions of dollars each in campaign cash. In fact, this could be the first billion-dollar presidential campaign in our country’s history. That is, assuredly, not a positive sign.

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The Illogicality of Perpetual Wars

Throughout human history, humankind has been fond of waging perpetual wars, the meaning of which being a war waged upon an enemy that can never be definitively defeated. We likely do this because we are rather illogical creatures, creatures whose passions and prejudices can easily trump logic. In modern times, one place in the world where this illogicality of perpetual war has fully taken root is the United States of America. Given, all countries behave illogically to some extent (as they are all governed by fallible human beings), but America is the one that I know the most about. This illogicality is illustrated perfectly by two “wars”, one military and one not, that America currently is waging: the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.

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The Halo Effect

In the science of Psychology, the concept of a “halo effect” exists, in which people who have one positive characteristic are assumed to have all kinds of other positive characteristics. There is also such a thing as a “reverse halo effect”, in which people who have one negative characteristic are assumed to have other negative characteristics. These two concepts very often play a role in the social interaction of human beings.

One example of this is a job interview. Hypothetically, let’s say that two people, Mike and John, are applying for a job. They both set up an appointment to be interviewed for the job by the company or individual who wishes to do the hiring. Mike dresses very casually for the interview, wearing jeans, sandals, and a t-shirt. John dresses very formally, wearing more expensive clothes such as a suit and tie. In this interview situation, which person is more likely to get the job? Using the principle of the halo and reverse halo effects, the interviewer will have a more favorable impression of John, who was very well dressed. Because John was very well dressed, the interviewer would have assumed that he had all kinds of other positive characteristics as well, even though that might not necesarily be the case. This situation is why interviewers must always be very careful and cautious in judging people, and beware of the halo effect and the reverse halo effect.

Why is this relevant? You’re probably asking yourself that by now. Well, this is relevant because it has a direct bearing on our United States presidential elections today.

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Edwards Would Continue The Presidential Dynasty

Bill Clinton was one of the best presidents of all time. Conservatives would argue Reagan was the best modern president. And both groups can agree on one thing, they’d love to see their choice candidates views propelled. But to endanger the American Democracy where each group gets to see their favorite man (or woman) in charge is a scary proposition.
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