Big vote on Monday. In the Citizens United era -- and in the midst of the most expensive election cycle ever -- we need to draw the people and corporations who seek to influence our democracy out of the shadows.

The DISCLOSE Act, sponsored by Rhode Island's Sheldon Whitehouse, would do just that.

It's up for a vote TOMORROW -- and Republican leaders are threatening to filibuster.
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/di ... 7&rd=1&t=2

Signed

signed

Signed. This is a great first step, possibly a baby step but a step none the less. Thank you occupy. I wonder if this passes if that corporate sovereignty bill will fail. That'd be freaking awesome.

Since when has an online petition actually caused real change?

The very validity of the thing can't be trusted by anyone that it is supposed to persuade.

Seriously, we could come up with a billion americans signed onto an online petition asking mitch mcconnel to knock off the filibustering in the senate, despite there being only a third that many physical people in america.

Signed...

JayFromPA wrote:Since when has an online petition actually caused real change?

The very validity of the thing can't be trusted by anyone that it is supposed to persuade.

Seriously, we could come up with a billion americans signed onto an online petition asking mitch mcconnel to knock off the filibustering in the senate, despite there being only a third that many physical people in america.

it's about the symbolism Jay...the appearance of outrage in place of actual action...

remember BoA and their decision to withdraw that Debit Card fee? It was the appearance of (perhaps actual) outrage that convinced them that such was not in their best interest...

of course a million account closings helped, but still...(insert the appropriate smilie thing signifying sarcasm / tongue in cheek here)

JayFromPA wrote:Since when has an online petition actually caused real change?

The very validity of the thing can't be trusted by anyone that it is supposed to persuade.

Seriously, we could come up with a billion americans signed onto an online petition asking mitch mcconnel to knock off the filibustering in the senate, despite there being only a third that many physical people in america.

Are half a dozen keystrokes so much effort that it isn't worth a try?

I'm under no illusions about the potential impact here, but the one thing that I know won't change anything is doing nothing.

rolandson wrote:

JayFromPA wrote:Since when has an online petition actually caused real change?

The very validity of the thing can't be trusted by anyone that it is supposed to persuade.

Seriously, we could come up with a billion americans signed onto an online petition asking mitch mcconnel to knock off the filibustering in the senate, despite there being only a third that many physical people in america.

it's about the symbolism Jay...the appearance of outrage in place of actual action...

remember BoA and their decision to withdraw that Debit Card fee? It was the appearance of (perhaps actual) outrage that convinced them that such was not in their best interest...

of course a million account closings helped, but still...(insert the appropriate smilie thing signifying sarcasm / tongue in cheek here)

Exactly. An unruly mob doesn't make as much money for the corporate barons as a complicit herd. And most people aren't going to bother to look so the gained advantage for them is much more than the loss.

I'm not saying 'do nothing'. And no disrespect meant to Bearlaker by harshing on online petitions.

I'm just saying that if you get a note saying 5,000 people signed an online petition saying they want you to park the car down the block, then big farking whoop. Even if it was 5,000 individual people, it's an online petition, it's a good bet that the landslide majority aren't in your state, let alone your town or even neighborhood.

My point is that online is not trusted for reasons of one physical person signing it many times. Sock puppetry. Maddow had a segment recently on the coal industry signing online petitions with sock puppets. Why do we expect our unable-to-be-validated signatures to be taken with any more trust than we would take their unable-to-be-validated signatures?

So what does mitch mcconnell do when faced with a petition signed by possible sock puppets, that even still only has 500,000 signatures on it? That's less than half of a percent of the voting public, and nowhere near that number are in a position to give mitch any grief in his next election because they aren't in kentucky - therefore it's safe to ignore the inflated impotent list of sock puppets.

Online petitions are time wasters. They make the signers feel as if they did something, when actually nothing of any substance was done at all.