DFA Organization Framework

The DFA can start expanding now. This is not too early. If we are serious about taking back the White House in 2008, we need to be thinking in terms of also taking back the Congress in 2006. President Dean deserves a Congress he can work with.

2008: Some Themes
2008: Some Thoughts
Dean 2008

The challenge is to effectively organize hundreds of thousands of volunteers. The MeetUp/LinkUp has to be at the core of it all. My model says 10 to a MeetUp. As soon as the number hits 20, that MeetUp/LinkUp group splits into two like amoeba. Each has an Organizer. The Organizers have an After MeetUp/LinkUp. That is also 10-20 in size. The person organizing that is a Senior Organizer.

Let's crunch a few numbers. Say a place like New York City, if there are 2400 members, that is 240 MeetUp/LinkUps, and 24 After MeetUp/LinkUps. And all those 24 Senior Organizers could have an After After MeetUp/LinkUp the following day.

This is just a framework. In that, if 50 people show up for one MeetUp/LinkUp, is that against the rules? No. There are no rules. This suggestion is Open Source like Linux, people decide locally how they might want to modify it for local needs.

But this 10-10-10 structure is designed to make sure every member is personally known well by someone in the leadership. This is about Face Time. In small towns, there might be only two or three MeetUp/LinkUps.

And I am not sure we want to bid farewell to the MeetUp.com website. True, now Organizers have to pay but, hey, they are a business. And $20 a month, that comes to $2 a person. Think of it as beer money.

On the other hand, the in-house LinkUps are also a great idea. It is probably more encouraging for people to show up when they don't have to pay. I don't know if there is a message there for the MeetUp site: become ad-based. Or they might get bought up by a company like Yahoo. Like Flickr got bought. Getting bought up is also a business model: that is what Chaitime.com was gunning for.

So you have this 10-10-10 structure for each town and city. Beyond that is screen time. The point being members should not have to drive around out of town to be effective. Unless they really really want to.

The Leader of every town and city gets together at a state level. And that getting together is online: talking online is free. A Leader has as many votes as there are MeetUp/LinkUps within his or her jurisdiction. So the NYC leader might carry 240 votes, the Bloomington, IN, Leader might carry four votes.

Then there is a committee of 50, one per state. That too is online. Should there be voting, the same rule applies at this level also. A state has as many votes as it has MeetUps. Or it could be one vote for every 100 MeetUps, or a thousand.

Why is the MeetUp/LinkUp so key? Because we are emphasizing Face Time.

This is the one person, one vote mechanism. Then there is the one voice mechanism. That part people can self-organize. There are plenty of free online options for people to express themselves in text, audio and video.

Imagine there are a million members who are part of this structure. And each has a blog. And they are all talking. That brings forth a central challenge: to create a superblog, a blogalaxy.

Here's an example: NYC Bloggers. There would be a 50 state map. Heck, it could be a world map. And people could list their blogs by geographical specificity. Not just their town, but by zip code or something, or neighborhood.

Another would be the DFA Link itself. The DFA Link would be organized by MeetUp/LinkUps. And on the profile page, there would be space for one to link to one's blog.

A third would be to organize a blogalaxy where the best blogs and blog entries surface to the top. There would be an online voting mechanism. Any DFA Link member could submit their blog or blog entry, any could vote. And you are an approved DFA Link member only if a MeetUP/LinkUp Organizer says so. And of course people could migrate. If you move from one state to another, your profile migrates with you. And there would be blog entries on specific policy issues.

DFA Link will have to come up with many more tools for the Town/City Leader. There should be a mechanism to award activity points to members. So there is a spectrum. At one end are the near inactive ones. At the other are the super active ones. All members are not equal. And there could be ranks for members like scouts do. You go up as you earn more points. And the tools should be all online, at DFA Link.

But separate from this one person, one vote mechanism, a think tank like stuff will have to be organized. That is totally about One Voice. Here people will have to have certain qualifications before they are in. This is also self-organizing. But there is a barrier to entry. Say all Nobel Prize winners are automatically in. Everyone with a Ph.D. maybe. I don't know. Anyone approved by the state leadership, with the leadership having an annual quota. Groups constantly thinking on every policy issue.

The policy suggestions of this think tank will still be subject to democratic approval, and ordinary members are not barred from coming up with policy ideas. The whole idea behind this transparent organization is that the best ideas could come from anywhere.

Some of the organizing principles still are:

1. One person, one vote, one voice.
2. Total, transparent democracy.
3. Non-violent militancy.
4. Face time, screen time.
   

These are early round thoughts. Need a lot of polishing. Feel free to chip in in the comments section.

Soaking In Howard Dean

124 Photos.

I got up late today. It was not long before I headed towards Times Square, center of the known universe, but good thing I checked my email beforehand. Robert was to miss our get-together. I hope it was not the reality show style of my blog that scared him away! Robert, some other time.

Going On The Offensive For Ferrer

"It's 6:30am and I just arrived back to the hotel. Really long story, just another one of my misadventures -- but let's just say, somehow I ended up in Connecticut. I'll see if I can meet you earlier than one, but that'll be tough given the bizarre circumstances I just ended up in. This story is so ridiculous they could make a sitcom out of it. Anyhow, I'll give you a call as soon as I wake up."

So I show up at Times Square. After a little while I leave a voice mail for Robert and then decide to walk over to the Union Square Park where Dean was to show up with Ferrer. That is a walk from the 42nd Street down to the 14th Street. But then after the Cindy Sheehan event on the 110th Street I walked all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan. Got to soak in the city.

