Advocacy | Blogs | Charities/non Profit Resources | Democratic Party organizations
Electoral Reform | Environment | Humor | Independent News Sources | Political Commentary
Progressive Radio | Sites We Love
Blue Funk has just made it easier to get meaty information and news from credible sources. Kay Lee is our "Link Addict" and has created a library of websites than easily enables you to become a more informed citizen on topics that interest you. These sites can help you articulate your positions and take action on matters that you're passionate about. If you have a favorite site that you would like to share, please contact us at links@bluefunkproductions.com
Kay acknowledges her inspirational debt to AlterNet.org and can not resist quoting from her favorite site:
"The Infomediary: At AlterNet, we are doing something about information overload and corporate media irresponsibility. Our website is designed to serve as your "online helper," leading individuals, policy professionals and journalists alike to sources for information and insight. There is a word for this role. It is an "infomediary." Average people need an infomediary to help them sort through the mass of information. Activists need an infomediary to lead them quickly to collegial efforts and relevant data. Public interest websites need an infomediary to steer like-minded people to their content. The infomediary finds, evaluates, aggregates and organizes links to the best journalism, policy analysis and websites on a range of pressing issues, from globalization and grassroots organizing, to the war on drugs and genetic engineering."
The following links are Blue Funk's initial efforts to be your "Infomediary". Enjoy!
Advocacy:
Buy Blue: www.buyblue.org
BuyBlue.org is a concerted effort to lift the veil of corporate patronage, so consumers can make informed buying decisions that coincide with their principles.
Campaign for America's Future:www.ourfuture.org
Campaign for America's Future are challenging the big money corporate agenda by encouraging Americans to speak up — to discuss and debate a new vision of an economy and a future that works for all of us. Check out the latest issues they're tracking and campaigns they're fighting.
Clothing of the American Mind: www.cotam.org
This Los Angeles based apparel company was founded on the anniversary of the Iraq invasion in response to "the vast, unyielding money-making machine of the incumbent administration and the alternative idea vacuum that had become the order of the day during the 2004 election". Shopping with COTAM benefits a wide range of progressive organisations - your contribution to bringing informed dissent back into vogue!
Democracy Bonds: www.democrats.org/democracybonds
Governor Howard Dean launched the "Democracy Bonds" program because he believes that we can take our country back -- precinct by precinct, block by block, with every Democrat taking responsibility for getting their family, friends and neighbors involved. "The Republicans raise $10 million every month from corporate interests and lobbyists. The Democratic Party will never be able to compete in the traditional ways with a party that has abandoned the people and taken selling access and influence to a new level .But we can do it if half a million people are giving $20 a month to change the way our political process works.
Emily's List: www.emilyslist.org
Emily's List is dedicated to taking back our country from the radical right wing by electing pro-choice Democratic women to federal, state, and local office. They are a network committed to recruiting and funding viable women candidates; helping them build and run effective campaign organizations; training the next generation of activists; and mobilizing women voters to help elect progressive candidates across the nation.
MoveOn.org: Democracy In Action: www.moveon.org
The MoveOn family of organizations brings real Americans back into the political process. Move On has 3.3 million members across America, from carpenters to stay-at-home moms to business leaders who work together to realize the progressive vision of our country's founders. MoveOn is a service – a way for busy but concerned citizens to find their political voice in a system dominated by big money and big media.
Blogs:
Liberal Oasis: www.liberaloasis.com "Smart new web log for us lefties: Liberal Oasis. Good writing & plenty of luscious links." or as they put it "Where the Left is right and the Right is wrong." There are more links on this page then you may ever want or need, but it is fun to poke around and see what is out there.
Charities/non Profit Resources:
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia: www.fistulafoundation.org/hospital
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital has been an oasis for healing for more than three decades. Located in Ethiopia, the Hospital l has restored the lives and hopes of more than 25,000 women who would have otherwise perished or suffered lifelong complications brought on by childbirth injuries, specifically obstetric fistula. Today, the hospital provides free fistula repair surgery to approximately 1,200 women every year and cares for 35 long-term patients.
Fistula Foundation: www.fistulafoundation.org
Our first priority is to achieve financial sustainability for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital as it expands its treatment and prevention programs to help a growing number of current and potential fistula patients. As such, we are committed to raising awareness of obstetric fistula, especially among North American donors, organizations, the press and other influencers.
