annabel park

Tea and Coffee at Harvard

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 3:50pm — Coffee Party Nation

My takeaway from A Conference on the Constitutional Convention

by Al Cannistraro

Al Cannistraro is a retired Social Security Disability Adjudicator from New York City. He lives in upstate New York near Albany, where he pursues various and sundry interests.

A "Conference on the Constitutional Convention," a three-day event held recently at Harvard Law School's Ames Courtroom, located in historic Austin Hall on the Cambridge campus. "ConConCon," as it was also called, examined the "pros and cons" and "ins and outs" of attempting to hold an Article V Constitution Convention to make necessary updates to the US Constitution. The clause of Article V that was specifically examined and discussed allows for a convention to be initiated by applications from 34 of the 50 states (two-thirds), with any resulting proposed amendments to be put up for ratification by three-fourths of the states.

The event was co-chaired by Mark Meckler, a lawyer and former network and Internet marketer, who also is a spokesman for and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, and Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard law professor and founder of Rootstrikers. The event drew approximately 400 participants from across the political spectrum, several of whom were pro-convention activists and/or Article V experts.

Lessig and Meckler opened and closed the event.

Instapundit founder Glenn Reynolds delivered a "Keynote from the Right,” while Prof. Lessig delivered a keynote from a different perspective. Speakers on different panels focused on legal and procedural issues, political issues, and strategies. A Closing Panel looked forward to possible next steps.

Cenk Uygur, what's on your mind? — interview with Annabel Park as America awaits new show on Current TV

Tue, 10/04/2011 - 11:18am — EricByler

Coffee Party's Annabel Park interviews Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks at the historic Commander Hotel in Cambridge, MA during the Conference on the Constitutional Convention.

Lawrence Lessig of Rootstrikers and Harvard Law School hosted the Conference on the Constitutional Convention along with Mark Meckler of the Tea Party Patriots to consider whether America needs changes to the constitution.

Former Vice President Al Gore and Current TV recently announced the signing of Uygur and the world's most successful on-line news show for a 7 PM ET slot starting this fall.

Enough Is Enough! Citizens Intervention @ US Capitol #Oct29

Wed, 09/14/2011 - 8:01pm — AnnabelPark

This is the blog post that started it all, but please check out our new
official website for the Enough is Enough: Citizens Intervention
on Oct. 29, 2011 on the West Front Lawn of the US Capitol.

Momentum builds for #Oct29 Enough is Enough Rally at U.S. Capitol

Mon, 09/05/2011 - 6:27pm — EricByler

by Eric Byler

With 8 weeks to go, we already have 250 people signed up to speak at the Enough is Enough Rally #Oct29 and 3,400 signed up to help organize. They are coming from all across the country, even Hawai'i! Pre-registrants will be given priority over walk-ups, so click here to reserve your spot before publicity and advertising begin. Here are some updates:

Annabel Park's new video and letter to America have provided us with the perfect opening statement: "Our struggle is often presented as an economic struggle. The top 1% vs the rest of us. In many ways, it is that. But, like many conflicts between people and power throughout history, it is also a struggle for identity, as individuals and as a nation."
A team of volunteers has developed a social media strategy to attract the attention of speakers we'd like to attend such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and Dylan Ratigan. CLICK HERE to do your part.
Thanks to your donations, we are hiring professional event planners and mainstream media consultants to help ensure that the People's voice will at last be heard.
We are facilitating satellite rallies, particularly in parts of the country that are far from DC. Local meet-ups have already begun, including planning meetings for local speak-out events and group travel to the D.C. #Oct29 (we will be raising travel funds for interested groups).

Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert: we get you

Sat, 08/27/2011 - 1:49pm — EricByler

by Eric Byler

As more and more Americans migrate from cable "news" to the Internet and smart phones as primary sources of information, and, as more and more Americans become producers of content rather than just consumers, the "democratization of media" will help us break the cycle of corruption and restore self-governance to the People.

The Enough is Enough Rally on Oct. 29 at the U.S. Capitol is a free speech open mic event that will continue the legacy of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and accelerate this process.

Is it any wonder why an industry dominated by very expensive communications networks tends to serve the interests of people who can afford to buy very expensive communications networks?

But what happens when information, action, and ideas begin with We the People? Do they stand a chance? We think the answer is yes. As the explosion of social media technology transforms the world of communications month by month and day by day, we have nothing to lose by trying.

Last year, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and the team at Comedy Central demonstrated a very important point: large rallies can be initiated by media conglomerates and celebrity spokespersons with or without partisan propaganda. They showed that fact-based Americans will also respond to a well-produced, entertaining narrative catered to their sensibilities — and they will do so in larger numbers.

Many of our friends on the left were disappointed that Comedy Central did not go as far as Fox News did. They did NOT produce two years of "news reports" to manipulate their viewership into joining a political movement, nor did they instruct their audience on how to feel about policies, or how to vote in elections. Perhaps this is because one of the underlying messages of their work is that civic engagement should start with the People; not with entertainment empires.

So how about it, People? Do we have it in us?

Let's find out.

SIGN UP TO SPEAK hash tag: #Oct29

CLICK HERE to RSVP • Create an Enough is Enough event in your town or cityStewart exposes hypocrisy of agenda-based "news"

It is invaluable to have a media industry critic who, not only deconstructs propaganda disguised as news, but does so in a humorous way. Without Jon Stewart, I fear that the only cultural or institutional counterweight to agenda-based news would be ... more agenda-based news. We prefer the answer that Stewart suggests (more on this below). But first, here is a recent example of why The Daily Show has been so invaluable in insisting upon a standard of integrity and civility in America's political discourse.