I was hardly ever more than a foot or two away from Howard Dean the entire time at today's event. I must have come across like a handler. I acted like it too a few times, like there was this woman with her young daughter, and of course she was just passing by, unaware of the Dean event, and she goes, oh my, that is Howard Dean, and I said "Governor," and he immediately responded and went over to meet them. I did not realize he was aware of my presence. My first word to him I ever spoke on my own. So this is how history gets made, eh! More than once we were both laughing hard at some of the same jokes, and they were not even jokes, just remarks by people coming over to shake his hand, or his own comments. He is a regular guy. He laughs easily. That is his appeal. He almost comes across as a college buddy. The guy who gave Generation Dean its name might be a member!

There was this time towards this end, after Ferrer had already left, and the crowd was gone, and Dean was just going to walk over to wherever he was going next, and I felt like bringing up Dean 2008. I wanted to bring up Reagan and 1976, Bill Clinton and 1990. But then Dean can't really talk about it until 2007. And if he has to be convinced to run, he should not run. But if you ask me, he is surely running. It is so obvious he is.

And there was this cross-cultural awkwardness, this silent moment, when I was standing right next to him, to his left, and there were only a few people around, no media, people passing by not bothering to look at him or recognizing him, a total regular guy out on a stroll, and he gave up.

"See you later," he said to me in a sweet, calm voice. The first three words from Dean to me.

In the American culture, the emphasis is on talking, silence has to be constantly broken. Whereas in the culture where I grew up, sometimes family members get together, and just sit around, minutes pass by, noone is talking, and everyone is feeling just fine. Silence does not bother. Silence is also a bonding experience.

But then he said he will be in town several more times for Ferrer. I am showing up each time. I am going to ease into striking conversations. I am going to talk Dean 2008. After all, I am already working on it. Ferrer 2005 to me is but a prelude to Dean 2008. On its own, I would have had to struggle to get excited about it. And it is to do with my not having a thing for local politics. I have to look at the big picture to get myself excited.

Ferrer just came across as so thankful to Dean. He was effusive about it too. Dean is like a movie star. As he walked through the farmers' market, so many young people came over to him, and it was so obvious they were all Deaniacs, like in this movie where you have to have a gift to recognize all these creatures from a different planet who look just like humans otherwise, but they recognize each other.

I showed up half an hour early today as well. There was some kind of an exhibit on the Polish movement for democracy from the late 1980s, and that so totally spoke to me on the work I am doing on Nepal.

I helped myself to a slice of pizza while I waited.

And a street play about Guantanamo and more, a small group that basically wanted an end to the Bush regime, and they wanted it now. At the time I did not realize the group was also going to come after us in a loud way. They saw a good size crowd and got all worked up.

"You see that? That is Howard Dean, the number one anti-war presidential candidate from 2004. We are on the same side. Now cool it," I said.

"But this has to end, now! What are you doing about it?"

"First you have to take over power, before you can exercise it better."

"But what are you doing now? People are dying."

"Great work. Keep it up. I am with you."

The Dean-Ferrer entourage had fired up all cylinders for the small street play group. They felt their moment had arrived, and they were going to make the most of it. They started shouting.

Maybe the words did not come out exactly that way, but that was the thrust of it. Someone on the Ferrer campaign I had met because I arrived early for the event was watching all this. He looked at me, impressed. This guy can talk, he thought.

Before Dean arrived I got to meet a few people. One was this guy whose mother had been elected judge in some capacity somewhere. He showed me this medal the Italian government had awarded her, she had been made some kind of a Don. I told him, Arnold got himself elected Governor of California, and they named a mountain after him in Austria.

And then Ferrer showed up. Looks like he is already getting security details. I think he arrived in a NYPD vehicle.

And then Dean showed up. He came by the way of a sidewalk. No flashing lights, no nothing.

There was some interaction with the media. There were a bunch of questions for Ferrer. Then, predictably, they descended on Dean. They wanted to talk about Iraq, and a bunch of national issues. Dean kept bringing the attention back on the race at hand.

"I am here to do all I can for Ferrer."

"Who says Democrats are not behind Ferrer? I chair the Democratic Party, and I am solidly behind Ferrer."

The stroll through the farmers' market was just amazing. Both of them got to meet "real" people. People who were not there to meet Dean or Ferrer, but just happened to be there. And there were all these Deaniacs, equally surprised to be face to face with Dean. You could just tell they were Deaniacs. Dean would not miss a beat.

"So are you voting for Ferrer?"

"I can't. I am from Minnesota."

Somebody else was from Ohio, and so on. But those were exceptions.

A young girl asked Ferrer a school lunch question, and Ferrer gave a specific answer. That was the policy highlight of the day. She was from the Bronx.

And the two of them did the subway thing all over again. We smoked out a few more animals all over again.

Dean Was In Town Yesterday

There were children onlookers. They must have sensed the hubbub of it all.

And there was this elderly lady, unaware of the Dean event.

"Howard Dean, my favorite human being!" she said, and she did not even make an attempt to reach out for his hand. Actually she made an attemt to get out of the way of the Dean entourage.

He reached out to her, after spotting her. I don't think he heard what she said.

I think by now I am past getting star struck by Dean. I think I am about to ease into conversations. Got to talk to the regular guy. Bond. I mean, I am totally already working on Dean 2008. Why not bounce around a few ideas with him? And just talk. I mean, Dean knows Heather and Tracey, maybe he should get to know me as well. I don't know anyone who is thinking Dean 2008 like I am thinking Dean 2008. The idea is custom made for me.

Good thing Ferrer is running for Mayor. I get to see more of Howard Dean.

"Democrats from East Coast to West Coast have been supporting my campaign," Ferrer said at one point. He was thankful for the focus Dean's appearances can bring.