Network for Good: www.networkforgood.org
Network for Good is a nonprofit organization that connects individuals with their favorite charities. Network for Good is the place to make secure online donations, explore volunteer opportunities, and learn more about the causes that matter most.
Summer Search Foundation, www.summersearch.org
Summer Search nurtures leadership in low income high school students who demonstrate resiliency in overcoming hardship and the desire to help others. Summer search provides a combination of full scholarships to summer education programs, intensive long-term mentoring, and other resources including college counseling, SAT preparation, and professional internship opportunities. Summer Search serves 600 students annually in six U.S. cities and has over 2,000 alumni.
Democratic Party organizations:
California Democratic Party: www.ca-dem.org
Why register as a Democrat? If you believe in good jobs, a balanced budget, choice, a clean environment, quality education, more cops on our streets and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals - join us as Democrats to unite people in California. We are pro-family and pro-children. We fight for a quality education and safe schools for our children. We'll continue to fight to raise the minimum wage, protect Social Security, and provide quality and affordable health care for all people.
Democratic National Committee: www.democrats.org
Over two hundred years ago, our Party's founders decided that wealth and social status were not an entitlement to rule. They believed that wisdom and compassion could be found within every individual and a stable government must be built upon a broad popular base. The Republicans raise $10 million every month from corporate interests and lobbyists. The Democratic Party will never be able to compete in the traditional ways with a party that has abandoned the people and taken selling access and influence to a new level. But we can do it if half a million people are giving $20 a month to change the way our political process works.
Electoral Reform:
Common Cause: www.commoncause.org
Common Cause is a nonpartisan nonprofit advocacy organization founded as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.
League of Women Voters: www.lwv.org
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. The League is a grassroots organization, working at the national, state and local levels. The League is strictly nonpartisan; it neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government.
Environment:
Sierra Club: www.sierraclub.org
The Sierra Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. It helps to preserve irreplaceable wild lands, save endangered and threatened wildlife, and protect this fragile environment we call home. Their 750,000 members are heard through congressional lobbying and
Humor:
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: www.comedycentral.com
One anchor, five correspondents, zero credibility. If you're tired of the stodginess of the evening newscasts, if you can't bear to sit through the spinmeisters and shills on the 24-hour cable news networks, don't miss The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a nightly half-hour series unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity or even accuracy. The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Daily Show takes a reality-based look at news, trends, pop culture, current events, politics, sports and entertainment with an alternative point of view. Anchorman Jon Stewart and a team of correspondents, including Stephen Colbert, Robert Corddry, Ed Helms and Samantha Bee and Lewis Black, comment on the day's stories, employing actual news footage, taped field pieces, in-studio guests and on-the-spot coverage of important news events. www.comedycentral.com
The Onion: www.theonion.com
A farcical newspaper featuring world, national and community news.
The Bush Diet: www.bushdiet.com/
This fabulous comedy CD is unlike anything you've ever heard before. It lampoons the President, but in a quirky, bizarre story line involving the White House's attempt to allow Bush to solve the "obesity epidemic" (a.k.a. "pigosity"). This is a great gag gift - and almost bipartisan, in that it includes a number on Clinton as well. The voices are incredibly believable, and the content not that much less believable than, well... We love it!
The Carl Letters: www.thecarlletters.com
This politically savvy website is a platform for the fabulous musings of Paul Chasman, satirist and pundit on all sorts of matters we care about. Tongue firmly planted in cheek, Paul lifts the veil on issues such torturing "enemy combattants", sex education (abstinence only), electoral reform, and what it means to "Be a Republican". Great reading, great fun! And some fabulous audio pieces as well!
Independent News Sources:
Alternet: www.alternet.org
AlterNet is a highly acclaimed Internet information source that provides readers with crucial facts and passionate opinions they can't find anywhere else. Since its inception in 1998, AlterNet has grown dramatically to keep pace with the public demand for independent news and now provides free online content to over 1.5 million readers every month. AlterNet's journalistic achievements include being named one of NPR's five "winners on the Internet," winning a Webby in the Print and Zines category and a nomination in the "activism" category, and winning Utne's Independent Press Award for Online Political Coverage. The Alternet goal is to provide the trustworthy, stimulating and value-driven information citizens need to create change. Good policies, and especially good changes to bad policies, require mobilizing concerned citizens.
