Abe, the original Republican, said "This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." @Gettysburg

When Money is Speech, Bribery is Legal.
 We can change that together

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People's Playhouse
Political Theater:
 a Progressive Democracy 
Dinner tour for 2014

There was a time when the middle class 'ruled', all the way to the moon. We were Mad Men! We could do anything.

Long ago when I was young and society was more like a... society, people wanted to get to know each other. Groups of friends would do "progressive dinners" where four couples would meet at my house for hors d'oeuvres and drinks, go to Jack and Wendy's for soup, Billy and Victoria's for the main course and finish at your place with dessert.

It seems so quaint now. But then, government worked too. Also quaint.

We were the damned American Middle Class and if we wanted to go to the damn moon, that was not too damn much. And we did it on computers the size of buildings that couldn't equal your phone and sticks with hashes. Our government took us to the moon and inspired millions of children to excel by choice to create your phone. They were inspired to go into science and technology in what we now call STEM, which we are now desperate to get kids to try. The space program inspired the world.

Common Sense.

Occupy is the only social movement to actually move the dialogue off the Trolls' Koch/Luntz/Rove sponsored and funded government-bad austerity talking points. However Occupy never wanted to lead or direct their influence to the ballot box. 

Yet through it's sheer will, Occupy put the excesses and frauds of the 1% on the radar. It has spurred minimum wage campaigns against WalMart and the fast food industry. The President addresses it now. And it is good to remember, we are all the 99%. It is time we exert a 99% influence.

Occupy occupied for all of us, save the 1%ers. Yet when the cops swept Occupy off the streets with pepper spray and cleared out the camps, we all shrugged.

Common Sense: Not always rewarded.

Political theater as done by the trolls seems to get more press than political ideas, or political solutions. Perhaps that is because political theater is so easily "produced". Take the Tea Party.

FOX News talks for weeks about their reporters intent to cover that big rally Heritage is throwing against healthcare and you are going to get a crowd. So came the Tea Party, on Americans For Progress themed buses rented by the KochMachine.

Occupy encampments were and are unsustainable. Too big, easy to vilify and remove. Even with unconstitutional means and cruel and unusual tactics, used usually against the gangs and criminals.

And we shrugged! Common sense ain't always common. Like frogs in the heating water, we shrugged. And now the hedge funds want YOUR public pension money. Detroit is the prototype civic-looting of public funds. We can no longer afford to shrug.

Now that public employee pensions are up for grabs the cops may think twice about rousting Occupiers. One could hope. (continues)

So What do we Know?

 (Political Theater continued) As a people we defeated communism, went to the moon on slide rules (look it up kids) and actually liked having dinner together. 

Political theater to get one's point across is effective, easy to plan and scale-able to the event. Good political theater is entertaining!

Occupy had the 'change' message of our times, but not the will to get elected to change things. And they made themselves erasable targets by their squatting tactic.

So here's an idea. Keep to the message, and bring the three 'effs': food, funny and friendship. And for heaven's sake, don't squat.`

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Progressive Democracy Dinner Tour:
'We The People' 
Politics in a can
a.k.a. US on a Bus

You and me and 40 friends or so get on the bus and take our Progressive Democracy Dinner Tour to the nearest seat of power. It's all pot luck in picnic baskets. We'll stop at a bank mall, break a little bread, watch a little political theater from our acting troop, recite banking's record earnings via the people's mic, and hop back on the bus to make way to our next meal course and seat of power destination. Protest-in-a-can.

It is a pure act of political speech... with food, on wheels! How American is that!

Our "right to assemble" is tied to the bus, not any individual site. Our right to both assemble and make unfettered political speech, is also constitutionally guaranteed. But so was Occupy. So when authorities say go, we go immediately. Any attempt at prior restraint is easy to litigate. No point in angry confrontation. 

Whenever we are asked to leave we leave. We are always respectful and peaceful. We invite people to break bread with us and participate in the gathering. We bring coffee and pastries for the police and security.

We bring silk signage that sides the bus and marches with us. A silk screen to project onto and a portable projector. And we video everything from multiple sources.

The evening itself is an event. At each stage we see a few more minutes of the political play that makes our message. And our interactions with people we encounter will offer surprises and fun.

Will Rogers said "If there is no malice in your heart, there can be none in your gag."

Our goal is to come, speak and eat with friends, and go in peace having been clear in our message.

Would you do it?
Sound off in Mic Check!

P.S.
We need a four act political comedy to produce. Each act performed at a different seat of power. Any ideas?