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Huh. Well, how do we make it stop? Clearly voting isn't working.

See WOLF-PAC and help get big money out of politics. After that, voting will start to make a difference again.

WOLF-PAC was launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators (who tend not to be nearly as corrupt as those who run for federal office) propose it via an Article V Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas, but now also Idaho and Kentucky. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians, not to mention a far more productive Congress, emerge within one or two election cycles.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which grated some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there's nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

Yes, but America has far more economic influence and our representatives must also agree to those heinous provisions. The problem is that it's no longer us that they represent: it's their donors, and they're the ones who keep pushing for those provisions. However, these and other seemingly intractable problems will fix themselves as long as we first get big money out of politics.

I'll tell you why it's just video.... because Google cares about video, and google spends a TON on lobbying.

Which is really quite sick if you think about it. This is just another example of money buying laws. Sure, I agree with it, but.... It's still just money buying our laws.

Want your representatives to represent YOu instead of money? Get money out of politics. http://www.wolf-pac.com/

where I live country, state and county take in way, way more taxes than the roads require

I believe that's true in the Netherlands as well, but at least they do maintain the roads around here. Living in a country with a functioning government does have its advantages.

Which reminds me: have you signed this petition yet?

And that's why politicians care about protests if they are huge enough

No, they don't. Not anymore. Not until you get money out of politics. http://www.wolf-pac.com/

I doubt voting will solve the problem, ...

Yes it will, but there's something else that we have to do first.

The problem is that the vast majority of Repubmocrats don't work for us anymore: they work for the corporations. Feinstein and Rogers, for instance, they speak for companies like Booz Allen Hamilton -- their donors -- so of course they condemn Snowdon.

The reason why US politics is like this nowadays is because bribery is legal. Those in Congress know that 94-95% of the time the candidate with the most money wins, so they spend most of their time "following the green" in order to stay in office. And since that kind of money always comes with strings attached, they do exactly what their donors tell them to do. If not, the donors will simply back another candidate. Obviously, this is not how it should be.

To fix that and many other problems, we first need to get money out of politics.

If that makes sense to you, I would suggest signing this petition: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators (who tend not to be nearly as corrupt as those who run for federal office) propose it via an Article V Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians emerge within one or two election cycles.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which grated some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there's nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

Just repeal the damned PATRIOT act. IT was supposed to be a temporary measure and it needs to go away now. Why dont these senators have any backbone or honestly left in them and just repeal it?

Completely agree, but I fear that won't happen (not even the USA Freedom Act) because Congress doesn't work for us anymore: they work for rich folks and for the corporations. That's because bribery is legal these days and those in Congress have found that 94-95% of the time the candidate with the most money wins. Consequently, fundraising is what they do 60% of the time; "following the green," as they call it. So, if companies like Booz Allen Hamilton start instructing their stooges in Congress on both sides of the isle about what they want, the PATRIOT Act will remain and the USA Freedom Act will fail.

To fix that and many other things, we first need to get money out of politics.

If that makes sense to you, I would suggest signing this petition: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators propose it via an Article V Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians emerge within one or two election cycles.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which grated some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there's nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

...What we need to know is how to defeat them and pull the reins back in and get back in control of those gone rogue agencies that have respect for neither Constitution ,Law nor Country...

That may be a tall order in some other countries, but in the United States the way to do it is with Article Five of the Constitution, which says that there are two ways to alter that document, the second one being a national convention assembled at the request of the legislatures of at least two-thirds (min. 34) of the 50 states, after which the change must be ratified by at least three-fourths (min. 38) of the states.

Article V is a powerful tool that way included specifically to bypass a corrupt Congress. We need to use it now to get money out of politics, which is ultimately reason for our dysfunctional Congress. Our representatives no longer work for us: they work for the big corporations, such as Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), the company that developed the PRISM program for the NSA. BAH earns almost all of its money from US government contracts, and it is extremely likely that they annually spend millions of their earnings to legally bribe our politicians in order to keep those contracts coming. This situation has become a gigantic self-licking ice cream cone that must be stopped.

If this makes sense to you, I would suggest signing this petition: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Article V is necessary because Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, but already many states have reacted with enthusiasm, notably Texas. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians emerge within one or two election cycles -- a group that can be trusted to put an end to this huge spying scandal.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which granted some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there would be nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

PS -- If we do succeed in using Article V for this purpose, it won't be the first time it was used. The reason we can directly elect our senators today is because Nebraska started calling for an Article V Convention way back in in 1893.

