very little linking today, as work is a bit nuts (i.e., i've been paralyzed on this brief for like a week now, and it's got to get done.)

nyt has some amusement: a front-page article on googlebombing. oy. there's also a headline that refers to dean's third-place showing in iowa as a "loss," which is rather (intensely) dumb.

but here's what i've actually been thinking about lately: how does one start a movement to educate against political spin? can americans be retaught to consider policy results? and is it self-undermining to couch such an effort in advertising-style bites?

it's become increasingly apparent to me recently that someone somewhere is going to have to do some very serious conceptual work in order depose george w. bush this fall. i'm pretty sure that the content of that work has a lot to do with -- somehow -- helping americans understand that bush lies.

but here's the hard part: americans hate knowing they've been duped or misinformed. if you tell them the wrong way, they'll never EVER listen. like this: i know most people in grand forks, ND, aren't racists, or at least aren't intending to be racist. but, by and large, they support UND's extraordinarily offensive racist mascot. unfortunately, when someone says, "that's racist!" these folks hear "you're a racist!" i can't even describe how the heels dig in then, but it's astounding. not even the best evidence works any more.

it's the same deal nationally with dubya. how do we help people figure out that he's "leading" us down the primrose path?

for now, i'd advise checking out moveon.org, which has a new project devoted to developing campaign themes.