Welcome Markos!

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga

Founder, dailykos.com

Author of Taking on the System

HistoryWhat was the name of your very first blog?

Anything change?What topics did you originally plan to cover

How do you cover now that you didn’t expect to cover then?

What was your original social change goal?

How did this evolve?

Peer Bloggers

“It has been interesting reading Moulitsas' book and also reading about Han Han, one of the most famous bloggers in China, in The New Yorker. This makes me wonder about the importance of being connected to your "peer" bloggers. Is it important?…Are these two bloggers in touch? Do they keep track of each other's work to inspire their own?”

LisaCapa

What holds people back?

Marcy Tobin

“It occurs to me that people are much more likely to participate in an online community during times of crisis.  I'm thinking about earthquakes, wildfires, floods and riots.   People participate because they have important information to share.  They do it because they want to help others and save lives.  They also participate because they have been profoundly impacted by events and want to share their experience with others.  They don't think about how their contribution will be judged, they just do it.  Question:  Is that what holds many people back from becoming contributors — the fear of being judged?  Or, is it merely an issue of time — of not wanting to commit the time to becoming a contributor?”

All’s Fair?

“I am fascinated by the line based on Saul Alinsky's, Rules for Radicals (1971) about ‘all's fair in pursuit of pursuit of one's noble goals.’ That is a bold statement for someone like me who tends toward being process oriented, attempting to be "honest" with myself and others, and to believe and focus much more in the integrity of the journey than the destination. I understand that some information just is not helpful in some situations. But I also think that many people have different too-much-information thresholds. I would be excited to hear any more stories or thoughts about how you have navigated these waters.”

LizFeldman

Stackholder Engagement

“There are many different ways to advocate and cause change. One of the ways that I ascribe to is to engage the stakeholders as partners, working with them in a convincing manner for them to see the value and necessity of change. This method encounters less resistance from the stakeholders and harnesses their cooperation to achieve change. What is your opinion of this method and have you used it successfully in the past? How does it contrast to an all out activism against a stakeholders lack of values or inconsistency of their actions with their values?”

AmrFouda

Running for Office?

“Now that there are ways to get around these gatekeepers, and take on the system, why aren't we seeing more candidates running for office?”

ErichSachs

18

Sample Ballot

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State RepresentativePosition No. 2

31st Legislative DistrictPartisan Office

Patrick Reed(Prefers Republican Party)

Daniel Geske(Prefers Republican Party)

Christopher Hurst(Prefers Independent Dem. Party)

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Prosecuting Attorney

Pierce CountyPartisan Office

Mark Lindquist(Prefers Democratic Party)

Bertha B. Fitzer(Prefers Independent Party)

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Council - District No. 1

Dan Roach(Prefers Republican Party)

Pat McElligott(Prefers Democratic Party)

Nicola McDonald(Prefers Republican Party)

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Council - District No. 5

Rick Talbert(Prefers Democratic Party)

Erich Sachs(Prefers Democratic Party)

Audrey Chase(Prefers Democratic Party)

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Council - District No. 7

Pierce CountyPartisan Office

Todd Iverson(Prefers Democratic Party)

Betty Ringlee(Prefers Democratic Party)

Chuck West(Prefers Democratic Party)

William V. (Bill) Sehmel(Prefers Republican Party)

Larry Wingard(Prefers Republican Party)

Stan Flemming(Prefers Republican Party)

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John N. Picinich(States No Party Preference)

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State Supreme Court JusticePosition No. 1

Judicial - Nonpartisan Office

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Jim Johnson

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State Supreme Court JusticePosition No. 5

Barbara Madsen

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State Supreme Court JusticePosition No. 6

Bryan Chushcoff

Charlie Wiggins

Richard B. Sanders

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Court of Appeals, Division No. 2District No. 1 - Position No. 1

Court of Appeals

Marywave Van Deren

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Court of Appeals, Division No. 2District No. 1 - Position No. 2

Court of Appeals

Lisa Worswick

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vote for oneDistrict Court - Position No. 2Pierce County District Court

Claire Sussman

Kevin A. McCann

Lance Hester

Karl L. Williams

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Levy for Fire Protection Services The City of Milton Resolution No. 10-1784 places before the voters funding of Fire, Para-medic and Emergency Medi-cal Services. This proposition funds Fire and Emergency Medical Services, including addition of Paramedics to serve the Milton community. It authorizes an increase in the regular property tax rate of up to $1.21 per $1,000 of as-sessed value over limitations, for a total rate not to exceed $3.00 per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2011. The 2011 levy amount be-comes the starting base for computing subsequent levy increases for the succeeding four years only. Should this proposition be approved?