Personally, I love the idea of autonomous vehicles, but what about privacy? These days, almost all smart phone users must assume that anything they do with the device is being recorded by one or more spy agencies, so will that also be true for self-driving cars? At this point in our history I imagine the answer would have to be yes, which I find depressing.

In the future I hope things will be different, but then we will first have to get money out of politics .

That just makes us angry and less likely to feel bad for you or to try to help you.

No, the worse it gets, the more I feel bad for my fellow American Earthlings and I wish to help. Though there are not much I can do... whenever possible I at least remind them of http://www.wolf-pac.com/

Bullshit system that needs to be outlawed.

Do your part: http://www.wolf-pac.com/

... The only way we'll ever start making progress on climate change is if somebody finds a way to outspend big oil, the car manufacturers, and every other petro-lobby.

You have my sympathy, but outspending the big corporations is futile. Not to mention that doing so should not be necessary in a healthy democracy. The reason all that money is so effective in Washington D.C. is because of government corruption -- bribery in the form of campaign donations and Super PAC support that is currently legal. As a result, for those in Congress today 94-95% of the time the ability to raise the most money is what got them (re)elected. Moreover, since that kind of money always comes with strings attached, our representatives no longer work for us: they work for the corporations who happen not to give give a damn about the environment.

However, there is a solution: get money out of politics.

If that makes sense to you, I would suggest signing this petition: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators propose it via an Article V Convention. For it to pass it would have to be ratified by at least 38 States, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians emerge within one or two election cycles: a group capable of fixing much more difficult problems than those in power today.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which granted some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there would be nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

The hope is that there will be no need to worry about that. According to the plan:

Once an Article V. Convention has been called we will continue to put pressure on our Legislators to do exactly what they called the convention to do. There will be so much media attention at this point due to the historic nature of the event that no Legislator would dare propose an amendment that the vast majority of the country does not agree with. Once an Article V convention has proposed amendments, then they would have to be ratified by three-fourths of our state governments (i.e. 38 states) in order to become part of the Constitution. That is why we are confident that an amendment to deal with money in politics in the United States is the only possible amendment that could come from such a convention.

You might also be interested to know this:

Near the turn of the 20th century the states wanted a direct election of senators, and Nebraska was the first state to call for an Article V. Convention in 1893. By 1913 the movement had come within one state of reaching the necessary 2/3 threshold that would force a convention. When it became clear to Congress that the 17th Amendment was going to happen one way or another they decided to preempt a convention by passing it themselves. The threat of a convention is the strongest message we can send and the most effective way to restore our democracy in the United States. This can and must be done in a far shorter time period then it took for the 17th Amendment, then again, they didn't have the power of the internet and other technology we will be using in this battle.

Agreed. I've always seen myself as a progressive and have voted for Democratic candidates since the 1980s, but after the Obama experience I'm not so sure. There are a few exceptions, but otherwise it's clear to me that both of the two major parties are almost completely corrupt. For instance, do you think things would have been much different under Hillary than under Obama? I don't think so. They're both establishment figures who's real masters are the big corporations -- that's where they get most of the money for their campaigns. But that kind of cash always comes with strings attached.

If we ever want to see this kind of corruption end, our first goal must be to get money out of politics.

If that makes sense to you, I would suggest signing this petition: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood* and publicly finance all elections**. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators propose it via an Article V Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, we should see a much more respectable group of politicians emerge within one or two election cycles.

.

*) The aim is not to end legal personhood for corporations, but natural personhood. The latter became a problem following the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which grated some of the rights of natural persons to corporations and makes it easier for them to lend financial support to political campaigns.

**) At the State level, more than half of all political campaigns are already publicly financed in some way, so there's nothing strange about doing the same for political campaigns for federal office.

America may now be the world's biggest oil producer, but in contrast to other oil producing countries around the world, where multinational oil companies must hand over most of their profits (90% in Saudi Arabia), when they pump it out of the ground in the United States they pay zero taxes and are even subsidized with hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Why? Because of political bribery, now legal thanks to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which has created a corrupt Congress that affects both Democrats and Republicans alike.

