Autumn Antiwar Campaign

See this recent article on the October campaign of the antiwar movement: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/us/30antiwar.html?_r=1

Backlash Against Facebook

Check out this recent New York Times article about some people’s frustration with Facebook: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?em

Do Protests Matter?

See this recent New York Times discussion on whether protests matter:  http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/do-protests-matter-a-freakonomics-quorum/

Billionaires for Wealthcare

Billinionairs for Wealthcare is an outgrowth of the group Billionaires for Bush.  They use satire to mock the opponents of Democratic proposals for health care reform.  See: http://billionairesforwealthcare.com/

Can Campaign Organizations be used for Governing?

This article talks about the difficulty that Obama has had in using his campaign organization, now known as “Organizing for America”, in the service of promoting his health care agenda.  See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/health/policy/15ground.html?_r=1&hp

ANSWER Plans Protests for October 2009

On the 8th Anniversary of the War on Afghanistan

Back to the streets!
Protests set for October 2009

October 7, 2009 marks the start of the ninth year of the invasion of Afghanistan. On that day, there will be anti-war actions in cities and towns throughout the country. There will also be anti-war actions on Monday, October 5, and Saturday October 17.

Many national and local anti-war organizations are initiating these actions. The ANSWER Coalition is either initiating or endorsing and supporting all of these actions.

Please make an urgently needed donation to help support the anti-war movement!

The war and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq are both colonial-type wars. Bush used the “War on Terror” as a pretext for the escalation of imperialist intervention. Bush is gone but the brutal occupations continue.

Now, eight long years after the invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. and its NATO allies are vastly expanding the war, doubling the numbers of troops. Casualties on both sides are soaring. Resistance to foreign occupation is growing rapidly inside Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan. The war is a disaster for the peoples of those countries, just as are the occupations of Iraq and Palestine. It is also growing disaster for the people here — not only the soldiers and their families, but the tens of millions of people suffering from the economic crisis.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cost more than $14 billion per month, $160 billion every year, nearly $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 trillion!) since the start. At the same time, we are told by the politicians — who never say no to the military-industrial complex and have given away more than $10 trillion to the big banks — that there’s no money for single-payer health care. They have proven that the money is there. The problem is that the politicians are dedicated to protecting the interests of the military and health insurance corporations, not of the people.

The ANSWER Coalition is calling for people across the country — in cities, towns and campuses — to take action on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, and at all the planned actions between October 5 and October 17 to demand an end to all the wars and occupations, and health care for all. We urge you to organize a rally, picket, teach-in or some other kind of activity that day.

A list of all the anti-war actions in October will be posted within the next week on the ANSWER Coalition website at www.ANSWERCoalition.org.

By clicking this link, you can let us know what you are planning and we’ll add it to the national calendar.

Blue State Digital

Blue State Digital is the consulting firm that grew out of the Howard Dean’s campaign for the presidency in 2004.  Among its other clients, it was employed by presidential candidate Barack Obama to design, manage, and integrate www.mybarackobama.com into the Obama for America campaign organization.  For a brief description of the work that they did on the Obama campaign, see: http://www.bluestatedigital.com/casestudies/client/obama_for_america_2008/

The Internet in the 2008 Election

Check out the proceedings of this recent conference on “YouTube and the 2008 Election Cycle”, held at the University of Massaschusetts: http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=jitpc2009,

Tea Party Protest Scheduled for Washington, DC

For information on the upcoming conservative Tea Party protest in Washington, DC, see: http://912dc.org/

Grassroots Protests Against Health Care Reform

Conservatives have begun well-coordinated local protests against members of Congress supporting President Obama’s proposed health care reform.  See:   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/us/politics/08townhall.html?_r=1&hp