Teddy up

Actually, you hold a telescope and aim it at: Iran, McCain, Iraq, Palin, etc. and the eye piece is actually an electronic biomass of fiber optic cables – each of which goes to one of millions and millions of homes across America – and the world (I for instance am a Canadian). These millions of “feelers” then immediately respond back through the telescope (your “Gatehouse”) and appear INSTANTLY on your site.

Within seconds of launching a query – millions of minds have focused – added FACT, OPINION, ANALYSIS and AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT – a consensus forms. The trolls are quickly eliminated – the position materializes and it is so powerfully supported by the mass-mind of the assembled that the MSM have NO CHOICE but to report those facts, etc.

They have one reporter in Alaska YOU have thousands – each bringing a crumb to the table – between their facts, and the combined application of intelligence – voila – we have created a superior – alternative universe of information – infinitely faster, quicker and more progressive than anything that has EVER existed.

We now CONTROL the GATE, the flow of millions of bytes of INFORMATION and PREGRESSIVE minds (the BEST minds there are) ANALYISE – the result is a tapestry of mind unseen in any other age.

We are all a fiber optic cable apart from being part of the progressive mind that will shape the future.

Kos – thanks bro. Thanks!

http://www.thirty-thousand.org/index.htm

People have been tiring to gain attention to ‘my cause’ for awhile but I guess you weren’t aware of such.

Speaking as a Briton I’m appreciative of the work of progressives such as yourself to fix your broken United States.

In re: the discussion here about elites and gatekeepers — I think it’s worth looking at this not from right-wing frames, but from more practical perspectives, like Gladwell’s Tipping Point. If we strip away the frame and who’s who based on economic power and move towards a model based on effectiveness, we need to look at these roles:

# Innovators
# Connectors
# Maven
# Salespeople
# Early adopters
# Early Majority
# Late Majority
# Laggards

These people aren’t necessarily made; sometimes they simply have natural abilities that the rest of us don’t have. Most of us must form a majority, but without critical mass we can’t make real change happen at a sustained level for any length of time. We all have a role to play here.

So who are the people that are our progressive innovators, connectors, mavens and salespeople? They often surface on their own, but we need to make a more conscious effort to help them if we’re going to be a more effective majority.

Kos is one of those folks who fluctuate between these four roles, depending on the situation (and thanks for that, Kos, since it takes a willingness to do so). Jane H. is another, but now we need similar folks to reach back and help the late majority and laggards move forward with us, will only happen if we can create a medium that reaches them where they are, or entices them to leave their comfort zones.

Hence the need for media training and booking, as well as additional think tanks.

Thanks for this wonderful chat today, Markos, and thanks Al for your great intro and questions. And to Bev, of course, for all her hard work making Book Salon a success.

I wonder if MarKOS has also read Paolo Freire? (He wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed.) He is the Saul Alinksy of Latin America, except that Alinksy never served in a government, as Freire did for a few years under a reformer. But Freire also had to deal with governments far more oppressive and fascist than the Bush regime!

As we used to say in the Sixties, “Right arm!”

Bob in HI

Is there anything else you were hoping to say today but perhaps did not get the chance to say it?

Thanks to everyone here right now, and everyone who reads this after the fact. We are moving toward a more progressive America because of our collective efforts. All of us talking to people around us are slowly moving this country toward a better future, and as someone with small children, that’s really important. Understand that it’s not a short-term process, that this will take our entire lifetimes, and that of our subsequent generations. It’s a never-ending battle. So think big, but proceed in bite-sized chunks.

Also, give my book a chance, and if it resonates and you find it valuable, pass it on to other people. Ask that your local libraries carry it. Get the word out.

I’d also like to thank Al for his early support for the book. It’s been humbling to hear the great things he’s said about it, given his long life as an on-the-ground activist. I like to fantasize about how Saul Alinsky would’ve greeted this book. I hope it would be like Al did.

And thanks to the awesome FDL crew not just for hosting me today, but for creating this kick-ass space in the netroots. With allies like these guys, how can we fail?

Thanks everyone :)