Luckily there is still hope: it's called Wolf-PAC. This organization was launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Constitutional Amendment to end corporate personhood and publicly finance all elections. Since Congress won't pass an Amendment like this on its own, the idea is to have the State Legislators propose it instead by way of an Article V Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, so it's not an easy thing to do, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, notably Texas. If successful, Congress should be fixed within one or two election cycles.

anyone who thinks that either party is for the "common guy," they are delusional. Simply delusional.

No, of course, they are both "owned" by their corporate masters (including unions, PACs, et.al.) and differ only in the flavor and consistency of their BS. It's been building a long time, but the 2010 Citizens United SCOTUS decision was a major tipping point -- over the proverbial cliff.

Since this results from a Supreme Court decision, the only way to fix is with a constitutional amendment. If you would like to change it, check out MoveToAmend.org and Wolf-PAC.com. Sign and propagate the petitions. Get active. Contact your representatives at all levels.

The 26th Amendment was proposed and ratified in just over 100 days, back in 1971. This can be done.

Please note that the "right-wingers" got into congress by BEING ELECTED, by voters who support what they're doing. ...

Ultimately you're correct, but that's only part of how congressional (and presidential) candidates get elected these days. In reality 94-95% of the time the candidate that wins the election was the one able to raise the most money -- lots of it. But in almost all those cases, most of the campaign money comes a small group of donors: corporations and the super rich. Unfortunately, that kind of money always comes with strings attached, so if a candidate refuses to put the interests of their donors before those of their constituents, the donors simply take their money and support a more willing candidate instead. This affects both Democratic and Republican candidates alike. In all other developed countries it's referred to as political corruption, but in the United States it was basically made legal in 2010 thanks to a Supreme Court ruling, called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions.

Therefore, it can be argued that America is currently not really a democracy; it's more of a plutocracy or a corporatocracy. This is very unfortunate for Americans, among whom income inequality is now at almost the same level as it was at the beginning of the Great Depression in 1928, despite the fact that productivity has risen steadily since the end of WWII, and has even increased since the end of the 1990s. It's also a blight on the rest of the world, because of America's position as the dominant military and economic power.

Luckily, it may not be too late because of two things. First, democracy is apparently still doing pretty well at the State level, and second, this means that it is still possible to organize an Article V Convention for the purpose of amending to the US Constitution and setting things right. One group is attempting to do just that: Wolf-PAC. Launched in 2011, their goal is to pass a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution that will end corporate personhood and publicly finance all elections. At least 34 States need to cooperate for such a Convention to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, notably Texas. If successful, the corruption that affects all politicians in the US Federal Government should mostly be gone within one or two election cycles, but until then... try to be a little more understanding of American voters.

Let's not repeat the fiction that the American people have representation in the federal government.

Change does not come from within. Real change must be made from the outside.

Correct, and here's how to do it: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood and publicly finance all elections. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators propose it via an Article Five Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, the real problem should be fixed within one or two election cycles.

I am quite willing to sign up for this. But not everything wrong with US government can be laid at the feet of corporations. Some corporations do benefit from the current state of affairs, it is true. And some are greatly inconvenienced. By even if you wrote corporations out of the equation entirely, the real mover here is power and the people with the power are merely getting some of their funding from corporate sources. Getting their campaigns financed by other means wouldn't change the people behind it.

I've said before that money is not speech, it's just a bigger megaphone. The last election demonstrated quite handily that even the largest war chest is no guarantee that those grimy worthless little voters won't pick someone else. So, while pulling the money plug is a worthwhile effort, don't expect it to solve all problems.

Change does not come from within. Real change must be made from the outside.

Correct, and here's how to do it: WOLF-PAC. Launched in October 2011 for the purpose of passing a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that will end corporate personhood and publicly finance all elections. Since Congress won't pass such an Amendment on its own, the plan is to instead have the State Legislators propose it via an Article Five Convention. At least 34 States need to cooperate for this to work, but already many have reacted with enthusiasm, most notably Texas. If successful, the real problem should be fixed within one or two election cycles.

Although I voted for him twice, I agree. Since 2008 he has become less like the man of hope that was first voted into office and more like the man he replaced. In some ways, he's even worse. However, Congress will never impeach him, because as far as his impeachable offenses are concerned, the majority on both sides of the isle actually approves of that behavior. They are two sides of the same coin, working only for their donors while they play good cop/bad cop with the rest of us. The only solution I know of is: http://www.wolf-pac.com/

From a previous post, here's the collected list of suggested actions people can take to help change the situation.

Have more ideas? Please post below.