And now there are two photos of me with Dean. My attitude has been like, see these photos of Dean, I took them all, I was there with him, you don't need a photo of me with him. But then opportunity presented itself. It was this lull towards the end. And Dean asked the few of us if we wanted to get photos taken. I was second in line.

And I took one for Bill - Wilbur Weder - that I promised to email to him. I am about to. I will just send the permalink of this blog entry.

I come back to my place.

"You smell something?" my Estonian roomie asks me.

I think he is talking about the bathroom.

"No. Not really," I say to reassure him.

"It is Estonian food. National food."

"Can I try some?"

"Maybe later. An hour later."

I am all about free food.

Lewis Cohen Has Been Behind Ferrer Since Summer 2004

Lewis Cohen: "I have been and am a member of the 2005 New Yorkers for Ferrer Finance Committee since the summer of 2004. I, and Bernadette Evangelist, have been the only Directors of Democracy for NYC who have openly and enthusiastically supported Ferrer since the beginning of the campaign."

A few points of clarification are due on my part. This is the second time. The first time was with Norman Siegel.

A Not So Little Norman Fact
A Little Siegel Incident

Tracey had to educate me on Norman Siegel's ethnicity. That was some major hole she had to plug. I think she was amused. There was that look on my face.

DFNYC members in their individual capacities may go for any candidate of their choice, that is the democratic spirit. We don't lose our individual identities just because we are members of DFNYC.

This is not the official DFNYC blog or anything of that sort. This is one person's blog, he just so happens to be a staunch member of the DFNYC.

A blog is not a newspaper gone online. A blog is a blog. It is more casual, conversational, intimate. This is not an attempt at objectivity. Actually, it is more like one person's views and observations given voice, there actually might be a tendency toward subjectivity. It is not here to show off my knowledge, or ignorance. It is more a window into my thought processes, more akin to a reality show. There is no emphasis on fact-checking. If I mess up on some facts in one blog entry, I don't go back and correct it later, I just post a new blog entry. At another blog I wrote about Sonia Gandhi after her Congress party cruised to a victory in India. An Italian born was going to be leading India, I said. She chose not to go for it. I never went back to that blog entry to correct it. That blog entry was a snapshot of many people's thinking at that point in time. Everyone just assumed Sonia was going to be Prime Minister.

I think I am trying to get to the voice part of the One Person, One Vote, One Voice superstructure. At the one voice level, you just talk. It is you. It is not the group yet. You say whatever you want to say. You take the stands on issues the way you want. I think that is important. Or we might end up with groupthink. There should be ample room for original thinking at the One Voice level. That precedes the one person, one vote mechanism, or the consensus mechanism through which we make decisions, either on policy or candidates, or campaign details. And once the group has decided, we all come around to supporting and contributing. Ideally. Sometimes a person might still not go with the majority if she feels strongly about her outvoted position. That is there.

And I am totally for DFNYC taking votes among members before endorsing candidates when more than one choice is available. That is the democratic spirit. DFNYC members had the option to take the organization behind Bloomberg, but we chose Ferrer by a wide margin, and so we are solidly behind Ferrer. And our man Dean is possibly the biggest boost Ferrer has got. Dean has been Ferrer's rocket fuel. We are key. And Ferrer knows it and appreciates it. Ferrer appreciates the importance of the primaries more than any of us. He can not possibly be begrudging having had to wade through it.

DFNYC endorsed Gifford Miller for the primaries, and I was not here when that happened. But we have nothing to apologize for. Miller was Speaker of the City Council. Ferrer had not been in any office in a few years. I can see how Miller might have come across as appealing. And there is an article somewhere that talks how Miller did not use his sex appeal to his advantage or he would have won! The members went for who they went for. And now we are enthusiastically behind Ferrer. We are the strong wind behind his sails. We contest the primaries, but then we all get together behind the winner of the primaries. That is the democratic spirit.

Slowly and surely I am learning more and more about city politics.

It was not that obvious Ferrer was going to win the primaries. And Directors of DFNYC who might supervise our internal vote taking on policies and candidates have nothing to apologize for. The mechanism has to stay oiled.

We are better off because of the primaries. Ferrer is better off. And he knows it.

And looks like we already have friends in high places with Lewis and Bernadette. Makes our work for Ferrer so much easier.

The key now is to get Ferrer to win. It will be nice to have a Mayor Ferrer when Dean 2008 sets up shop in the city. This is a major act of self-interest for us.

Ferrer 2005 is of national importance.

Going On The Offensive For Ferrer

Only a few days back I read a comment by Heather (DFNYC In The News) on MyDD that was making fun of a "prominent" local Democrat's claim that no prominent Democrat in the city seemed to be for Ferrer. How prominent can he be? I never heard of him.

But Howard Dean is behind Ferrer, and that is the next President Of The United States. I have heard of him. And DFNYC is solidly behind Ferrer with 81% of the votes. And we just so happen to be the largest Dean group in the country. We are the prominent Democrats in town. Don't make us whip up our mailing lists! Nobody quit after 2004, many of them just went into hiding. They are all sharpening their claws, waiting to pounce.

Bloomberg is feeling the Dean heat already. He knows deep in his heart that he can lose. Around the time Dean was last in town, Bloomberg was at a press conference. And a plane was heard in the sky. And Bloomberg said in an exasperated aside, "That is Howard Dean in the DNC corporate jet." That man is so scared he thinks he is facing Dean aerial attacks. But that man is so out of touch, he does not know Dean flies commercial.

I just went to the DFNYC site and there is a message from Heather about another Ferrer-Dean event tomorow. Is Howard Dean Fernando Ferrer's running mate or what? (Dean Was In Town Yesterday) If he is going to keep showing up like this, Ferrer sure is going to cross the line. And it will be nice to have Ferrer as Mayor when Dean 2008 sets up its headquarters in the city. (2008: Some Thoughts)

Join Fernando Ferrer and Howard Dean at the Union Square Farmer's Market!

