WELCOME TO RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM

The RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM was established to provide a means of free expression on varying viewpoints, which is why the tag line is "where dissent is welcome."

I was looking for a name that would fit the stories and articles I want to share with the public, when I ran across the phrase "rabble rouser." When I looked it up, I found this definition: "a person who stirs up the passions or prejudices of the public, usually for his or her own interests." If that's the case, then indeed, my interest lies in the truth. Some may call it liberal and progressive, others may say it's nothing more than anti-establishment rhetoric and contrarian viewpoints, but the RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM is really about speaking OUTLOUD on truths, whether we want to hear them or not. I also settled on this name because believe it or not, in some circles, I'm known to be a bit of a rabble rouser.

The goal of the RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM is to report, tackle, discuss, sort out and find solutions for our way of life. And let's face it, we've been a little slack in this area and haven't been the model citizens we believe ourselves to be. Years of Reagonites and Bushies (both dad and son) sprinkled with a little-bit of Clinton for good measure, have ruined this country and we did little to nothing to stop them collectively, as citizens of the United States. Nothing. Now, with our economy on the verge of collapse, our government sold to the highest bidders on "K" Street and Wall Street, and the endless U.S. wars and military occupation in the Middle East, only now are we, as a nation, waking up to the fact that to evoke "change" we must become active participants in order to make change happen. This includes not buying into everything they tell us, questioning things that don't make sense, and demanding our government to work for us and in our best interests.

There's no doubt that the presidential contest, and in particular, Barack Obama's ability to use the Internet to build a grassroots movement has given us hope of empowerment, on so many different levels. Blogs, big or small, no longer seem inconsequential and have even managed to compete against the MSM with newsworthy information, and win. A new generation of young people, people of color, women and even those who once aligned themselves with the "status quo," are organizing on the grassroots level. No one ever imagined that such a movement would inspire millions of Americans, but it has and here we are, taking back our country from the politicians, corporations, the media giants and fervent right-wingers, and reclaiming that which has always belonged to us all along: true democracy, freedom of speech, and the ability to create and build movements that create change. Whether or not Obama wins the presidency, this will be his defining legacy, but it's up to us to keep the momentum going. And that's what inspired me to create RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM.

Since I don't expect the RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM to become as big as HUFFINGTON POST, I do want to create an outpost of sorts for some of those voices that don't make it to the HUFF and the MSM. Since I'm a one-woman operation, I'll be highlighting excerpts from blogs and other news worthy sources under "NEWS LOST THROUGH THE CRACKS" with news you wouldn't otherwise hear of. And as time goes by, I hope folks will respond as well as contribute articles to the blog.

So there it is. Welcome to the RABBLE ROUSER'S FORUM, and let the truth-telling begin!