Frequently Asked Questions



Political Questions

Why do you hate Barack Obama?

Look up the dictionary definition of "hate" and compare it to the dictionary definition of "disagree." The people who organize and write for and submit their thoughts to this website do not (with the exception of our collection of Right Wing Goons) hate Barack Obama. They disagree with him despite having voted for him, and are interested in airing those disagreements. For more information, look up the dictionary definition of "democracy" or "republic."

Why didn't you vote for Ralph Nader, who would have solved all these problems?

That's a fair question, and I think it's fair to say that there are a lot of different reasons why people have not voted for Ralph Nader this time around. I won't pretend to capture the array of all the reasons that people who participate here might articulate. Instead, I'll just share my answer. Ralph Nader was not going to win in 2008; the polling showed that right up to the end. My voting for Ralph Nader would not have helped him win. It would have demonstrated a commitment to progressive politics through the rhetorical power of numbers, but my desire to see John McCain and Sarah Palin NOT enter the White House was stronger. To make up for the lack of public support for progressivism that a Nader vote might have shown, I'm engaging in a variety of public displays of support for progressive policies, including marches and demonstrations in the physical realm and the authoring of web pages like this one in the electronic realm. No, that's not perfect... but neither is Nader.


Procedural Questions

What's a caveat?

A caveat is an expression of disagreement with the platform or presidential agenda of Barack Obama that an Obama voter feels compelled to express. Citizens aren't allowed to jot down "I voted for you, but your support of offshore drilling is disturbing to me" on an election ballot; this website is meant to fill that gap.

What can I submit as an "activist event"?

For the purposes of this website, an "activist event" is an active progressive political demonstration occurring in the future, such as a march, a vigil, a sit-in, a rally, or a piece of street guerilla theater. A November 13, 2005 forum in which Ann Coulter discusses the righteousness of world trade with Bobby Knight is not an "activist event" because it is talk and not action, because it is conservative rather than progressive in its aims, and because it already happened.

What sorts of demonstrations won't you post notifications of?

See above for some boundaries. We reserve the right to maintain other boundaries, too. We're not into violence or the mocking of powerless people who haven't done anything wrong. If you have a problem with that then please, no molotov cocktails.


Technical Questions

I sent in a submission to be included in your list of activist events, but I don't see it there. What gives?

We most likely haven't gotten to it yet in our review of submissions. To keep quality high and block spam, we individually review notifications of activist events before posting. If what you've sent us is an actual activist event, you can expect to see it appear soon.

You misspelled the word "three." Where did you go to school, anyway?

Ours is the school of Learning-by-Erring. It's kind of like Stratford-upon-Avon, but without the wild success. Hey, we make misteaks all the time. If you find one, please send us an email to let us know and we'll fix it... unless you're wrong, in which case we'll do a quiet little superior dance, but only in our heads.