Links worthy of attention:

http://anticorruptionact.org/ [anticorruptionact.org]

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html [ted.com]

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections [fairelectionsnow.org]

http://represent.us/ [represent.us]

http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/ [protectourdemocracy.com]

http://www.wolf-pac.com/ [wolf-pac.com]

https://www.unpac.org/ [unpac.org]

http://www.thirty-thousand.org/ [thirty-thousand.org]

Join the class action suit that Rand Paul is bringing against the NSA.

Suggestion #1:

(My idea): If people could band together and agree to vote out the incumbent (senator, representative, president) whenever one of these incidents crop up, there would be incentive for politicians to better serve the people in order to continue in office. This would mean giving up party loyalty and the idea of "lessor of two evils", which a lot of people won't do. Some congressional elections are quite close, so 2,000 or so petitioners might be enough to swing a future election.

Let your house and senate rep know how you feel about this issue / patriot act and encourage those you know to do the same.

If enough people let their representivies know how they feel obviously those officials who want to be reelected will tend to take notice. We have seen what happens when wikipedia and google go "dark", congressional switchboards melt and the 180's start to pile up.

Fax is considered the best way to contact a congressperson,especially if it is on corporate letterhead.

Suggestion #2:

Tor, I2dP and the likes. Let's build a new common internet over the internet. Full strong anonymity and integrity. Transform what an
eavesdropper would see in a huge cypherpunk clusterfuck.

Taking back what's ours through technology and educated practices.

Let's go back to the 90' where the internet was a place for knowledgeable and cooperative people.

Someone Added: Let's go full scale by deploying small wireless routers across the globe creating a real mesh network as internet was designed to be!

Suggestion #3:

A first step might be understanding the extent towards which the government actually disagrees with the people. Are we talking about a situation where the government is enacting unpopular policies that people oppose? Or are we talking about a situation where people support the policies? Because the solutions to those two situations are very different.

In many cases involving "national security", I think the situation is closer to the second one. "Tough on X" policies are quite popular, and politicians often pander to people by enacting them. The USA Patriot Act, for example, was hugely popular when it was passed. And in general, politicians get voted out of office more often for being not "tough" on crime and terrorism and whatever else, than for being too over-the-top in pursuing those policies.

Suggestion #4:

What I feel is needed is a true 3rd party, not 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th parties, such as Green, Tea Party, Libertarian; we need an agreeable third party that can compete against the two majors without a lot of interference from small parties. We need a consensus third party.

Suggestion #5:

Replace the voting system. Plurality voting will always lead [wikipedia.org] to the mess we have now. The only contribution towards politics I've made in years

There's more to our government than just the president. Congress still has enormous influence and Americans have managed to elect some good congressmen. In fact, organizations like Wolf-Pac are pushing for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizen's United by working entirely at the state level. Social policy changes are happening on the state level for more rapidly than at the national (gays, pot, abortion, guns, etc). So there's still a chance.

The question is: What is Obama the figurehead of? It's not just the military-industrial complex, it's morphed into a much larger corporate octopus comprising the half-dozen of so largest in banks, chemical companies, oil companies, etc. And it has near total control of the US government.

The root of all this evil is a string of SCOTUS decisions which over the years have established the legal fiction of "corporate personhood." Citizens United would never have even come up if corporations weren't already considered as "artificial persons" under the constitution.

The only solution I can see, realistically, is a constitutional amendment. Here are two organizations working toward that goal right now. Check 'em out, and lend a hand.

https://movetoamend.org/
http://www.wolf-pac.com/

So, seriously people. Work for change. Donate money to the ACLU, EFF, etc.

Also, http://www.wolf-pac.com/ You can help by signing the petition, donating money, or helping organize the movement in your state.

And yet I love the never ending posts about how America is the ONLY country which is a threat to liberty. It certainly is pushing at the boundaries of crazy but at least it is still ostensibly legal to download that manual.

FTFY. But republicans (and democrats, but less explicitly) are working hard to "fix" that.

These programs are thrust on us, and we have to really complain for even the slightest hope of the patriot act to not be renewed.

Money is the root of all problems. Best action is to reduce its influence: http://www.wolf-pac.com/

If we stumble we may drag everyone to the ministry of love with us.

True, and a really scary thought.

I'm glad someone got what I was saying. I was surprised to be modded a troll for an exhortation against authoritarianism.

