welcome back (to that same ole place that you laughed about)

Now that Blogger has apparently completed its Easter holiday feast of posts, posts, and more posts, we can get down to bidness.

First, about that conference call with Richard Morrison, the man who dared to challenge the demonic Tom Delay. Charles Kuffner sends the following note:

Both dates are now set for the Richard Morrison conference calls. The first call will be Tuesday, April 5, from 7 to 8 PM. The second will be Friday, April 8, also from 7 to 8 PM.

The ground rules are pretty simple. Richard will have a few words to say up front, as will I about the Texas Tuesdays effort, then the floor will be open for questions. We've slotted an hour for this, but if it goes
longer we can accommodate that. Similarly, if you need to drop off early, that's fine, too. You can attend either conference or both if you want. We ask that you blog about this afterwards, since part of the goal here is to get some publicity, and hopefully a little fundraising, for Richard.

We need to find a place to meet both nights. Public establishments won’t work so well for this, as we will need quiet for the conference call. Demophoenix has suggested the library or a room at the Unitarian church. We will also need a speaker phone. If anyone knows where we can borrow one of these contraptions, please post a comment.

I will not be able to attend the Tuesday night call as I am giving a presentation elsewhere, but I can help get everything set up and ready to go. If we want to participate in that call, at least one someone else will have to commit to blogging that night. I can blog the Friday night call, and of course it will be fine if more than one person feels inspired to post their thoughts.

Some of you have requested information about our stats. If you post here, I have e-mailed you graphs of our page views and visits. Basically, I think we reach a pretty good core group of local activists plus other bloggers around the state. This is okay, but we do need to move out of the choir loft.

I am going to be getting some promotional material (stickers, etc.) together in the next few days. Meanwhile, I think we should consider some of the issues that Demophoenix has raised. He says

The Globe Republican editorializes in news articles, in a variety of ways, producing a "rough draft of history" that is highly skewed. If their draft is intolerable to us, we must challenge it.

and I agree. Can we use this blog as a springboard to other media projects? Can we become liberal kings and queens of all media here on the high plains? Can we at least put some of our ideas into a print version that late-adopters might pick up and read? Here are some issues to consider:

• Cost. Blogger is free (and worth every penny). No other media will be. We will need to figure out how to raise funds.

• Content. Blogs specialize in short, pithy posts and opinionated rants. Print would enable longer fact-filled articles.
  

• Distribution. The entire purpose is to make our views more widely accessible, so distribution is crucial.
  

We should also continue to look at ways to improve the blog itself. The past few days with a rebellious Blogger has been quite frustrating. Moving beyond Blogger would require us to raise money, but could also enable improved features.

We have gotten quite good at raking Amarillo media, particularly the Globe-News, over the coals. That’s a worthwhile pursuit, but as Ken Kesey said:

You don’t lead by telling people where to go. You lead by going there and making a case.

Can we got there? Can we make the case?

SPACEDARK