Meet on the NE corner of Union Square Park TIME: 2:30 pm.

Wow, this is just so cool. I will be there. I am meeting Robet Mayer of Publius Pundit for lunch tomorrow, him and about 10 of his Boston friends. Robert is at the Bentley College in the Boston suburbs. They have some kind of a college break, and they are in town. Robert and I got to know each other through Charlie Szrom of the Students for Global Democracy. Charlie is in Indiana, in Bloomington, where I considered settling down before I decided on NYC. (Bloomington, IN, As An Option, Possibly Moving To NYC) And I get to meet Charlie within a week. He will be in town too for some kind of a scholarship interview. We go sightseeing together. I am so excited about these two and their organization. They speak to the total global democracy messenger in me. This is to do with my Nepal work. (What's Going On In Nepal)

I started this blog entry to chalk up a strategy.

Going on the offensive for Ferrer.

Martha Kenton of the Cesnik 2005 fame is leading the DFNYC effort. (Some Suggestions To The Cesnik Campaign, Eric Cesnik For City Council)

Larry and Dino have some great work going on with their sites. I mean, the Bloomberg ads are offensive. One that I am forced to see - since I don't own a TV - when I am out reading news at the Yahoo site shows this beautiful Manhattan landscape unfurl, and the message is, Vote for Bloomberg. Admire the beauty and vote for Bloomberg. Wow. Not even the pompous Donald Trump would stoop so low.

I just got an email from Dino not long back. Their new site is out, Ferrer Four.

This is what I am suggesting.

Truth On Bloomberg, and Ferrer Four both do great work on policy logic.

I see three big holes in the effort though.

One, we need one site that compares and contrasts the Ferrer management style with the Bloomberg management style. I have not had the chance to dig in and do some research myself. But from the little I know, I can already draw a few conclusions. Ferrer was Bronx Borough President. Bloomberg's disadvantage is that his leadership style is corporate. He cuts some major corners on social expenditures so he can build a stadium. Don't blame him: that has been his life's training. It is hard to change course mid-stream. Ferrer on the other hand has an exective style that is more political. He is more in tune with the common people. He is not a machine politician, rather he is a politician who knows the system, he knows the voters, and their various organized groups, he knows how to work the system. And that is who you want in the executive office.

Two, the three sites need to cross link to each other prominently. Have three button links at the top of each site, on each page at the site.

Three, whip up the DFNYC mailing list to send traffic to these sites after all three sites are up and running. I hear the core DFNYC mailing list is 2400 strong, Tracey told me at the last MeetUp. (Tracey Denton Of DFNYC) There would be a short message that displays the three sites, and briefly summarizes them. And a request to members to forward the email to everyone in the city they personally know, and to request them to do the same. This email viral marketing does not cost a dime, and is more effective and respectful than TV ads. Effective because people receive emails only from people they personally know, respectful because there is an invitation to an intelligent conversation. We are not trying to play mind games like clever ad people, we are talking policy. 2400 people send it out to 20 people each who send it out to 10 people each, that is 480,000. That is half a million people. If our message has oomph, this is all it will take to elect Ferrer. Although I do not suggest not doing everything else we will be doing, that the Ferrer campaign team is doing, with the emphasis on the get out the votes efforts. And be at the ready to handle all that traffic. The sites should not crash!

So Dino, Larry, whip it up, baby.

And do not miss the DFNYC Monthly Mixer with Freddy Ferrer. Tuesday, October 25.

Take Back The City 2005.
Take Back The Congress 2006.
Take Back The White House 2008.

Bloomberg Is No Democrat
Fernando Ferrer

Who Is Leecia Eve?

First time I am coming across her name.

I opened up the Google News page to do a quick search on the Russian guy at Google, Sergei Brin, because a few days back he came out saying Google is not working on an Office competitor which can read like a direct rebuttal to one of my recent blog entries (Google's To Do List Keeps Growing), but then I got distracted.

Can She Be New York's Barack Obama? New York Daily News

I immediately fired off a teaser email to our own DFNYC Leila Warrior Noor, even before I read the news article. Because one of the first thoughts that occurred to me after I met her was that
she meets the Barack Obama profile. He father was Somalian. (Me, Ethiopian) Her mother is Long Island white. Leila is a lawyer. I know, those corporate types. She is cute. She is political, hence the nickname Warrior. She speaks effortlessly. That is how I described Obama after I watched an Obama-Keyes debate on TV. And at the last event I met Leila, I heard Norman Siegel (A Not So Little Norman Fact, A Great Mixer, A Little Siegel Incident) telling her he thought she should run for office. "I don't feel like I know enough."

That is the standard reply of all the power women at DFNYC. Razzmatazz Tracey, Sunshine Heather. (DFNYC In The News, Tracey Denton Of DFNYC) All these amazing people who have this amazing organization going. When women lead things are different. The leadership style is different: these is a much lesser tendency towards hierarchies. The edges are smoother. Women and men are different, if anyone needs reminding. And there are these late 20s, early 30s women whose leadership is totally cool to members twice their age, and more. And not in a polite way either. And it is okay to not run for office. I myself don't see me doing it. Not that it is okay because I am not doing it either.

