Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #154
Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal
Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Our Political
Priorities ·
Fair Clean Elections and Open
Government ·
Fair Taxes and Competent Spending ·
Investment for Productivity ·
Quality Health, Education, Jobs,
Income ·
Environmental Protection and Energy
Independence ·
Security and Equal Rights ·
Justice and Peace Everywhere ·
International Cooperation and
Leadership Conservatives
oppose all of these Let’s End Our National
Nightmare Let’s Restore
Our American Dream More on Conservative opposition to our American Dream Washington State’s 4 Major Needs ·
Federal Funding for Health and
Education · Substitute a
Progressive Income Tax · Replacing Republican Legislators Quote of the Week If there is any one period one would desire
to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the new
stand sid by side and admit of being compared; when the energies of all men
are searched by fire and hope; when the historic glories of old can be
compensated by the rich possibilities of the new era? This time, like all times, is a good one,
if we but know what to do with it. Ralph Waldo
Emerson 1803 - 1883
Calendar
of Events
Monday, January 19
at St. John’s Episcopal Church (114 = 20th Avenue SE, Olympia) at
8:45 AM – People’s Summit for Economic
Justice and at 11:30 AM – March on
the Capitol, sponsored by our Statewide Poverty
Action Network.
Communication, Opportunities
and Petitions
Communication
with Our Members and Feedback
I wish you the well during our holidays and next year. In 2007, we emphasized replacing private
campaign financing with the much cheaper public campaign financing to enable
more candidates to discuss more issues with more voters. In 2008, we have emphasized substituting a
progressive income tax for some of our present regressive sales, excise and
property taxes. By forcing our higher
income and wealthier tax payers to pay the unearned income that they owe for
maintaining and enhancing our infrastructure, we can increase our revenues
while lowering the taxes for 90% of now pay too much.
Our next issue will introduce a new emphasis for next year: stopping rampant corporate abuse of our
citizens. This is not just a
national issue. It is a state and local
issue. Yet none of congress members or
state and local officials emphasize and address this issue. Even our local Liberal organizations and
bloggers ignore this issue.
Opportunities
Obtain Progressive States
Networks resources for improving many state government services.
Useful Websites: contacts, maps, community organizing tools, and more.
Access to jillions
of political cartoons.
Download Sightline Institute’s climate policy primer ‘Cap and Trade
101’. About Sightline.
Learn more about the
Obama-Biden policy agenda and share your ideas.:
For updates from Obama-Biden
Transition Project, including video of Obama’s weekly address.
For news about Barack Obama’s inauguration and ways to participate
from home.
Petitions
and Donations
Tell Governor Gregoire to spend stimulus package money for green
projects, not polluting ones.
Tell your congress members that stimulus package shouldn’t include unnecessary polluting roads.
Tell your congress members: no polluting new roads in
stimulus package.
Tell Barack Obama to support early childhood education.
Tell prospective Labor Secretary Hilda Solis your priorities for
protecting workers.
Tell Barack Obama to commit to 5 point plan toward LGBT.
Join Media
Matters to oppose Conservative Media attack lies. Remember what they did to Bill
Clinton.
Commentaries From Our
Members
Diane
Snell: Throwing Shoes Was Appropriate
Published by Seattle PI on 12/19/2008
I just knew there would be a letter from a
reader deploring the lack of manners in throwing shoes, even if the target
deserved it (Wednesday). It was probably very rude for our forebears to throw
British tea into Boston Harbor, but if they hadn't done it, we would still be a
British colony today.
The obsession with good behavior and manners has
kept many people silent during the past eight years while our Constitution was
trashed, an innocent country was invaded and countless of their residents
killed and torture condoned while being denied.
Sometimes one just has to be rude and we should
have been loud and angry and throwing shoes if that is what it took. Look what
good manners has brought us. Diane
Snell
Kate
Speltz: Observe ‘Homeless Memorial Day’
Dear friends, please join with us in a personal
observance of Homeless Persons' Memorial Day on December 21, the first day of
winter and the longest night of the year, by observing a moment of silence at
4:30 pm for those who have died while, or as a result of being homeless during
the past year.
Please step outside, if possible, at that time and remember those who have died
and those who are surviving each day against impossible odds. The
weather this past week is a sharp reminder that no one should be living without
shelter and that it is imperative we accomplish our mission to end homelessness
because homelessness is truly a life and death issue. As we spend
time with our families and friends and reflect on the joys we have in our lives
let us also keep in our hearts and minds those who need our assistance the
most. We wish a warm and safe winter for all of you and for
everyone in our state.
Thank you for the efforts that each of you make toward the day when everyone
has a home. Kate Speltz, Washington State Coalition for the Homeless
Note: Homeless Memorial Day (December 19) is
past as you read this. But still step
outside to consider the plight of the homeless.