Democratic Underground: www.democraticunderground.com
This is an edgy, entertaining political news forum that invites debate and discussion from its viewers. A blend of highlighted news stories from mainstream journals, and home-spun editorials with a cynical, wry edge, DU is highly informative and gives us much to ponder. Be sure to "Ask Auntie Pinko" when you visit.
The Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com
Arianna Huffington's web news journal is a cyber meeting place for frank discourse on politics, news, books, art, music, food, sex - basically, every element that makes life interesting.
Mother Jones: www.motherjones.com
Mother Jones is an independent nonprofit whose roots lie in a commitment to social justice implemented through first rate investigative reporting. Motherjones.com are made possible, in large part, by the support of the Foundation for National Progress and through donations from individual readers like you.
The Nation: www.thenation.com
The Nation is America's oldest weekly magazine and one of its premier journals of opinion. Established by abolitionists in 1865, for more than 135 years, the Nation has remained true to its original commitment to be the critical, independent voice in American journalism. James Baldwin, Ralph Nader and Hunter Thompson published their first pieces in The Nation. Other contributors have included Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Emma Goldman and Jean-Paul Sartre.
The Progressive: www.progressive.org
One of the first voices to speak out against McCarthyism in the 1950s, The Progressive continues to be among the staunchest defenders of the First Amendment. Now it is one of the few independent voices in the media reporting on Bush's imperial designs, environmental degradation, and the resurgence in racism, particularly against Muslims and Arab-Americans. Barbara Ehrenreich and Howard Zinn write regularly for The Progressive, as did Molly Ivins .
The Progressive Review: www.prorev.com
The Progressive Review is one of the few alternative publications remaining of the hundreds started in the 1960's. "The longest-running act in the off-Broadway of Washington journalism", the Progressive Review, under the direction of editor Sam Smith, is known for its fact-finding tradition and balanced skepticism. A good source of hard news and thoughtful commentary.
Tom Paine.Commonsense: www.tompaine.com
TomPaine.com is for people who want to keep in touch with the progressive community but don't have time to surf dozens of websites. They do it for you. It's also for people who care about the progressive cause and are looking for an online home. All the news—from Capitol Hill to newspapers to think tanks and activist groups—and ideas and actions that you need to stay fully informed.
Salon.com: www.salon.com
Salon has been called "intriguing and intelligent" (Washington Post), "truly compelling" (Time) and "smart and provocative" (Forbes). Salon.com has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, "Good Morning America," "Morning Edition," "Talk of the Nation," "Crossfire," the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Time, Newsweek and other major media.
Political Commentary:
Paul Krugman: www.nytimes.com
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page and continues as professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. He has taught at Yale, MIT and Stanford. Mr. Krugman is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals and edited volumes. His professional reputation rests largely on work in international trade and finance.
Raise the Bar Press: www.raisethebar.com
Here is a site that invites civilized discourse on the topics that usually evoke partisan invective: immigration, corporate responsibility, healthcare, taxes, you-name-it. Author Judith Schwartz has created a forum for public discussion and a real exchange of ideas. You can also view exerpts from her new novel, Doublethink , on her site. (A great read, by the way.)
Seeing the Forest for the Trees: www.seeingtheforest.com
This is a weblog for people who are tired of Right Wing Rhetoric and who really want to know why "liberal" has become a four-letter word. What happened to the American consensus that we have a duty to help the poor, that everyone deserves a decent education, that our environment is fragile and worth worrying about? Come investigate these and a million related questions keeping you up at night, at this site for thoughtful discourse.
Progressive Radio:
Air America: www.airamericaradio.com
Progressive talk radio network, features provocative conversation, interviews and political satire. Hosts include Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, Ed Schultz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and others. Audience of 3.1 million and growing, in key markets including: Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Cincinnati, Denver, Honolulu, Memphis and Miami.
Democracy Now!: www.democracynow.org
Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent news program airing on over 350 stations in North America. Hosted by award-winning Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales, the program provides audiences with access to people and perspectives rarely heard in the U.S. corporate-sponsored media, including independent and international journalists, ordinary people from around the world who are directly affected by U.S. foreign policy, grassroots leaders and peace activists, artists, academics, and independent analysts.
