Netroots Nation is just around the corner, and we’ve got two announcements you can’t miss:

First, if you’re planning on coming down to Austin for Netroots Nation ’08, now’s the time to register.  Right now (and only until December 27th at 11:59PM Pacific time), registration is still just $250, discounted from the full price of $450.  

Take 2 minutes and sign up now!

Second – we’re happy to announce the beginning of the process to submit agenda ideas!

(Promoted by MissLaura)

July 17-20, 2008: Netroots Nation is coming to Austin!

The face of progressive politics is changing. Regular people have taken it on as their civic duty to become activists, and citizen journalists, and even run for office. The trend toward more decentralized, people-powered politics and media is accelerating, and at Netroots Nation, we are doing our part to focus that trend on creating a more progressive America.

The face of progressive politics is changing. Thanks in large part to growing online communities, activism, organization, and communication are in the hands of the American people more than ever before. From electing candidates to fact-checking the traditional media and everything in between, people-powered politics will only become more influential as our Netroots community continues to diversify and grow.

Our organization's new name—Netroots Nation—reflects that shift. After two tremendously successful YearlyKos Conventions, creating and hosting the preeminent online progressive conference will stay central to our mission. But as we enter a new era in politics, we aim to do much more. In the coming weeks, we'll be talking more about our plans to further amplify progressive voices and brainstorming with your help ways we can give progressive activists the tools they need to hold elected leaders of all stripes accountable and ultimately see a new progressive agenda enacted.  

The possibilities are endless.

Senator Clinton's campaign (and in fact those of every candidate participating) have been incredibly flexible and helpful in putting together this Presidential forum. Saturday is going to be an amazing day.

In the weeks leading up to the convention we worked with her campaign and the campaigns of EVERY candidate participating to accommodate a diverse array of scheduling and other concerns.

Yearlykos wholeheartedly disagrees with the sentiments expressed in the diary entitled "Effing Hillary Jilts Kossacks." There was a miscommunication between Yearlykos and Senator Clinton’s Campaign, which was never under the impression that Senator Clinton would be attending the breakout session due to a scheduling conflict. We regret due to this miscommunication, the announcement was made so belatedly. We are ecstatic she will be attending the forum and that Anne Lewis will be representing her in the breakout session.

Anyway it's been a great first day and the Presidential forum is going to be incredible.

What should we really be outraged about?

While I support sending the same bill back to the President, I'm not a foreign policy expert and, so, I accept that I could be wrong. I do believe there can be legitimate disagreement on the best way to support the troops regarding funding, and so I don't assign "lack of a spine" as the motive for all who disagree with me. The problem is the lack of a plan. Leadership is more than out-bullying the biggest bully. It's about knowing where to go and how to get there. And it just feels like we are taking random stabs in the dark and hoping we hit the thing that will bring our troops home. And so we continue the cycle, jumping on the outrage of the week - residual troops, defunding, what ever comes up next.

I'm not seeing the rationale for any one of the single actions Congress has proposed.

Jeffrey Feldman has written a wonderful book, Framing the Debate, which is  so much more than a "how to" book for progressive frames. It is a beautiful history of great presidential speeches and the way presidents ask Americans to view the world with the powerful words they choose.

Yesterday in the NYT, New Republic writer, Eve Fairbanks reviewed Jeffrey's book, if you want to call it that. Mostly she just ranted her world view and cherry picked some quotes to back it up. Eve Fairbanks submitted an irresponsible piece that mischaracterized Jeffrey's book and I'm a little too furious about this to compose a proper introduction, so I'll just get to it.

Last night I was thinking about the progressive movement and the people who are part of it. I was thinking about organizations and democratic institutions too, how they have changed (or not) with technology, and how the growing community based phenomena on the internet is a driver of the new politic. I get to work with many people in the progressive movement, and what I appreciate most is the mosaic of inspiring individuals who have the idealism and determination for not just creating, but also implementing the new ideas needed for a progressive future.

I also thought about the cynical right with their bankrupt beliefs and the silly names they call us. It made me sad that there are so many jaded or fearful or negative or down right deranged people out there who, when they look around, see nothing but darkness and evil in their neighbors.

But mostly I thought about the name calling, and it made me laugh.

If you are like me, you woke up this morning, powered up the computer, opened your calendar, and thought, "OMG, I can’t believe it’s that day again." (It’s a fracking conspiracy, I tell you.) And if you are like me, you work hard for too many hours, and so it is up to you to make up for 365 days of someone else putting up with you, your wacky schedule, your strange computer habits, your hoarding of the remote control and subjecting the family to hours upon hours of c-span.

<center>And so it’s Valentine’s Day, and you’ve got nuttin.
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You could rush to store and grab the last card, complete with wrinkled envelope and foot print, grab the last brown edged rose, a few boxes of jr. mints and a frozen lasagna, or convince that special someone that delayed gratification is often worth the wait, and you’ve had something special planned all along...

I have a theory, and, as we beging to line up speakers for YKC 07, I’d like your feedback.  

I believe that technology will both reward and demand authenticity from candidates, and what people want are candidates brave enough to convey their values as a vision. I also believe that our YearlyKos Convention both rides and perpetuates this wave of authenticity, so understanding how it works will be a powerful advantage for the netroots.