I have a formal excuse: I am not a citizen. So don't ask for my vote either! That aside, I feel like I can do more for global democracy through Dean 2008 than through any other endeavor. And global democracy is the best gift that can be for the dollar a day crowd, all those cheerful, poor people. Where would you rather be, on the Mall, or inside the White House? I am gunning for the White House, yo! JFK advice: "Never settle for second, when first is available." (2008: Some Themes, 2008: Some Thoughts, Dean 2008)

I mean, I so totally could. I have done it before, I can do it again. (Possibly Moving To NYC) But the question is what is your public service goal, and what is the most effective way to get there. Dean 2008 is it.

Running for office is like deciding to become a doctor, unless you really, really want to do it, don't do it: you are going to be unhappy. So I don't begrudge these power women comrades of mine. But I wish they were a little more militant on gender issues. Expand it beyond the pro-choice talk. How can you be a progressive if you are not aggresive on the gender issues?

Anyways, some from the article on Eve.

.... a four-year star turn as Hillary Clinton's lawyer
.... the bright, confident optimism of an A-student who studies hard and has all the answers.
.... the power pantsuits that are the standard uniform of Clinton's female protégés
.... 41-year-old
.... government and law degrees from Harvard
.... learned the retail side of politics at home: her father, retired Buffalo Assemblyman Arthur Eve, served in the state legislature for more than 30 years and took Leecia on the campaign trail every other year
.... political street smarts and book smarts
.... leaves a lot of time for lieutenant governors to grow bored, restless and ambitious - and that's where the trouble starts
.... In the 1980s, Lt. Gov. Alfred DelBello, who served under Gov. Mario Cuomo, quit after 24 months, citing boredom.
.... The A-student has already held private meetings with Krupsak, DelBello, Stan Lundine and Mario Cuomo, the four living Democrats who once held the position
.... to begin releasing position papers on ways to begin reversing the capital flight
.... thinks she can break the old patterns and become the first black woman ever elected to a statewide office in New York
.... Like Obama, she is betting voters will look past race and vote for a whip-smart candidate with a great smile and confidence to burn.

Come to think of it, Leila did allude to someone of this profile during my first real conversation with her. I now realize. She beat me to it.

2008: Some Themes

2008: Some Thoughts

Family Values

The Republicans are people with a limited vocabulary. They use the family values phrase to cover up their sexism, their homophobia, their social superstitions.

Progressive family values are different from regressive ones. Regressive ones imagine a woman's place to be at home, alone. Career women are hard to digest. Marriage is an institution, a prison. Women should get in and then stop asking questions. And women can not wait around too long to get in.

Progressive family values are not anti family values, they are superior family values. Because women in sexist families must be suffocating.

So there is sexism, there is homophobia, and there is the case of broken down families, dysfunctional families, abusive families, and evil families. Let the social scientists talk. Is it 5%, is it 10%, is it 20%? Show me the numbers. People who themselves might be lucky enough to not be part of such non-existent families should not preach family values upon those less lucky. The family is not always the best option. There are children awaiting rescue. That also applies to abusive husbands. Don't stick to them, get out. Yes, you heard me. But conservatives would rather you stuck around and became a poster child to their failed ideology.

That show me the numbers talk applies to abusive families, it also applies to gays. If only domestic partnership will sail through politically for now, so be it, gay marriages can stay in the works. And I am very much a student of the matter: there is a lot I do not know. And I spend more time thinking about things like vaccinations than gay marriages, much more. But that numbers thing is key. Say if only 2% of the population is gay, then how fair is it for the 98% to push their idea of marriage upon them? Just like how fair is it for those within non-abusive marriages and families to push their stick-around message to those less fortunate? The approach has to be scientific.

The family as an institution has to be reimagined, like the FBI had to be reimagined: a FBI that hounded Martin Luther King was not good for society. That is the progressive challenge. There is no avoiding the topic. And attempts to parrot the conservatives are an even worse choice. They are wrong, they are regressive, they are limited in scope. They want to turn the clock back on gender relations, for one.

Progressives need to go on the offensive, because the conservatives really are anti family values. Their clever talk does not cover up that fact.

People fundamentally hostile to cross-cultural, inter-racial relationships and marriages are not family values people. People hostile to and dismissive of families from other cultural backgrounds are not family values people.

And there are alternate families. Social acceptance has to be cultivated. There is no one right way to do it. Single moms may not be demonized. They need policy level help. And if they down the line wish to no longer be single moms, that would be their personal choice, it is not for the state to preach them dating and marriage. Maybe they just dumped some jerk, and are not in any mood to hook up too soon!

Abortion

If there is a civil war in America today, it is on this issue. Many people on opposite sides are not on talking terms.

This debate has to be expanded way beyond foetus talk. Because as long as the conservatives can reduce it to foetus talk, they get to hide their real regressive agenda on gender relations. This heated discussion is about gender relations, broadly speaking.

Women and progressives who have the guts to talk this issue and organize around this issue should have the same to talk about gender relations in general. And they are everywhere. We deal with them every waking hour. Women are all around us. They are in homes, they are at workplaces, they are out in the streets walking around. It is about personal space, about glass walls and ceilings.

Rush Limbaugh's "feminazis" need to come out of the closet. I never understood that. It is cool to be a civil rights leader, but it is not cool to be a feminist. Why is that? The take back the night people need to come out the closet.

Faith

Same as family. The Republican Party houses all those people and organizations that are fundamentally hostile to people of the non-Christian faiths. These are anti-faith people who need to be exposed. We need to go on the offensive.

The Spectrum Concept

On these topics of family values, abortion and faith, we are dealing with social progressive issues. We have not been too skillful here. And I would like to introduce a spectrum concept. On each social issue, create a spectrum. There would be a scale of 1 to 10. Say on race relations, a 1 would be someone who commits hate crimes. A 10 would be someone whose ideas we might be able to use in the year 2030! They are cutting edge, but not politically salable here and now.

