and from what I understand, the diarist is wrong, ACORN does NOT pay on a commission just an hourly rate. therefore, they have removed the incentive to falsify voter registrations (though I'm sure people have quotas to meet). but you are right, there's an easily solution but Repubs certainly don't want to make it THAT easy to vote or they'll never win another election again.

I read all of those posts on TPM as they came out and Marshall clearly stated that he wasn't absolutely sure what was said. Bob Somersby needs to get a life, the guy has been losing it for years. He occasionally provides lucid analysis but often delves into weird vendettas like this one. Always take the Howler with a huge grain of salt would be the moral of this story.

What I sort of hope we can do is acknowledge that the left of the 1960s failed in some very serious ways, and move forward from there in not repeating those mistakes.

I think much of this discussion is ridiculous. But just for the sake of argument, what exactly are the mistakes we shouldn't repeat?

Because I've read on other threads that being intellectual is one of them. And I don't buy it or alot of the other assumed "failures". Please enlighten me.

and what has that politics gotten done?

Pardon me for being skeptical, but what exactly has your beloved netroots done? I don't see a whole lot of praxis going on that doesn't have to do with raising money for Dems. So, I largely agree with Sawicky.

I haven't read all the back-and-forth, but my main problem is that most American "activists" whether they're main-line Dems or of the Marcuse-reading variety don't seem to DO anything. I don't see people in the streets the way our current circumstances should be leading them to be. And our beloved Dems apparently don't have the political will to do anything to stop the war. So, now what?

Are we prepared to take a real step? To sacrifice our jobs, our cushy American lifestyles or even our lives to stop this madness? If not, what good is it? When do we finally say enough is enough, living like this isn't living?

And, personally, I think anyone that hasn't read Marcuse and Foucalt, and Friere and Galeano, really should try and pick up one or more of these and other writers. I don't think more theory is a bad thing. Anything that gets us to see this is a historical struggle that's been going on for a long, long time is a good thing, IMO.