First, though, two disclaimers:

1. YearlyKos Convention does not endorse candidates, so just because I link to a clip or we invite someone to speak, don’t mistake that for an endorsement. We are a forum bringing together motivated people with ideas. Sometimes those people are politicians or candidates.
2. I’m not personally going to decide on who to support until the last possible moment. I want to give all candidates as much time as possible to impress me...or not. So, don’t even bother to accuse me or YKC of bias. You will be met with much eyerollong.

Onward to three examples (Gore, Edwards, Clark)...

This week the YearlyKos Convention organizing committee got into a debate, and as often happens in big tent progressive service organizations like ours, we have a bit of a (sigh) hung jury. So of course the logical next step is to go to y’all, our community, and ask what you think. Our problem is a typically controversial one among progressive circles, but maybe together we can compose a solution that works, at least for our progressive blogosphere community and our YearlyKos Convention project.

Three years ago I wrote one of my first diaries, Kiss My Dixie Ass. Three years later, I'm thinking about that diary.

I met my husband after he moved from the Bay Area to Memphis to buy a home. Our income is about $90K per year. In Memphis we were able to afford a little house, a 1/2acre on a winding treelined road in a beautiful city neighborhood. Within two houses in any direction my neighbors are white, black, hispanic, new parents, grand parents, kidless, married, single, gay, lesbian, employeed, retired, unemployeed... That's some diversity and I haven't even gotten to religion.

We're leaving because in CA the summers are milder, the soil softer and his widowed mother closer. Luckily the economy in Memphis we were able to afford to invest locally. This has allowed us to save enough for two acres in the Wine Country. We never could have done it in California. There's so much opportunity in the South. Growing up I remember running low on food between paychecks; today I can fill the trunk with whatever I want.

Would I be this blessed if I had been born in innercity Oakland?

Sigh. Some things never change. The culture snobs still bash the south, and still I call bullshit...

Please watch Ava's latest video which marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the tragedy that followed.

Over 1800 people lost their lives because of Hurricane Katrina, over 1800 families ripped apart.  Many who survived lost the lives they had built for themselves, their homes, their jobs, their dreams. Leaving aside the global warming debate, catastrophic acts of nature cannot be prevented. But what happened afterward was a shameful act of negligence. Ava reminds us:

Also please remember that victims of Hurricane Katrina are still struggling to recover almost a year later. At least 1,836 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their homes. Peace Takes Courage has put together a list of organizations that are still working to help victims of the storm. Even the smallest amount helps, so please donate.

Please visit www.peacetakescourage.com/aid for information on how you can help Katrina victims.

There is a lot of hype surrounding the campaign, and rightly so. Something amazing is happening in Connecticut, something that people all across America want to witness. And after some creative marketing to my husband, I am on my way to see it first hand. I'm so excited that instead of packing my bags and arranging for a rental car, I'm writing this diary. I just can't hold it inside. I am inspired by what is happening in Connecticut, and I want to be a part of this amazing American story.

Howard Dean, Al Frankin, David Sirota, Robert Greenwald, Maxine Waters, Jim Derych, Paul Hacket, Christine Cegelis.

Grassroots Leadership Summit, Activist Training, CivicSpace.

Atomic Bowling, Beach Party.

That's the short list of reasons you should attend Democracy Fest 2006 in beautiful Sand Diego, July 14-16.
But there's another reason you should attend, and it doesn't lend itself to being described in a short ad. In fact, it's something you must experience to understand.

Our video, however, is just one in a long list of videos Ava has produced. I suggest you check out her blog at peacetakescourage.com. You will be moved and inspired.

Recently, Ava has been getting quite a bit of media attention, and some unwanted attention by right wing wackos who have been sending her death threats.

Last night Ava discussed this in her interview on CNN.

Y'all, Ava absolutely hit a home run! Crooks and Liars has the footage, which includes clips of her "Jesus Loves Me" creation.

I always knew it would be big. How could it not be? The writing was on the wall when we started this adventure a year and a half ago. The Republicans were still in charge, America's path was not going to change.

But the progressive blogosphere was going to continue to grow. And as dark as the days would become, before us would still be a fabulous opportunity.

I knew it would be big, but I honestly had no idea what big would look like.

Big looks like over 120 of our experts coming together to share their knowledge. Big looks like over 150 traditional media reporters trying to understand who we are. Big looks like over 1000 attendees from all over the country coming together, a good percentage of whom were volunteers doing the work to make the YearlyKos Convention successful.

Big looks like, or rather feels like, the hopeful determination that defined YearlyKos. It was incredible and overwhelming, and I haven't wrapped my mind around it yet.

And speaking of generous friends, Markos has donated to YearlyKos copies of the special "Progressive Partner" edition of Crashing the Gate, and we're giving four of them away to the next four people who Crash that 200 donor wall for YearlyKos.

Isn't public service about leadership? Isn't leadership about taking courageous stands? Doesn't one take a courageous stand when one literally stands up for, and champions the most vulnerable among us? Isn't this the true test of leadership?

Our leaders don't lead. Oh, the outrage! I beleive I'm getting the vapors. ;) Sigh...nothing new.

If only voices of outrage on their own could make a difference. If only our righteous anger mattered. But on its own, it doesn't. I've been coming to Daily Kos for a while now. And we're still outraged by the same things. So now what?