You consolidate 5 to 10. You organize to identify them, and get them out to vote. And if that progressive half of the spectrum does not give us the majority to win, we think of ways to get some of the 4s to move on to 5. We act hostile to the 1s and 2s because they do not deserve any less. We stand amused by the 3s. They might not come along, but the views they hold sure are exotic. And we do not restrain the 10s. Let the dreamers dream. Let them glow like the core of the earth. The plate tectonics need to stay on the move.

We just need a majority, we don't need a total sweep.

The Three Pillars

Overheard In New York

This site is outright hilarious, so original: http://www.overheardinnewyork.com.

Here are some samples:

Chick: You talkin' to me like I'm retarded! I can read between the lines...I can read under the lines and above the lines! But you're talkin' like I have a mental condition!
Guy: Sorry, baby...

--5 train

Overheard by: Brian Vitunic

Guy #1: "Leibovitz, Phederson, Yushuvayeva"--
Guy #2: Whatever happened to Ellis Island changing people's names so we can say them?

--68th & Lexington

Overheard by: Dina Pirutinsky

Queer #1: She's kinda bummed...Her parents split; her dad's marrying another man. Queer #2: Luckily, that's not atypical.

--Elevator, 14th Street & 8th Avenue

Overheard by: zac

Queer: I don't care about my boyfriend like I care about you. I am buying you these things because I love you.

His phone rings.

Queer: Hello?...Aw, I love you, too.

He hangs up.

Queer: That was him.

--Barney's, Madison Avenue

Girl #1: You know when I goes out with a boy, I like to make sure that I am all clean and shit.
Girl #2: I know, me too.
Girl #1: Come to think of it, I like to be clean when I go out with the girls, too...Ya know, one of them always ends up touching ya.
Girl #2: I hears ya.

--2 train

Overheard by: jonathan

Queer #1: We are going to the Kelly Clarkson concert in two weeks, you should come.
Queer #2: I have to go home that weekend. They are having a memorial for my grandpa who died. Maybe I can get out of it.
Queer #1: Seriously. I mean people die all the time, but Kelly Clarkson only comes to New York like twice a year.

--Splash, W. 17th Street

Hobo: You like rap? I started that shit. I did. I started that rap shit. Way before hip-hop. You don't like rap, you ain't shit.

--4 train

Overheard by: Aaron

Chick: Have you ever heard of that website, Gawker.com?

--Larry Lawrence, Williamsburg

Overheard by: Fairest

Chick: Is that woman pregnant and drinking a beer? Oh wait, that's just her gut. Probably from all the beer!

--Yankee Stadium

Old guy: Yeah, here today, gone tomorrow. I want to come back as a Polynesian prince.

--Astoria

Overheard by: sara

AMNew York Guy: Free Spanish newspaper! Assimilation doesn't mean you have to give up your heritage!

--Park Slope

White girl: That's terrible! The only thing I want my kids to be that I'm not is half-black.

--Columbia University

Guy: God, hipsters will nod their heads to anything.

--Central Park SummerStage

Southern woman: Why George, I'm just so proud of yew; I thought yew'd be grossed out by the Blue Man Group.

--Marriott Marquis, Times Square

Overheard by: Beantown Interloper

Old lady: Oh! That's a cute dog, what's his name?
Woman: Billy.
Old lady: Oh really? It's not Rover? Most people name their dogs Rover.

--Foodtown, Sunnyside Overheard by: Nate B

2008: Some Thoughts

Dean 2008

Headquarters

I think it should be in Jackson Heights, New York City. I understand Vermont is Dean's home state, but New York City has many advantages. It is the progressive capital. DFNYC is the largest DFA group in the country. Jackson Heights is the most diverse place inside New York City, and the rentals there would be much cheaper than somewhere in Manhattan. If the headquarters are in the city, it would be possible to rally hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers for most of the work to be done by the campaign headquarters. That volunteer part might be the most important. Also since many old media houses are in the city, we might also get more free air time. It would be easier to fly Dean around the country from here. A lot of political money gets raised in the city. He was born here, he grew up here. This is Dean hometurf.

DFNYC In The News
Tracey Denton Of DFNYC
DFNYC Research And Advocacy Group

Running Mate

People talk about balancing physical geography. I disagree. I think the emphasis should be on human geography. I think Hillary is the obvious choice. Also, the campaign should make it clear it is gunning for Obama for Secretary of State. Both Hillary and Obama are talented superstars who can not run for the top job itself and that is to do with human geography. So we need to flesh it out on the progressive ticket.

Dean-Hillary-Obama Ticket

Strong On Defense

The War on Terror is the same magnitude as the Cold War. That has to be the starting point of the discussion. And that war has to be won. Is there a progressive way of fighting that war? There is. A total spread of democracy is the only real, long term solution. The military option is always on the table as the weapon of last resort, but the conservative militarist ways are self-defeating and wasteful. Instead extending moral and logistical support to indigenous grassroots movements for democracy might be the better way.

Democracy For Nepal, DFN
What's Going On In Nepal
To: DFNYC

The South

The strategy should be to win at least half the states in the South. You have to run a 50-state campaign if you are seriously looking at the White House.

To: The Good White People In The South

Blogalaxy

The Dean 2004 effort was organized around a blog. Next time it will have to be something much more sophisticated, and media rich: a blogalaxy. A superblog.

Core Vision

There has to be a core vision.

The Three Pillars

People you know and meet regularly show up in the newspaper columns. That makes you feel like an insider. I might have finally arrived!

