Your January Social Calendar

Protests are being organized in several cities in early January to draw attention to the abuses in Ohio and elsewhere of the integrity of the vote.

The one with the most definition at the moment is in Columbus, Ohio on January 3. Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is behind this one, and a bevy of organizations are signing up, including Moveon.org. It starts at 2p., at the Riffe Center across from the Ohio State Capitol. More info from Rainbow/PUSH.

There's a rally at Fanueil Hall in Boston also on January 3. San Francisco is just starting to organize one for January 4. And Washington, D.C. will hold a noon rally on January 6, the day Congress is scheduled to say yea or nay to the election of GW Bush. Info on these as they develop can be found at ReDefeat Bush, which is organizing a counter-Inaugural in DC on January 20.

If you can't be in DC on the 6th, I'd be hanging around the TV set, tuned into C-Span. There are unconfirmed reports that at least 14 Representatives will refuse to validate the Bush victory, and several Senators have received thousands of emails requesting that they do the same in the Senate. It takes just one member of each house to open debate.

At the moment it seems unlikely it will get any further than that, and the GOPer majority will prevail, but even debate will be an amazing thing. One assumes that as this becomes a serious possibility, elements of both sides are quietly but feverishly strategizing on all that could happen that day.

The likelihood of something significant happening may depend on how many people turn out for these rallies. The media needs faces to take pictures of, and politicians need to know they've got supporters and political cover.

And this younger generation badly needs some new leaders out there, holding their elders' feet to the fire. So far they don't seem to understand that cyberspace isn't visible to TV cameras, let alone the public. Better camera fodder than cannon fodder, boys and girls.