I wrote a post on the MindOH! blog discussing how students can use BookLobby to be politically active, even if they can’t vote.
What do corporations and students under the age of 18 have in common? They can’t vote in America. Yet, corporations exert a great deal of influence over elected officials who are writing and passing laws. …
What else to corporations and students under 18 have in common? They can both lobby elected officials. Corporations have high-priced lobbyists. Students have BookLobby.
George Bush is off to Saudi Arabia to persuade the Saudis to increase oil production. Ninety six senators voted to stop filling the strategic reserves. This is all being done in the hopes that increases in the supply of oil will result in a price decrease at the pump.
George Will recommends
Gusher of Lies to
seventy-one of our
current senators.
So, if you want to influence the decisions congress is making with regard to your gasoline dollar, consider looking up one of these senators and sending them a copy via BookLobby.
I know we produce a lot of wind power in Texas, but I think that we should produce a LOT more.
As an employee of a defense contractor, I know that the US government spends an absolutely inconceivably huge amount of money on military hardware. As an avid viewer of the History and Military channels, I think this is really neat. Clearly, the engineers that conceive of, design and build our military aircraft deserve kudos for their intellectual prowess.
Now, imagine what would happen if they applied their extensive knowledge of aerodynamics to something less lethal, yet arguably more practical - wind power. Think about it! Instead of paying billions and billions to Boeing or McDonald Douglas to build aircraft, pay them to build windmills. Do you know how many windmills you could build with 100 billion dollars a year over ten or fifteen years?! Holy smokes, you could power every house in America! I am sure that I am oversimplifying things, but really, at the end of the day, I would venture that a majority of what we spend on defense ends up rusting away in a desert somewhere halfway across the planet, and that’s if it’s ever even delivered at all. I still want that money to go towards things that end up in a desert, but I want the things to produce power and I want the desert to be in West Texas.
"Free Lunch, by David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times, documents "how the wealthiest Americans enrich themselves at government expense (and stick you with the bill)."
BookLobby is an online service that brings together voters and authors to insinuate themselves into the lobbying process. This is a part of government that has been largely off limits to individual Americans. “You got your vote. Now, leave us alone.”
Not anymore.
My Booklobby starts with the following sound bite:
It’s not whether or not we fight the war, it’s HOW we fight the war.
I wanted to convey my concern that, if elected President, Mr. McCain would allow the abuses of our constitutional freedoms instituted by the current administration to continue. To help make my point, I enlisted the talents of author R. B. Bernstein (no, we’ve never communicated) who has made it easy for me to send his book to Mr. McCain by stocking them at Amazon.com.
BookLobby gave me the address I needed. The book was sent with a note that told Mr. McCain’s staff where to go to read the text of my commentary, and that commentary is available for you to review.
I find it interesting that this quote made the list of most quotable quotes in my home town paper. The reference below is from MiamiHerald.com.
Penn is known, but doesn’t rate the kind of activist coverage that, say Bono does. I think his bad boy reputation makes some activists nervous.
So if the celebrity doesn’t explain the amount of coverage this story is getting, it must be the message. I think that sound bites like this are going to continue to resonate with us as we begin to take control of the political process again.
The “most powerful third party is you and me,” Penn said.
We talked about BookLobby on Shaine Mata’s Morning Show on BlogTalkRadio. We spent a good amount of our time talking about the role of Staff in influencing a representative’s opinion and the role of constituents to influence a Staff.
Shaine actually worked as an aide at the Texas capitol during the 2007 Legistlative session. He says he did receive books from constituents and special interest groups that were valuable to him. They made a difference. Now so can you. BookLobby is coming soon. Become BookLobby a fan now.
This is probably the most detailed public communication I’ve made about why we’ve created BookLobby and why it will make a difference. Stay to the end to hear more about the generational shift that is making grass-roots politics like BookLobby possible.
While there are signs that participation in the political process is increasing in the US, Lobbyists continue to have a louder voice with public officials than individual constituents. Why? Because, our elected officials see the research that Lobbyists do as a service.
It helps them decide what to think.
Lobbyists prepare well-researched reports that help politicians get their head around issues. Naturally, these reports are often skewed toward the interests of the lobbyists’ employers.
What about the rest of us? Where do we get the well researched report that reflects our personal interests? How can we afford to get in front of elected officials when public hearings are often in far away cities?
We become Booklobbyists.
A Booklobbyist is any individual who communicates their opinion as a constituent to an elected official or candidate supported by the writing of any published author.
Every month, thousands of well-researched books are published. Many of these inform our views on policy, philosophy and responsible governing. Now, we can share these views with our elected officials for the price of a book.
Booklobbyists, Step Into your Power
BookLobby was formed to make it easy to send a book with your personal comments to an elected official or candidate. In one application you can:
find out who your state or federal representatives are
find the best mailing address for them
locate the title you are looking for from the world’s largest online book source
compose a summary or commentary for them that will accompany the book and that can be send ahead as an email
package it all up and send it
make your comments available to the public for additional discourse
Power in Numbers
As a constituent, you have more pull than a lobbyist. As a group of constituents, you wield significant political clout.
All Booklobbies are done publicly. This means that other like-minded individuals can read and comment upon issues you raise with your representatives.
They can also pile on.
A book landing solidly in a politician’s office carries more weight than an email. Ten copies of the book demands their attention. That these constituents spent real money and effort to communicate with them cannot be ignored.
Your Comments are Key
Will a politician read the book you send them? Some will. Sometimes their staff will.
Your summary will get read.
This is why your role as a Booklobbyist is so critical. Your contribution to the communication provides the conviction that will move the hearts and minds of a public officials.
The public discourse around any Booklobbyist’s contribution is critical.
Why Facebook?
We’re launching BookLobby as a Facebook Application initially. We chose Facebook because the crowd there is participative, energized, and representative of a generational shift that makes BookLobby possible.
Facebook members are highly representative of those in America who are changing the political process.
Facebook also provides a platform that allows us to get BookLobby out while the national election is in full swing.
Why Us?
What could be better than implementing a cool idea that can really make a difference? This team has come together through chance and serendipity for little more reason than that.
BookLobby is also enabled by a built-in revenue model. The meager affiliate revenues that we will generate on the book sales will keep the application running and, hopefully, improving.
Our commitment to the community is this: We will never let our personal political opinions influence our decisions about BookLobby. This is a populist movement meaning it is in your hands.