City of MiltonSpecial ElectionProposition No. 1

YES

NO

8 6 The statements above are printed exactly as submitted. No spelling, grammatical or other corrections have been made. The Pierce County Auditor's Offi ce does not confi rm that the statements printed are true or fact. The candidate or campaign committee are responsible for content.

Pierce County Council, District No. 5Erich Sachs(Prefers Democratic Party) _________________________________

Elected Experience:No information submitted

Other Professional Experience: I am currently an employee of Pierce County Parks and Recreation and a member of Teamsters Local

117. Last year I led the charter team that created the new sustainability policy for Pierce County Parks and Recre-ation and I am currently developing a recycling program that will be fi nancially self-suffi cient, using revenue from the Parks’ recyclables. This program will save money, increase recycling rates by up to 90%, create jobs, and keep our District 5 parks open and clean.

Education: MBA Candidate in Sustainable Business, Bainbridge Graduate Institute; BA, The Evergreen State College

Community Service: Participated in mentoring/ tutoring programs for middle-school students.

StatementWorking for Pierce County Government, I see every day that our tax dollars could be used more effi ciently. We need a Council with a fresh and innovative perspec-tive. We need representatives who are forward-thinking and committed to effi ciencies in energy use and infra-structure, maintenance and operations, and community development. We can provide quality services with the resources we have available.

Our District absorbed disproportionate cuts during this last budget cycle. Our District 5 Parks were the ones closed or left with limited services. We deserve quality services.

More effective Public Safety programs are necessary to make our community a safer place to live and work. We need more deputies patrolling our neighborhoods.

Our region continues to grow rapidly. We must plan for future growth by committing to Sustainable Economic Development that incorporates environmental and social principles, which will allow our communities to prosper.

I will be a Councilman who understands our County’s basic operations, and is able to develop practical ap-plications of new and innovative ideas. I am committed to improving the way our local government serves our communities. I will represent the voices of the people in District 5 and help Pierce County grow in the right direc-tion.

For More Information:(253) 232-0442Erich.Sachs@gmail.comerichsachs.com

Rick Talbert(Prefers Democratic Party) _________________________________

Elected Experience:Tacoma City Council; Deputy Mayor City of Tacoma; Committee Chair, Economic Development Committee; Member, Government Performance and Finance Committee; Member, Public Safety, Human Services and

Education Committee.

Other Professional Experience: Member Pierce Transit Board of Directors; President, Small Business Incubator; Pierce County Performance Auditor

Education: BA Political Science, WWU, Lincoln High School

Community Service: A lifetime Pierce County resident, Rick Talbert gradu-ated from Western Washington University and Lincoln High School. Talbert has extensive experience in pub-lic service. His community work includes the Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council, the National League of Cities, Community and Economic Development Policy and Advocacy Committee, and the Crystal Judson Fam-ily Justice Center. Statement: Rick Talbert knows the challenges we face and he has a clear plan to make government work for all of us. Rick believes we must get back to basics by increasing public safety, creating sustainable family wage jobs, and holding the line on tax increases. As a former City Council Member and Deputy Mayor of Tacoma, Rick put partisanship aside and worked together with oth-ers to achieve results. Rick Talbert knows that County government must tighten its belt during these diffi cult economic times, but we must provide law enforcement with the tools they need to make our communities safer. Rick Talbert believes we don’t need more government or more taxes, we need better solutions. He has a proven track record of collaborating with others to accomplish more while working with fewer resources. Rick Talbert’s record of results and his ability to work to-gether with others has earned him bi-partisanship sup-port. His endorsements include current County Council Members Barbara Gelman, Shawn Bunney, Roger Bush, Tim Farrell and Terry Lee. Talbert has also earned endorsements from: Pierce County Sheriffs Guild, MBA, Pierce County Democrats, Sheriff Paul Pastor and many other elected offi cials and community leaders.