It must be by these Euro fanatics who think the European countries are God's gift to the world and the US is the only threat to liberty. It certainly is a threat, and our immense financial and military power makes it a quite pertinent one.

But these people act like it is the only one. They gawk while ignoring France's own little panoptican.

I agree completely about the money. Absolute power may corrupt absolutely, but so does money.

Even if citizens united is constitutional, it shouldn't be. It is about time to breath life into our living document.

Either we all must be free, or none of us.

And yet I love the never ending posts about how America is the ONLY country which is a threat to liberty. It certainly is pushing at the boundaries of crazy but at least it is still ostensibly legal to download that manual.

FTFY. But republicans (and democrats, but less explicitly) are working hard to "fix" that.

These programs are thrust on us, and we have to really complain for even the slightest hope of the patriot act to not be renewed.

Money is the root of all problems. Best action is to reduce its influence: http://www.wolf-pac.com/

If we stumble we may drag everyone to the ministry of love with us.

True, and a really scary thought.

Government representatives are supposed to represent their constituents, not multinational corporations. Make it illegal for foreign^H^H^H^H^H^H^H entities to fund domestic campaigns and we can avoid these conflicts.

Corrected that for you.

Government representatives are supposed to represent their constituents, not multinational corporations. Make it illegal for foreign entities to fund domestic campaigns and we can avoid these conflicts.

There isn't anything wrong with the 4th Amendment. The problem is that Congress has authorized and re-authorized the PATRIOT act that allows this type of surveillance. If we have an amendment, it should be for Congress to start representing Americans instead of donors, who pick up these fat contracts to spy on us.

... Off with his head. We'll put a stop to this shit.

Says you and what army? You're right, but Congress will forgive Clapper, because almost none them actually work for the American people: they work for their donors, the super-rich and the corporations. If we want our democracy back (indeed, our world back, since the US is the only remaining super-power), we're going to have to get money out of politics first! And there is a way...

Support WOLF PAC

From a previous post, here's the collected list of suggested actions people can take to help change the situation.

Have more ideas? Please post below.

Links worthy of attention:

http://anticorruptionact.org/

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections

http://represent.us/

http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/

http://www.wolf-pac.com/

https://www.unpac.org/

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

Suggestion #1:

(My idea): If people could band together and agree to vote out the incumbent (senator, representative, president) whenever one of these incidents crop up, there would be incentive for politicians to better serve the people in order to continue in office. This would mean giving up party loyalty and the idea of "lessor of two evils", which a lot of people won't do. Some congressional elections are quite close, so 2,000 or so petitioners might be enough to swing a future election.

Someone added: Vote them out AND remove their lifetime, taxpayer-funded, free health care. See how fast the health care system gets fixed.

Someone added:You can start by letting your house and senate rep know how you feel about this issue / patriot act and encourage those you know to do the same.

If enough people let their representivies know how they feel obviously those officials who want to be reelected will tend to take notice. We have seen what happens when wikipedia and google go "dark", congressional switchboards melt and the 180's start to pile up.

I added: Fax is considered the best way to contact a congressperson,especially if it is on corporate letterhead.

Suggestion #2:

Tor, I2dP and the likes. Let's build a new common internet over the internet. Full strong anonymity and integrity. Transform what an
eavesdropper would see in a huge cypherpunk clusterfuck.

Taking back what's ours through technology and educated practices.

Let's go back to the 90' where the internet was a place for knowledgeable and cooperative people.

Someone Added: Let's go full scale by deploying small wireless routers across the globe creating a real mesh network as internet was designed to be!

Suggestion #3:

A first step might be understanding the extent towards which the government actually disagrees with the people. Are we talking about a situation where the government is enacting unpopular policies that people oppose? Or are we talking about a situation where people support the policies? Because the solutions to those two situations are very different.

In many cases involving "national security", I think the situation is closer to the second one. "Tough on X" policies are quite popular, and politicians often pander to people by enacting them. The USA Patriot Act, for example, was hugely popular when it was passed. And in general, politicians get voted out of office more often for being not "tough" on crime and terrorism and whatever else, than for being too over-the-top in pursuing those policies.

Suggestion #4:

What I feel is needed is a true 3rd party, not 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th parties, such as Green, Tea Party, Libertarian; we need an agreeable third party that can compete against the two majors without a lot of interference from small parties. We need a consensus third party.

