I see some folks starting to sign up for Bloglet updates (see upper left column).

The way it should work: a daily email with any new posts, which is an easy way to keep up with my dispatches by simply having them arrive in your inbox. But, I'm not sure that it's happening correctly right now because 1) I think you might get ALL posts, not just the latest and 2) I haven't see any posts arrive yet via my own subscription.

If/when you do start receiving Bloglet updates to your own e-mail, forward me a copy at onefatherfordean@yahoo.com. Meantime, I'll try to debug....

Part II of the George Lakoff interview on Tom Paine.com.

This is not necessarily new stuff (book was originally published in 1996), but it seems definitely resonant in the buzz around what Dean has accomplished so far. Lakoff's comments also seem to me a more focused and simplified take on concepts that have been part and parcel of the dean of critical progressive framing, Noam Chomsky, for years.

Chomsky has most often addressed important international, human rights and media issues...while domestic issues are where most voters tend to decide their choice.

Maybe every Dean 2004 Meetup board should post the link to the articles, share copies at the next event, etc.(?)....

Maybe this time, we'll listen....

If you've never lived in or around Vermont, you may never have heard of annual Town Meetings. And it's not just for government: many businesses have implemented such ideas, least of which are some ice cream makers we all know fairly well by now (annual shareholders meeting used to be held in conjunction with One World One Heart).

Activism and reform movements often make a stand, but more often than not the gatherings are get-togethers for sharing time and thoughts about their communities.

Maybe I'm dreaming, but I think the Dean Meetup movement qualifies as the seeds of a national town meeting, no? (thanks, Critt)

...from the Greater Democracy weblog.... Guess I'm a little late to the Lakoff party, but the wave is still forming in the general populace.

...from Shiny Glass Beads... Danke, er...Merci, ohh...well: just thanks....

If you want to know what I'm reading, look left on the page and down: plenty of new places to start your own journey...

Thanks to Matthew Gross and the "non-official" mention in the official Dean Blog.

This effort is neither a sprint nor even a marathon - it is simply a personal journey through politics, philosophy, current events, the blogosphere...from the perspective of one father who wants the best for his daughter and is willing to explore how that might happen. Just something(s) I feel compelled to share and point out as I sit aside the fray of the developing campaigns for 2004....

Already some supportive comments: much appreciated. I'm not immune to mistakes, either, so feel free to let me know where I may have erred....

In the midst of making it easy to access my blog entries from other sources (RSS). I'll let you know when the connections are complete.

I see this morning via DailyKos there may be more James Jeffords (I-VT) in the offing, when push comes to shove. This could get interesting: would other moderate GOP Senators turned Independent support Dean for President?

After finally reading the George Lakoff interview on TomPaine.com, I know I need to buy that book.

Flashes of recognition come fast and furious: the Clinton-loathing from certain reactionaries, lackadaisical support in the middle for Gore / Dukakis / Mondale (beyond the less than stellar campaigning and candidate in all three instances). This is a clash of worldviews no less significant, and probably more so, than the fight card of fundamentalist First World Judeo-Christians versus fundamentalist Third World Muslims.

And you start to see the glimmering source of underlying strength in Howard Dean, melding a Paul Wellstone-level inspirational connection with people though plain language, per Chase's comment on Dean 2004, "Why Dean Will Win": plain language that Dean is starting to re-frame in a more balanced and commonly accepted middle-ground concept of government as both nurturing and encouraging self-reliance.

What parent hasn't felt and acted the same? To protect your child, your investment in our joint future...while also knowing when they need a push, tugging at the apron strings....Here's the likely strength of the connection for most people with Dean.

Ronald Reagan may have had nothing except a few B-movies on Howard, at this point....(and if Rob Reiner isn't lining up the acting coaches for the close-up scenes already, then who is?)

Why Dean? For one, the inspiration factor is considerable, as noted in tonight's post by Ezra Klein to Howard Dean 2004:

"It's becoming apparent to me that Dean, whatever his faults, is inspiring far more people than any other candidate. In fact, I'm hard pressed to identify one candidate save Dean (and maybe Kucinich, does he count?) who is inspiring anyone....[His supporters a]re not with him because he's the lesser of two evils or he's highly electable (not to say that he isn't), they're with him because they believe in him, and that's a very, very important difference. For that reason, I think Dean is stronger than he is being given credit for."

Think McCain / Perot / Anderson / Nader-style groundswells from within a major party with a chance (uphill, but a real chance) at nomination.

That's a part of it all....

For a very easy-to-read, high-level perspective on the history of politics in America, nothing I've seen lately is more interesting and enlightening than Whiskey Bar's Dao of Democracy, Parts I and II.

All the stuff you don't remember from school, and then some....

TomPaine.com had a very appropriate article today, one that compares and contrasts the two main American political parties/movements and their self-concepts through the anology of a family and parenting. An interview with Moral Politics book author, George Lakoff.

Not that I'm solely idealistic, based on the tone of my first entry: pragmatic realist is more the ticket...

After reading so much about Howard Dean and the 2004 election cycle on others' blogs, I wanted to collate it all for myself and anyone else who might care to drop by.

As a former Vermonter of several years during Dean's stint as Governor, I think this country could use a little doctoring.

And so it starts - a minor political odyssey for all the right reasons: my daughter, my country and my world.