Tell America What It Means To Be Progressive (with video goodness!)

I just got an email from MoveOn.org asking me to vote on (and then chip in to air) these ads. Since they're tiny on the MoveOn page, I thought I'd post them here, but don't forget to go vote for your favorite!


"America At It's Best"



"The Progressive Movement"



"Progressive VS Conservative"



"Progress Is American"


Here's what I thought, in order.

"America At It's Best" seemed a little bland to me. I don't think the point gets across to anyone.

"The Progressive Movement" was my favorite at first, because I think it expressed what progressive means and might have the widest appeal. But, on watching it a second time, I realized that only the video told the audience anything, and the audio doesn't get any point across. And the text of the video moves so fast that I don't know if the average person could read it all.

"Progressive VS Conservative" was my least favorite because I think it comes off as attacking conservatives, and does little to promote progressives. It would leave people feeling defensive, rather than open to the progressive message.

"Progress Is American" is what I ended up voting for. It's amusing, and my personal belief is that all commercials suck unless they're at least amusing, if not downright funny. It also gets the message through via audio, with the video being a reinforcement of the message. It brings up positive ideas about the progressive movement, without putting anyone on the defense.

What did you think?

[Update] Ok, so I forgot JM Bell posted two of these last week, but I still say my post is better. :-P

Nuke Free

Congress is about to give $50 Billion in tax subsidies for nuclear reactors to be built as part of the energy bill that is supposed to bring us clean energy. Nuclear energy is not clean energy. Anyone that doesn't know this simply doesn't want to.

Bonnie Raitt is joining MoveOn.org to work against this. She's put out a music video (which isn't half bad, by the way) where some of the facts about why this isn't a good idea are presented. Facts like how 50,000,000 people will live within 2 miles of the transportation routes for the waste.



More information can be found at NukeFree.org.

Here's the email she sent through MoveOn.org:

Dear MoveOn member,

When Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, many other bands and I played our "No Nukes" concerts in 1979 to 100,000 people, we never dreamed we'd have to come back almost 30 years later to fight the same fight all over again.

But it's 2007, and here we are again. The nuclear industry just slipped a clause into the energy bill that will provide up to $50 billion in tax subsidies for to build new reactors—enough to launch a whole new generation of nukes! We've already got the safe, viable alternatives to replace the dirty energy we're using now. Building new atomic reactors in an age of terror threats is not only scary, but the toxic waste from nuclear power threatens our health and our planet.

The nuclear option is not the way to go.

So I called my friends, and we recorded a music video to spread the word. We've also launched a petition, and I'm asking MoveOn members to sign on. Here's what it says:

"America's new energy policy needs to focus on safe and economic fuel sources. Congress must strip the nuclear tax subsidies from the energy bill before they pass it."

Clicking below will add your signature (and you can also see the video that we produced on that same page):

http://pol.moveon.org/nukefree/o.pl?id=11429-6917764-SiA19B&t=4

When you're done, please take a minute to pass it along to your friends.

$50 billion in loan guarantees is a lot of money—enough to cover financial risk for the big banks who want to get involved. In other words, if something goes wrong, it will be the American taxpayers who foot the bill, not Wall Street.

It makes no sense. We know nuclear facilities are a target for terrorists. We know nuclear energy is toxic to our health and environment. And we know solar and wind power are safer, cheaper, and getting easier to use every day. This should equal a big "no" on nuclear energy, and a big "yes" to investing in clean energy. But the nuclear industry and their friends in Congress don't want to take no for an answer.

We know MoveOn members worked to pass this energy bill and most of it is great—we'll get more solar and wind with this bill, and even more fuel efficient cars. We just need to ask Congress to take the nuclear subsidies out.

So that's why we're reaching out to you. No one is better than MoveOn when it comes to mobilizing quickly on important issues.

Can sign your name to the petition below and pass it along to your friends?

"America's new energy policy needs to focus on safe and economic fuel sources. Congress must strip the nuclear tax subsidies from the energy bill before they pass it."

http://pol.moveon.org/nukefree/o.pl?id=11429-6917764-SiA19B&t=5

Thanks for listening. Together we can find a way to a cleaner future.

–Bonnie Raitt, Musician
Thursday, October 18th, 2007

War Protest Next Tuesday

I'm hoping to make it, to this, and providing I don't have another meeting that I have tentatively scheduled, I will be. The protest is called "Stand up for Peace", and is going to be at Liberty Park, instead of downtown like most of them are.

Here is part of what the MoveOn email I got about it said (emphasis mine):

We learned yesterday that the White House and pro-war donors have put together a massive $15 MILLION media fund to keep the war going.1 It's an enormous ad buy—and it's aimed at stopping Republicans from breaking with the president now that it's clear that the surge has failed.

Now is the time to fight back. We don't have super-rich corporate donors to match a $15 million ad campaign—but we do have each other. There are millions of us around the country and we're getting together next Tuesday to tell Congress that the time to stand up to President Bush and redeploy our troops out of this unwinnable civil war in Iraq is NOW.

We're gathering at vigils all over the country to honor those who have given their lives in this war and tell Congress and the media that we can't afford another years worth of casualties. If enough of us show up we can counter the White House spin with real people and real voices.

and

The White House front group, "Freedom Watch" is running ads in more than 20 states and they're targeting mostly Republicans, but some Democrats too. They're trying to convince voters and members of Congress that the "surge" is working and that Congress should give Bush more time.

But the truth is time has run out on the White House policy in Iraq. The "surge" is a total failure. Consider these key facts:

* 2007 is already the bloodiest summer for American troops since the war began.2
* There has been little to no progress on the political benchmarks that the president said the "surge" would help accomplish.3
* 64 percent of conservative foreign policy experts say the escalation is having either a negative impact or no impact at all.4
* 7 out of 10 foreign policy experts support redeployment of US troops out of Iraq.5

This big ad blitz is happening now because this September is going to bring the biggest showdown on Iraq since the war began. The White House will try to convince Congress to let them continue their reckless policy in Iraq and if they succeed we could be in Iraq for another 10 years.6

We have to show up in force on Tuesday, before Congress returns to D.C. for the big September fight, and show them that voters want our troops out of the religious civil war in Iraq now—not in six months, not in a year, now.

Sources:

1. "Democrats Refocus Message on Iraq After Military Gains," Washington Post, August 22, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2905&id=11075-6917764-6W5lge&t=6

2. Iraq Index, Brookings Institution, August 20, 2007
http://www3.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

3. Ibid

4. The Terrorism Index, Center for American Progress, August 20, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2906&id=11075-6917764-6W5lge&t=7

5. Ibid

6. "Petraeus: Iraq 'Challenges' to Last for Years," Washington Post, June 18, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2888&id=11075-6917764-6W5lge&t=8