Wright and Barack
June 6th, 2008
Bill Moyers, who interviewed pastor Jeremiah Wright on his PBS program, reflected later on the tragic division between the Wright and Obama. “We are often exposed to the corroding acid of the politics of personal destruction,” says Moyers, “but I’ve never seen anything like this…wrenching break between pastor and parishioner before our very eyes. Both men no doubt will carry the grief to their graves.”
Moyers thinks that to some degree we’re all culpable. “All the rest of us should hang our heads in shame for letting it come to this in America, where the gluttony of the nonstop media grinder consumes us all and prevents an honest conversation on race. It is the price we are paying for failing to heed the great historian Jacob Burckhardt, who said, “beware the terrible simplifiers.”
(PBS.org May 4)
Giving stock...
May 25th, 2008In celebration of Memorial Day, a series of commercials was released suggesting that we need to say “Thanks” to military service women and men. What I find interesting about the commercials was that they were paid for by defense contractors like Lockheed Martin. At first I thought that it was nice for them to spend a sliver of the billions of dollars in profit these corporations have made on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then I thought, wait, these companies are PROFITING GREATLY because the women and men in the military are risking, and giving, their lives.
I keep wondering if our politicians will EVER make sane decisions about peace so long as “defense” contractors are among the top political donors.
So, I want to launch a national campaign to compel the “military industrial complex” to really express their thanks to our military women and men (or their survivors) by giving them all stock. Helping those who risk/give their lives to have a little more financial security is the least those companies that profit off their ultimate sacrifice should do.
Reducing Fuel Costs: What Are You Waiting For?
May 21st, 2008
Hello everyone. Are you getting tired of spending $50 filling up your car’s fuel tank (or over $100 for your SUV/truck’s fuel tank)? Today, there are no long lines or closed fuel stations as in years long past. But, unlike the high fuel costs of 1973 and 1979 caused by supply disruptions, fuel costs today seem to be propelled by the falling dollar (thanks to America’s debtor status and an enormous annual trade deficit caused by chronic overconsumption of imports) and higher global demand of oil by China and India. Although the events that caused sudden high fuel costs in 1973 and 1979 were temporary, today’s high fuel costs are likely to exist for a long time barring any national measures to deal with the situation.
In my view, it is unlikely there will be any cheap substitutes for gasoline and diesel anytime soon and I don’t see any major technology breakthroughs on the horizon that will use fuel more efficiently. Thus, the solution is to use energy more wisely. So, I pose the question: What are we waiting for? I’m not talking about minor efficiency changes at the margin. I’m talking about major changes in our energy consumption behavior. One change I’d like to mention in this blog for your consideration is telecommuting.
American drivers spend 3.7 billion hours a year stuck in traffic. That’s a lot of time spent going nowhere fast. Just think of all the fuel wasted, air pollution created, greenhouse gases emitted, and time wasted! It has been estimated that if ten percent of workers telecommuted just one day a week, 1.2 million gallons of fuel would be saved and almost 13,000 tons of air pollution would be eliminated weekly.
Special rights
May 16th, 2008The California Supreme Court’s ruling was hardly cool before Fox News and other right-wingers started decrying “activist judges.” An editorial in a Houston paper talked about how they were legislating from the bench. Regardless of how one feels about gay marriage there are several facts that are being ignored about this.
Understanding these facts may help in conversations you have in the weeks and months ahead:
1. This is not a democracy, but a republic. In a democracy citizens would have to vote on everything and the majority would always rule. In a republic we elect representatives to govern us and established three co-equal (until Bush at least) branches of government. The majority might never have desegregated schools for example, but via Brown v. Board of Education the courts protected the civil rights of the minority. They weren’t legislating or activist, they were simply doing what they had been sworn to do “uphold the constitution” not uphold the will of the majority.
2. Secondly, this has never really been about marriage. Bill and I got married 27 years ago. No one could stop us then or now. This is about special rights being afforded to the majority. Law-abiding heterosexual taxpaying citizens get special rights which are now denied in most states to law-abiding lesbian and gay taxpaying citizens. It is about discrimination and special rights for the heterosexual majority
3. Finally, it is important for us to reframe this. By letting the right frame it as “letting us marry” or special rights for LGBT people will ensure our defeat. However the overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to discrimination and we need to let them see that regardless of their religious view of marriage, this is really about discriminating against law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
I have no doubt that the religious/political right will get a constitutional ban on the California ballot. However, with the Republican governor opposed to it and an anticipated record turn-out by progressives, this may be our time to turn the tide. Last year a constitutional amendment was defeated in Arizona. If we learn our script and frame the issue for ourselves, we can certainly win in California which will begin the inevitable victory for justice.
Hillary should NOT quit!
May 8th, 2008I like Hillary Clinton. I didn’t vote for her but, I like her. Unlike many political pundits, I don’t think she should quit her run for the nomination. Now, they have lots of political arguments, and mine are frankly personal.
You see, I have two teenage daughters. Several years ago when they first learned that there had never been a woman president they were justfiably outraged. They kept saying “Why Daddy?” and I had no good answer. I still don’t.
Hang tough Hillary because my daughters need to see a strong woman who takes on the odds, and the system and doesn’t quit. The strongest people I have ever known were women. Determination, courage, and perseverance even in the face of what may be inevitable defeat are traits I want my daughters to have and Hillary is writing those virtues large across the political landscape.
Polls say her continuing hurts the Democrats. Isn’t that a sad commentary when the democratic process hurts… Besides as Bill Clinton said about his election, at this point he was third in the polls behind Ross Perot - remember him?
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