DFNYC in the News

Submitted by Heather Woodfield on Sat, 12/25/2004 - 9:12am.
NY Observer, October 10, 2005 -"Plutocrats of Democrats Go Bloomberg"
NY Observer, October 10, 2005 -"Return of the WASP? Weld, Dean Hope So"
NY Press, September 28, 2005 -Apparently, they haven't figured out that Meetups are now Linkups and that Heather is a short brunette while Tracey is a tall blond.
The Villager, June 29, 2005
Newsday, June 13, 2005

Best Looking whoever

Nydia Velazquez

Who's New York's most delicious politico? Let's consider the suspects. We'll start with former spinster Alexa Hinton, who got the gang of 51 some favorable ink. Her weapon: long blonde hair, blue eyes and the demeanor of a southern belle bemused by big bad Metropolis. It's too bad she left for a reporting gig down south.

Then there's Kathryn Prael, aide to Congressman Anthony Weiner, who shot up from last place to second in the Democratic Primary. Her statuesque frame, dirty blonde hair and Hepburn eyes gave us an incentive to attend as many campaign events as possible.

We're not exactly sure what the State Superintendent of Banks Diana Taylor actually does at work. Mostly we know her as the taller, trophy girlfriend of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. We recall one bizarre conversation in which we was introduced to the power couple as a reporter "born in 1978" and Taylor replied that she was in college that year.

Tracey Denton is our reason for covering Meetup.com's meet-ups. The short brunette with wiry lips that shape themselves into political jargon and manufactured laughs is a fixture at the group's events. So are hordes of reform-minded single men and women in flannel shirts. Unfortunately, Denton seemed unaware of the online group's reputation for launching more than the Dean campaign. We'll be happy to explain it some night.

Our vote, though, goes to the congresswoman who gets around (her district is in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan), Nydia Velázquez. She's young, sexy and rocks a red, rebellious short do. And yes, she does look good angry. After we asked her why her office emailed a press release about a political endorsement—a big no no—she refused to speak to us. She hasn't taken our calls or returned our messages. HOT!

Mr. Dean, as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, uses New York as an A.T.M., of course, but even more directly he has bequeathed us an insurgent political organization in the form of Democracy for New York. That group, an emanation of his unsuccessful Presidential campaign, supports New York candidates of Mr. Dean’s progressive stripe, but so far it has not made much headway in a Democratic Party that is organized along vastly different, often ethnic lines. Recently, Mr. Dean enlisted the prestige of the D.N.C. (such as it is) behind the campaign of Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

“I’ve heard from varying sources that they are upset that she’s not even getting a slap on the wrist for this,” said Heather Woodfield, a registered Democrat and the director of Democracy for New York City, a group of Dean supporters.

Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean after his presidential campaign ended last year, has endorsed Norman Siegel for public advocate. “I have not seen this type of heartfelt reaction to a candidate since Howard Dean’s presidential bid,” said Heather Alexa Woodfield, director of the local DFA coalition group, Democracy for NYC.

Meanwhile, Democracy for NYC, a political action committee with ties to Democracy for America, voted to endorse City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.

On The Web

• MyDD :: Diaries
• Heather Woodfield - The Lower Manhattan Democracy for America ...
• Heather Woodfield | Democracy For NYC
• Heather Woodfield | The Daily Gotham
• Heather Woodfield's blog | The Daily Gotham
• Heather Woodfield | Democracy For New York
• Heather Woodfield's blog | Democracy For New York
• Elana & Elena's Blog
• New York's Premier Alternative Newspaper. Arts, Music, Food ... .... In addition, I, Heather Woodfield, am the short brunette and Tracey Denton is the tall, ... Heather Woodfield, Director, Democracy for NYC. DE LA SOUL, BABY ...
• Democracy Forum: Americana And Ms. Sunshine birthday girl Heather Woodfield claims her cheerfulness is just a "facade." What a twist. And queen Tracey Denton is all humble about DFNYC ...
• DeanPhotos.com - Faces of Dean Nation from All 50 States :: NYS ... Do I recognize Andrew C. White, whom I believe I met at DeanFest last July - and Heather Woodfield, whom I met in NYC during the RNC and at the PDA Summit ...
• Organization | Democracy Directory Name: Heather Woodfield/Tracey Denton. Meets:. Meetups are monthly, in all five boroughs. For the most current Meetup schedules, go to the "Meetup" section ...
• Midwives : Specialists : Health & Beauty : Manawatu - New Zealand ... Heather Woodfield. -, 0-6-357 0423. Listed in Midwives. Benn Sheryl. -, 0-6-359 5024. Listed in Midwives. Gibson, Lee. Palmerston North 1, 0-6-356 7721 ...
• Majority Report Radio: hour one Heather Woodfield and Andrew Cling, of My Vote Will Count. Raman Kia, singer/songwriter, frontman of Buddahead. Posted by not sam at September 8, ...
• Blog for America Heather Woodfield/DFNYC... and all the folks that traveled here in very cold weather (not as cold as NH last year but still cold). ...
• Blog for America *This* Heather Woodfield? http://dfa.meetup.com/42/members/472597/ ... Yes, that Heather Woodfield. I'll take it as a compliment. --Toscha ... poemless wrote on April 9, 2005 10:37 PM: On a much less serious note, today I was told that Chris looks like my younger brother (not that much younger...) and I look like Heather Woodfield. --Toscha [Link] puddleriver*in*WV wrote on April 9, 2005 10:44 PM: and I look like Heather Woodfield. --Toscha *This* Heather Woodfield? http://dfa.meetup.com/42/members/472597/ clicky [Link] poemless wrote on April 9, 2005 10:47 PM: puddleriver*in*WV wrote on April 9, 2005 10:44 PM: Yes, that Heather Woodfield. I'll take it as a compliment. --Toscha [Link]
• [PDF] Editorial Heather Woodfield demystifies the UDC classification scheme. One of the first things that we’ll ... Heather Woodfield explains why we don’t want your money. ...
• MyDD :: Diaries by strrbr - October 5 Be gentle, this is my first time. by The Muse - October 5 Who Kidnapped the NYC Democratic Party? by Heather Woodfield - October 5 ...
• [PDF] Editorial Heather Woodfield, Information Specialist, explains why an ’N’ is so important ... Heather Woodfield takes us on a journey through time ...
• Yahoo! Groups : HouseRabbits Messages : 3501-3600 of 3876 Woodfield, Heather H.Woodfield@... Send Email, Feb 17, 2004 10:05 am. 3596, Re: WONDERFUL HOUSE BUNNY LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME ...
• [PDF] Cranfield University especially my panel, Barbara Birtles, Anita Beal, Graham Heard, Heather Woodfield. and the DBA 2001-2005 cohort. I would also like to thank my parents, ...
• Heather's Profile My name is Heather. I am the president/CEO of Volcanic Records. ... I love going shopping - DKNY is awesome, especially at Woodfield mall and downtown ...
• Democracy For Nepal (DFN): What's Going On In Nepal
  

