Chen Guangcheng Says It Best

Based on an Agence France-Presse report, Chinese democratic activist Chen Guangcheng made the following comments in Washington today:

“I urge you to continue unwaveringly from your basic principles of democracy, human rights and freedom of speech. You must not give an inch or offer the smallest compromise when it comes to these basic principles,” he said.

....
Chen denounced “the barbarism of the authoritarian system” as the greatest contemporary threat, saying that such regimes do “their utmost to stop the mouths and bind the spirits of good-willed people.”

“They will ravage you at will. If you resist, they will make you a criminal; if you protest, they will make you their enemy,” he said.

“If you approach them with dialogue and reason and hope that they will give up some of their authoritarian power, you will in effect become an accomplice to their work,” Chen said."

There will always be social and international problems in the world, because none of us are perfect.  But many, if not most, of our problems will be resolved more easily when the voices of nations in the world truly reflect the interests of their populations, and not the interests of the few in control.

May there be democracy in China.  在中国有民主。

May there be democracy in Syria.  قد تكون هناك ديمقراطية في سوريا.

Fundraising for Progressive Groups

I'm not a fundraiser by profession - more like a researcher - so I've done some online research concerning nonprofit fundraising.  What can progressive groups do, aside from the usual donor campaigns and events?  Well, I've learned that nonprofits have used these ideas, as well:
 
Endowment funds, to operate off of dividends

Memorial funds that people give to in memory of a loved one. Which also yields dividends.
 
Affiliate Marketing, or getting paid to advertise for other organizations and businesses, such as AMAZON.

Credit Card [aka "Affinity Card"] with a bank.  True, progressives won't want to support a rapacious bank or bad actor.  I have not seen the name of UMB Bank linked to scandals, and they have a program that allows a non-profit to get their logo on a credit card and make some money.  You can find that here:

http://www.cardpartner.com/affinity

If you don’t like banks, your group may be able to share in proceeds from a card issued by Working Assets, now called CREDO:
http://www.workingassets.com/CreditCard/Default.aspx
The catch is that the proceeds are shared among a list of recipients who are nominated and voted upon.  The list of recipients has already been compiled for 2013, but the process will be repeated for following years, allowing other recipients to be chosen in the future.

Mutual Funds
If you are willing to invest in the markets, it is possible for like-minded non-profits to band together for mutual dividend benefit.  It has already been done by environmentalists:
Green Century Fund
http://www.greencentury.com/about
So it makes sense that progressive groups also could band together and create a "Progressive Century Fund."

The following are merchandisers who will put your logo on their products and then take and fill orders for that branded product.  The nonprofit gets some of the proceeds.

http://www.fieldhouse.com/Logo-Web-Stores.asp?AC=

http://www.visability.com/services.html

There is even an "E-Bay" for nonprofit organizations:
http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/BiddingForGood.action
They present some interesting auction concepts, such as "Breakfast with ....." as an auction item. 

This is some of what we can do in the U.S.  I think it likely that similar arrangements can be created in other countries.

Barack Hussein Clinton

William Jefferson Clinton was a President I found both admirable and frustrating.  I admired his soaring rhetoric, his passion, his intellect and his feeling for the common man.  As a steward of the State, he created a budget surplus, which is no easy feat.  And yet he was a frustrating figure.

This was not because of his sexual weakness, but because of his low aim.  His "liberal" policies were often watered-down Republican policies, which Republicans fought anyway because Clinton proposed them.  Could more progressive policies have been proposed?  I would have liked to have seen them attempted, at least.

This is how I feel now about President Obama, as well.  Like Clinton, he has the soaring rhetoric, the passion, the intellect and a genuine feeling for the common man.  He shows some timidity in applying Keynesian remedies to recession, but the economy is slowly recovering under his stewardship, and he is defending Keynesian fiscal policies against Republican trickle-down mythology.  But he is also, like Clinton, a frustrating figure.

Like Clinton, his "liberal" policies are often watered-down Republican policies, which Republicans have fought anyway because Obama proposed them.  Could more progressive policies be proposed by President Obama?  Maybe.  He has "evolved" beyond Clinton on the issue of homosexuality.  And current Republicans, who are even more reactionary than Clinton faced, may provoke him to move further left.

The irony then would be that the Republicans, having provoked his leftward movement, would not see this as a self-fulfilling prophecy, but proof of his ulterior aims all along.