Operation Fire against Fire

[stonehawk]

POGO TRIBE!
It is no secret that we want to make a difference, that DAN wants us to make a difference, and that the pogo tribe was BORN to make the world a more awesome place. I'm sure that we are ALL AWARE of just how many of us there are, and the kind of resources we have access to, especially if pooled. We are LEGION. We are a nation unto ourselves, and I believe that THE FUTURE warrants that the pogo tribe have its view represented, LEGALLY.

If we wish to change the system, we MUST find a way to interface with it safely, without becoming too trapped within it, without becoming brainwashed or assimilated into it--but how?

The corrupt corporations of america have been doing this for decades--they have a secret weapon that muscles out the voices of the common man to make sure that only THEY are heard. I'm sure that all of you have HEARD of this dastardly, terrifying device--have heard it denounced by the VERY POLITICIANS that are its puppets (because it's the 'popular thing' to say).

My tribesmen, and tribeswomen, we are a critical mass of political power and there is only ONE THING that stands in the way between us and our voices being heard by the decision makers that are presently in power... with our ability to make rapid mass-decisions, and our economic influence, we have access to the weapon that the corporate world uses against us at every turn, and all we must do to access this weapon is know what it is, and for Dan, representing us, to make contact with this weapon and make our interests AND our resources known to it:

Pogo tribe...

Let us buy lobbyists.

Yes... YES... that chill down your spine, that teeth-gritting, stomach-churning dread--that is the power that we fight against, and we will never be able to overcome it without TAKING IT BY THE HORNS. The problem with it all is the double-standard! "Corporations do it, corporations are evil, corporations use it to do evil, therefore I shall not!"

The problem with this double-standard is that the only reason it exists is because we BELIEVE IT. We fall for it, again and again, year after year, deciding not to get our hands dirty, running from the truth; but this is the WEAPON whose cross hairs they have leveled upon our heads... and refusing to arm yourself in a situation like this does not make you better--it makes you a VICTIM, and it makes you dead.

I move that the days of pogo tribe victimhood end NOW. I FURTHERMORE move that it be made known that those who join the pogo tribe may CEASE to be victims of the system, and instead become masters of the beast JUST as we!
For this, I shall toss a minimum of twenty five dollars USD into the community by any manner Dan (or a sufficient number of pogo tribe members) deems fit... just as soon as I get paid at the end of the month x.x

[ifyouwantblood]

Im not sure about this.
First of all, we dont need lobbyists. Lobbyists are needed for say, selling cigars. Things that are bad for you.
Even though Fight Fire With Fire sounds badass, its not helpful at all. Yes it is needed in war and such, but this is not a war. We can change the world without removing those who oppose us.

You also describe the world VERY cynically.
"without becoming brainwashed" Why would we become brainwashed?
I LOVE how you are so passionate about reducing world suck, but i dont think that the way you look at companies, government, or the way to change it is right

[stonehawk]

... My friend, I think you're a little confused about what lobbyists are used for.

The only thing Lobbyists have to do with selling cars is changing THE LAWS THEMSELVES that regard the sale of automobiles--and it is true that the Automotive Industry operates a number of lobbyists in Washington.

I'm almost afraid that you're trolling me, here. I will, nonetheless explain the obvious, and I hope you will not be insulted if I quote wikipedia about this--but it is not my intention to be a jerk, please believe me:

Lobbying (also Lobby) is a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government by individuals, other legislators, constituents, or advocacy groups. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest or a member of a lobby. Governments often define and regulate organized group lobbying which has become very influential on policy.

In other words, we can buy influence in government legislation. With our money. If we want to change the world... This will do it.

the problem is, power corrupts. If one of us, of the tribe, went to Washington to become a lobbyist, and actually stuck around long enough to get good at it, it can change them, make them greedy, twist them into something other than a pogo tribesman. They may think, "Oh, I can do a little lobbying for other stuff on the side and get paid handsomely for representing views other than the tribe's. Besides, it's not like the tribe is paying me."
...they'll stray, and become unpredictable.

If we hire one, or a group, they are already used to the environment; they are legal professionals who have already made a livelihood of representing the interests of groups of people (and usually groups not even as HUGE as ours!) in congress and in the senate.

Maybe it's possible that nobody expected me to be talking this RIDICULOUSLY HUGE: Yes. I am talking about Manipulating The Federal Government of the United States of America Just The Way Corporations Have Always Done It.

Does that make it any more clear? I hope that illustrates how useful this will be. It's nice to think outside the box... but we want to change the contents of the box, so we need a man on the inside of the box too.

edit: Also, it's possible to employ lobbyists in other countries: in the European Union, in the United Kingdom, in Israel, and in Georgia (I mean the nation called Georgia, not the state). Most governments that have any form of representative legislation allow advocacy groups to have a direct influence. This operation, should you choose to support it, would allow the pogo tribe to literally make a difference in line with our "suck reduction" interests. The new laws going into effect in the united states which increase transparency in lobbying will also work in our favor; when they trace it back to who 'our guy' would be representing, they'll find nothing more than a HOARD of like-minded honest citizens with no greed or immoral intentions. We couldn't ask to be represented in a better light than that. Heck, it might even highlight it to the media: "NEW WACKY INTERNET PHENOMENON: Pogo Tribe, Worldwide Youth Movement Autonomously Influencing the US Government--More at 8:00!"

[bombmaniac]

first we would have to all agree on what the hell we'd want to change...

[stonehawk]

The fact is, whatever we do -eventually- decide upon, this is the most effective way I know of for putting it into action.

Furthermore, the pogo tribe already has a set of values. I believe there are quite a few things we can already agree on regarding what's already on the table, policy-wise.

I would honestly be surprised and disappointed if the majority of the pogo tribe were in favor of gender discrimination in marraige (as in, not allowing men to marry men or women to marry women).

I would also be surprised and disappointed if the majority of the pogo tribe thought that the patriot act and the no child left behind act were a good idea.

If I were to discover that the pogo tribe happened to believe, as a society in whole, that the government should be under the direct authority of religious doctrine rather than empirical reasoning, I daresay I'm associating myself with entirely the wrong people, and I would quietly pack my bags and never speak another word.

[pogotribenews]

The whole point for the PogoTribe is to make our changes threw new media. We are the first to do this, and going with your plans would ruin our legacy. Not that legacy's are important, but we are doing something special here. Your Plan is called "fight fire with fire" if that is your mindset than I think you should re-think because here on the PogoTribe we "fight fire with water"