For More Information:(253) 314-3514rick@ricktalbert.comricktalbert.com

continued

Diversity

“Since it seems that the social media via the web reaches only those who are looking for it (and/or have access), what ideas do you have in getting a more diverse chorus involved in the symphony of social change?”

SonjaSkvaria

Other Mediums of Expression

“Do you like to/are you comfortable speaking in front of large groups? Your blog and book have a wide reach. Are there other mediums you work in to get your message out?”

Chantel Bunkers

Full Potential

BenDrury

“Social media is such a powerful mechanism: in what ways do you think it is not reaching its full potential and why?”

The New Gatekeepers

“In light of the blogosphere and other social media working outside of the traditional gatekeepers of newspaper editors and radio/TV program directors, in what ways do you see navigating around the NEW gatekeepers: ISPs, large telecoms, and governmental agencies (FCC, etc.)? My example is on Facebook there have been many people posting pictures of the throngs in NY and other cities for occupy wall st. that are now being blocked by FB...tenaciously, people have changed the filename and added text to the image to get around these blocks, but as pattern/visual recognition technology improves, how will we be able to get around more complex, technological gates as they are erected by the new gatekeepers?”

PatrickRost

OccupyWall Street

photo credit: David Shankbone on Flickr licensed CC-BY

Stalled Change

“Taking On the System speaks with a voice of hope, telling stories where Netroots have affected great change. However, in the last two years (with the exception of what is now happening with Occupy Wall Street) it seems the change has stalled (Obama's reelection in doubt, lack of progress on a progressive agenda, etc.) and perhaps we need a booster. What do you feel has changed since 2007-2008 to now?”

MikeGreenberg

Crafting Stories

Marcy Tobin

“I read your recent blog post ‘My list of absolute demands for Occupy Wall Street’. I found it very entertaining and provocative. In your book, Taking on the System, you encourage people to ‘craft good stories in order to vest people in the causes we care about.’ People want to know what the Occupy Wall Street story is. If the Occupy Wall Streeters don't craft this story won't the media craft it for them?”

Speak With One Voice

RyanCeurvost

“You devote Chapter 4 to "Reinvent the Street Protest." I'd be curious to get a general overview of your thoughts around the Occupy Wall Street Movement and to see what, if anything, you would rewrite in this chapter given the movement's current progress (or lack thereof, given your perspective) Particularly, the idea of "speak with one voice.”

Protest Tactics

“In the book you talk about street protests as an outdated or even obsolete tool for capturing media attention and creating social change. …

The past couple of weeks have been dominated by news of Occupy Wall Street and the Tar Sands Action in D.C. How do you view their uses of the protest tactic? Do you have advice, or perhaps an observation about what they are doing that might stop them from being rendered obsolete or ineffective?  How can organizers manage the tension between the huge numbers they need to show to earn credibility, and the seemingly inevitable messiness that goes with opening the process to a lot of people in public and in real-time? Is there a workable answer to this challenge?”

TamaraGordy

Protest Tactics“I’ve been considering correlations between Taking on the System and Occupy Wall Street. So, allow me a moment to lay out my train of thought in hopes that you might discuss the threads.

The lessons learned from Cindy Sheehan were: Don’t believe the hype, work within your niche. and don’t get caught up in other ideological causes. Another seems to be: Score political points in the media with simple, albeit emotional, target shooting. Example: Cindy should have stuck with “For what noble cause did my son die?”

These lessons strike me as both practical AND short-term, over-simplified. They pertain to election cycles and legislative campaigns but DO THEY APPLY TO PARADIGM SHIFTS? The purpose of Occupy Wall Street is to question and change the system, which is greater than the sum of any list of demands.

HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT SYSTEMS THINKING IN THIS CONTEXT? ... seeing the forest AND the trees; identifying unconstrained feedback loops, unrecognized time delays, and confining mental models? In politics, IS IT POSSIBLE AND PRACTICAL TO THINK HOLISTICALLY AND LONG-TERM?”

Tom Long

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