Dean 2008

I keep thinking Dean 2008. It might define me. As for money, Bill Gates once famously said, it is not like I am going to buy any more hamburgers or anything. Beyond a point, money is just numbers. And I am confident I can make what I need on the fly. Through online marketing, writing, guest appearances in movies, sitting on the boards of cutting edge tech companies, whatever. Money is no problem in the long run. I don't enjoy spending money, I really don't, and that might never change. I prefer the subway to cabs, and that might never change. The crowd is what I love about NYC. Why would I deprive myself? Ever since I got here, I have been plotting to get rid of my car.

But Dean 2008 might be the best way, the most efficient way, to ensure a total spread of democracy, the best thing that could happen to the dollar a day crowd. I am thinking a deadline here. Say Dean gets into the White House in 2008. And by 2020, every country on the planet is a democracy. JFK set his goal to take the country to the moon. Dean could pledge himself to global democracy.

With that vision, I can see me focusing on Dean 2008 single-mindedly starting from now. I wish there were no term limits. I really would have liked to go head-to-head with George Bush and Karl Rove. I am no Martin Luther King, I am no Mahatma Gandhi, I am Ninja.

I keep having this recurring dream of adding a Pentagon to the State Department. Dean gets into the White House, Barack Obama becomes Secreatary of State. And Obama sets up a peaceful Pentagon. An appendage that is constantly spewing out newer and better tools that grassroots movements for democracy may use worldwide. Both technological and organizational tools. It is war with communications technology. It is the bank robbery gone wrong scene in the movie Heat. This is a heavyweight boxing championship. I am feeling martial.

(Aug 07 '00 They Can Smell Each Other Opinion on Heat)

The next time I meet Dean, I am going to say something like this. "You have seen the James Bond movies. There is James Bond, and there is this old guy, who comes up with cool stuff, guns, cars, watches, pens, that James Bond gets to use to do his work. I am that old man. You are James Bond." Let me do my work.

In 2004, after the Deaniacs got massacred by old media, all Democrats in the field started copying the Dean style, but noone even tried to copy the Dean substance. That substance goes undefined. We have so far only defined it vaguely. Fiscally responsible, and socially progressive is a close approximation, but it does not cut it all the way.

I would like to talk about a One Person, One Vote, One Voice superstructure. Democracy has to be reinvented, like it was invented in 1776, like JFK invented the modern presidential campaign in 1960. Dean gets to reinvent both democracy and the presidential campaign, and then he gets to reinvent the whole idea of governance.

One Person. Every Homo Sapien within the geographical US has the option through DFA to get involved, to contribute, to truly count. Heck, the geographical line might not exist. What would stop an Australian or an Indian from coming online and contributing to our campaign's policy talk on, say, Social Security? Nothing. Our definition of a person is that he or she be a Home Sapien. For now. Them Hindus think non-humans also have souls. So you never know.

One Vote. A vertical hierarchy will have to emerge. We want to reinvent democracy, but we do not wish to invite chaos. There will have to be an organization with hierarchies. The organization will have a total, transparent democracy, and this Ninja preaches a non-violent militancy. But to speed up decisions, we will have the vote mechanism in place. When you can't reach a consensus, you vote, and then everyone gets behind the decision.

One Voice. Each person gets to speak his or her mind. Before you look for where the majority opinion is, you speak up. Preferably blog your opinions. At the one voice level, you don't care what the world thinks, you don't care what your comrades think. All you are concerned with is trying to figure out where you stand, and expressing that stand in the most clear way possible. Step 2 is still to submit yourself to the one person, one vote mechanism, or the consensus mechanism. But step 1 is all about you. And even if you get outvoted, and you still feel you are right, you get to keep polishing your stance, and whatever you say is still archived. It does not get washed away into thin air. Your voice gets archived online if you might so choose.

This superstructure is the democracy we are talking about. And I expect us to be only one step ahead of the competition. That is enough. And I do want us to be imitated. By our rivals within the Democratic Party, and by our Republican opponents. Because if they copy our one person, one vote, one voice superstructure, American democracy goes to a whole different level.

I am not too worried. Walmart is an open book company. When you go inside a Walmart you have seen their entire business model. Kmart and Target and all the rest of them have still not been able to beat Walmart. So don't get alarmed with the total, transparent democracy idea.

Dean 2008 just might clear my head. It might redefine me. It might get me focused like I never might have been before.

NYC is the crown city, DFNYC the crown jewel.

A total spread of democracy through indigenous, non-violent movements that receive maximal external moral and logistical support.