KPFA 94.1 fm: www.kpfa.org
Founded in 1949 by Lewis Hill, a pacifist, poet and journalist, KPFA was the first community supported radio station in the country. Located in Berkeley, California, KPFA still maintains its independent funding base. It strives to serve as a forum for various viewpoints and to contribute to a lasting understanding between individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors.
KPFK and Pacifica: www.kpfk.org
Founded on the Pacifica Radio Foundation Mission Statement, KPFA and Pacifica are operated for the purposes of education; community development; building a lasting understanding between nations and individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors; and the gathering and dissemination of comprehensive news on all matters vitally affecting the communtiy. Through the airing of diverse voices and perspectives, they aim to build bridges of understanding and solidarity between peoples and to lay the foundations for participatory democracy.
Ring of Fire: www.ringoffireradio.com
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is recognized as the country's most prominent environmental attorney, working tirelessly to safeguard the environment and public health. He is a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council and the author of the 2004 book, "Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy."
Al Franken: www.ofrankenfactor.com
After debunking right-wing propaganda in his bestselling books Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them and Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot, Al Franken is taking the fight to America's airwaves. With his co-host, veteran radio personality Katherine Lanpher, Franken delivers three hours a day of fearlessly irreverent commentary, comedy, and interviews. Franken and Lanpher have a mean streak a smile wide. The Al Franken Show will energize fans, infuriate liars, and deliver the truth--in what Al Franken likes to call the Zero Spin Zone.
Mother Jones Radio: www.shows.airamericaradio.com
Mother Jones Radio is a fun, fast, and substantive hour of reporting and commentary inspired by stories from Mother Jones magazine. Award-winning host Angie Coiro brings together reporters and experts with telling facts and insider insights, creating a potent mix super-charged with razor-sharp commentary and political humor from some of the best in the business. Mother Jones Radio picks up where corporate news leaves off. Our reporters ask what others don't, say what others won't, and bring to Air America important stories you just won‚t hear anywhere else.
Randi Rhodes: www.therandirhodesshow.com
The smoky-voiced Brooklyn native with the lightening fast wit is one of the country's first female entertainment and political talk show hosts. She is legendary in South Florida where she has been the comic relief and the pillar of reality when she gives herself to ideas that people rarely express out loud. Her ability to research complex ideas but present them simply and in an exquisitely entertaining way has created a loyal following. Randi was voted 'Most Outstanding Woman' in the Air Force in 1979 and won the American Women in Radio and Television award for 'Best Entertainment Programming'.
The Ed Schultz Show: www.wegoted.com
Ed is "A gun totin', meat eatin', sports-crazed patriot." Ed Schultz delivers straight talk from the American heartland. Big Eddie is a 21st Century Teddy Roosevelt who believes the salvation of the American people lies in their voices, not in the parties. He is on nearly 100 affiliate stations across the nation, including 8 of the top 10 largest markets.
Sites We Love:
ForeAmerica: www.foreamerica.com
We love this site's header: "Changing America One T-shirt at a Time". Emblazon yourself with bold graphics and great slogans, on T'shirts, tote bags, mugs, bumper stickers, you-name-it. Turn your next purchase into an outward expression of your heart-felt beliefs.
Nutty Steph's Vermont Granola: www.nuttystephs.com
Stephanie Rieke, a spirited and socially responsible entrepreneur, is on a mission to supply as many people as possible with her fabulously delicious and healthful Vermont granola. Our favorite item: "Magic Chunks", which are clusters of Steph's granola smothered in Belgian chocolate. (N.B.: dark chocolate is good for us!) A go-to source for gift-giving.
The Carl Letters: www.thecarlletters.com
See "Humor" above for more about this great site.
Smelling the Coffee: www.smellingthecoffee.com
For musings about coffee (decaf or caf?), coffee shops, coffee accessories and coffee excursions, as well as about blogging and, well, dogs, site authors Dave Johnson and Jacob Grier invite you to come on in and sit awhile. When you visit, be sure to look at the T-shirts with wondrous dog graphics!
Ananse: http://www.cafepress.com/ananse
Urban designs with a liberal slant and activist intent. Themes include politics, peace, the environment, music and culture in general. Unique t-shirts, hoodies, messenger bags, & reusable canvas tote bags for men and women. Send the message without saying a word...