Suggestion #5:

Replace the voting system. Plurality voting will always lead to the mess we have now. The only contribution towards politics I'v

From a previous post, here's the collected list of suggested actions people can take to help change things.

Have more ideas? Please post below.

Links worthy of attention:

http://anticorruptionact.org/

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections

http://represent.us/

http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/

http://www.wolf-pac.com/

https://www.unpac.org/

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

Suggestion #1:

(My idea): If people could band together and agree to vote out the incumbent (senator, representative, president) whenever one of these incidents crop up, there would be incentive for politicians to better serve the people in order to continue in office. This would mean giving up party loyalty and the idea of "lessor of two evils", which a lot of people won't do. Some congressional elections are quite close, so 2,000 or so petitioners might be enough to swing a future election.

Someone added: Vote them out AND remove their lifetime, taxpayer-funded, free health care. See how fast the health care system gets fixed.

Someone added:You can start by letting your house and senate rep know how you feel about this issue / patriot act and encourage those you know to do the same.

If enough people let their representivies know how they feel obviously those officials who want to be reelected will tend to take notice. We have seen what happens when wikipedia and google go "dark", congressional switchboards melt and the 180's start to pile up.

I added: Fax is considered the best way to contact a congressperson, especially if it is on corporate letterhead.

Suggestion #2:

Tor, I2dP and the likes. Let's build a new common internet over the internet. Full strong anonymity and integrity. Transform what an eavesdropper would see in a huge cypherpunk clusterfuck.

Taking back what's ours through technology and educated practices.

Let's go back to the 90' where the internet was a place for knowledgeable and cooperative people.

Someone Added: Let's go full scale by deploying small wireless routers across the globe creating a real mesh network as internet was designed to be!

Suggestion #3:

A first step might be understanding the extent towards which the government actually disagrees with the people. Are we talking about a situation where the government is enacting unpopular policies that people oppose? Or are we talking about a situation where people support the policies? Because the solutions to those two situations are very different.

In many cases involving "national security", I think the situation is closer to the second one. "Tough on X" policies are quite popular, and politicians often pander to people by enacting them. The USA Patriot Act, for example, was hugely popular when it was passed. And in general, politicians get voted out of office more often for being not "tough" on crime and terrorism and whatever else, than for being too over-the-top in pursuing those policies.

Suggestion #4:

What I feel is needed is a true 3rd party, not 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th parties, such as Green, Tea Party, Libertarian; we need an agreeable third party that can compete against the two majors without a lot of interference from small parties. We need a consensus third party.

Suggestion #5:

Replace the voting system. Plurality voting will always lead to the mess we have now. The only contribution towards politics I've made in

From a previous post, here's the collected list of suggested actions
people can take to help fix the government.

Have more ideas? Please post below.

Links worthy of attention:

http://anticorruptionact.org/

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections

http://represent.us/

http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/

http://www.wolf-pac.com/

https://www.unpac.org/

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

Suggestion #1:

(My idea): If people could band together and agree to vote out the
incumbent (senator, representative, president) whenever one of these
incidents crop up, there would be incentive for politicians to better
serve the people in order to continue in office. This would mean
giving up party loyalty and the idea of "lessor of two evils", which a
lot of people won't do. Some congressional elections are quite close,
so 2,000 or so petitioners might be enough to swing a future election.

Someone added: Vote them out AND remove their lifetime,
taxpayer-funded, free health care. See how fast the health care system
gets fixed.

Someone added:You can start by letting your house and senate rep know
how you feel about this issue / patriot act and encourage others you
know to do the same.

If enough people let their representivies know how they feel obviously
those officials who want to be reelected will tend to take notice. We have
seen what happens when wikipedia and google go "dark", congressional
switchboards melt and the 180's start to pile up.

I added: Fax is considered the best way to contact a congressperson,
especially if it is on corporate letterhead.

Suggestion #2:

Tor, I2dP and the likes. Let's build a new common internet over the
internet. Full strong anonymity and integrity. Transform what an
eavesdropper would see in a huge cypherpunk clusterfuck.

Taking back what's ours through technology and educated practices.

Let's go back to the 90' where the internet was a place for
knowledgeable and cooperative people.

Someone Added: Let's go full scale by deploying small wireless routers
across the globe creating a real mesh network as internet was designed
to be!

Suggestion #3:

A first step might be understanding the extent towards which the
government actually disagrees with the people. Are we talking about a
situation where the government is enacting unpopular policies that
people oppose? Or are we talking about a situation where people
support the policies? Because the solutions to those two situations
are very different.

In many cases involving "national security", I think the situation is
closer to the second one. "Tough on X" policies are quite popular, and
politicians often pander to people by enacting them. The USA Patriot
Act, for example, was hugely popular when it was passed. And in
general, politicians get voted out of office more often for being not
"tough" on crime and terrorism and whatever else, than for being too
over-the-top in pursuing those policies.

Suggestion #4:

What I feel is needed is a true 3rd party, not 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th
parties, such as Green, Tea Party, Libertarian; we need an agreeable
third party that can compete against the two majors without a lot of
interference from small parties. We need a consensus third party.

Suggestion #5:

Replace the voting system. Plurality voting will

From a previous post, here's the collected list of suggested actions
people can take to help change the situation.

Have more ideas? Please post below.

Links worthy of attention:

http://anticorruptionact.org/

http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html

http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections

http://represent.us/

http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/

http://www.wolf-pac.com/

https://www.unpac.org/

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

Suggestion #1:

(My idea): If people could band together and agree to vote out the
incumbent (senator, representative, president) whenever one of these
incidents crop up, there would be incentive for politicians to better
serve the people in order to continue in office. This would mean
giving up party loyalty and the idea of "lessor of two evils", which a
lot of people won't do. Some congressional elections are quite close,
so 2,000 or so petitioners might be enough to swing a future election.

Someone added: Vote them out AND remove their lifetime,
taxpayer-funded, free health care. See how fast the health care system
gets fixed.

Someone added:You can start by letting your house and senate rep know
how you feel about this issue / patriot act and encourage others you
know to do the same.

If enough people let their representivies know how they feel obviously
those officials who want to be reelected will tend to take notice. We have
seen what happens when wikipedia and google go "dark", congressional
switchboards melt and the 180's start to pile up.

I added: Fax is considered the best way to contact a congressperson,
especially if it is on corporate letterhead.

Suggestion #2:

Tor, I2dP and the likes. Let's build a new common internet over the
internet. Full strong anonymity and integrity. Transform what an
eavesdropper would see in a huge cypherpunk clusterfuck.

Taking back what's ours through technology and educated practices.

Let's go back to the 90' where the internet was a place for
knowledgeable and cooperative people.

Someone Added: Let's go full scale by deploying small wireless routers
across the globe creating a real mesh network as internet was designed
to be!

Suggestion #3:

A first step might be understanding the extent towards which the
government actually disagrees with the people. Are we talking about a
situation where the government is enacting unpopular policies that
people oppose? Or are we talking about a situation where people
support the policies? Because the solutions to those two situations
are very different.

In many cases involving "national security", I think the situation is
closer to the second one. "Tough on X" policies are quite popular, and
politicians often pander to people by enacting them. The USA Patriot
Act, for example, was hugely popular when it was passed. And in
general, politicians get voted out of office more often for being not
"tough" on crime and terrorism and whatever else, than for being too
over-the-top in pursuing those policies.

Suggestion #4:

What I feel is needed is a true 3rd party, not 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th
parties, such as Green, Tea Party, Libertarian; we need an agreeable
third party that can compete against the two majors without a lot of
interference from small parties. We need a consensus third party.

Suggestion #5:

Replace the voting system. Plurality voting will

http://anticorruptionact.org/
http://www.ted.com/talks/lawrence_lessig_we_the_people_and_the_republic_we_must_reclaim.html
http://action.fairelectionsnow.org/fairelections
http://represent.us/
http://www.protectourdemocracy.com/
http://www.wolf-pac.com/
https://www.unpac.org/
And many others - someone passed those links on to me and whenever someone asks 'What can we do" I usually reply along those lines.

Words are more powerful than you give them credit, to change hearts and minds.

So here follows mine*: start getting money out of politics - http://www.wolf-pac.com/ - and contribute personally, not only with your money.

* I'm not an American, but I wish my fellow Earthlings to recover from the current insanity (which btw is a global trend, unfortunately).

Honesty and ethics was probably not much of a concern.

As it isn't for the majority of politicians. Money is all that matters. I'm not American, but if I were, I would surely join these guys: http://www.wolf-pac.com/
Getting money out of politics should be your (you, citizens) top priority.

Try Wolf PAC.

http://www.wolf-pac.com/

So, act.

Question is, how do we change this?

http://www.wolf-pac.com/