Dave Thomas
Terry
Sullivan: Sutherland’s Deal Appears Corrupt
Published by Seattle PI on December 22,
2008
I'm writing in response to Thursday's
guest column by state Rep. Sharon Nelson ("Sutherland's sweetheart deal
hurts us all"). It would be naive to think that Glacier Northwest had
nothing but good citizenship in mind when it gave $50,000 to a group working to
re-elect Doug Sutherland as state lands commissioner. The company had been lobbying
furiously for 10 years to open that mine on Maury Island. So, as a lame duck,
Sutherland granted the final permit for Glacier's mine on the site of one of
the state's most sensitive aquatic reserves in Puget Sound. Was this quid pro
quo?
We can argue forever about what
Sutherland's motivation actually was, but there is no question that there is at
least the valid basis for the perception that it was a payoff. Perception is
enough to destroy the trust we need between the public and our elected officials.
The integrity of government and elected
officials is too important to leave open the possibility that they are beholden
to special interests. For very little money ($5 a year per person), the public
can pay for the campaigns of candidates for office and ensure that they are
always working for us. Public campaign financing is not a dream. As a voluntary
program, it has been in use for five election cycles in Maine and Arizona; is
used and supported by most candidates, Democrats and Republicans; and is allowing
a new wave of citizen candidates to run for and win state office.
When a state official runs on public
funds, we can be reasonably certain that they are working for the common good
and not private profit. Find out about public campaign financing, also known as
voter-owned elections, for Washington state at washclean.org. Terry
Sullivan
Marcee Stone: Private Campaign Financing Is Perverted
Published by Seattle PI on December 22,
2008
State Rep. Sharon Nelson of the 34th
District is a brave, straight-talking woman. I am proud to be in her district.
She says: "A message also needs to be sent to all who hold public office.
That message is simple: People are watching, and children are watching, and
what you do with the trust we've placed in you always, always matters."
If only Maury Island and Glacier Northwest
were just one example of how campaign contributions pervert our political
system. The complex, Byzantine political contribution system with its toothless
rules and in-the-back-door contributions should be on a wanted poster. To get
to the root of the evil, we must change how our leaders are elected. Are all
our officials unduly influenced by their well-connected, big spender contributors?
Certainly not. But how can the public have confidence in our leadership when
faced with the corruption at the Port of Seattle, the profiteering of Glacier,
diaper campaign ads, and senate seats for sale? The stories mount daily from
across the nation and in our own front yards. Public campaign funding is
sensible and promotes accountability. It's not free, but it is a bargain
compared to the ongoing wholesale pillaging of our country.
I hope Nelson will take one more message
to Olympia for us: Change the status quo, with public dough. Marcee Stone, Board president, Washington
Public Campaigns
Donald A. Smith: Government Isn’t the Problem
Published by Seattle PI on December 22,
2008
A core conservative doctrine is the libertarian idea that we
should drastically limit the size of government. In Ronald Reagan's iconic
words, "Government is not a solution to our problem; government is the
problem." You'd think that few
people would believe this anymore, but nearly half the electorate voted for
Republican candidates who profess opposition to Big Government. So let us
recall just some of the ways we need government.
·
We need banking and
securities regulations to prevent financial fraud (like Enron) and risky
lending. Reckless deregulation was a major cause of the subprime loan disaster
and ongoing financial chaos.
·
We need the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to protect us from drug-resistant bacteria and
diseases like Avian flu.
·
We need FEMA to come to the
rescue for disasters such as hurricanes.
·
We need the courts, police
and FBI to defend us against all sorts of criminals and to enforce laws related
to civil rights, employment, contracts, torts and licensing.
·
We need the Departments of
Defense and Homeland Security to protect us from (real!) threats here and
abroad.
·
We need the National
Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation to fund scientific
research that improves our lives and keeps America competitive.
·
We need government to
maintain schools, parks, playgrounds, libraries and wilderness areas.
·
We need government to
promote energy efficiency, build public transportation and roads, and manage
land use.
·
We need agencies like the
EPA, FDA, CPSC and FAA to keep the world and us safe. And we need programs like
Medicaid, Head Start and Social Security to provide a safety net for those too
sick, old or young to fend for themselves.
Heck, without government we'd be hunter-gatherers: no laws, no
sanitation, no commerce, no childhood immunization, no civil rights, no seat
belts, and surely no Internet.
Moreover, government can be more efficient than the market system.
This is especially true for health care. The U.S. pays far more per capita than
other industrialized countries but leaves tens of millions without coverage and
lags in many measures of health. Granted,
waste and corruption must be minimized, and government shouldn't be an excuse
for laziness. But let's not throw the baby (good Big Government) out with the
bathwater (bad Big Government).
Moreover, it's largely due to (willful) Republican misrule that
government has been so ineffectual, bloated and corrupt recently. Of course, many "movement"
libertarians (Ron Paul) are disgusted with the way the Republican Party has
betrayed their ideals. But though I respect such libertarians for their
opposition to waste, war and loss of civil rights, I disagree that Big
Government in general is harmful.
Libertarians would argue that the machinery of government is
inevitably co-opted by corrupt interests. Consequently, they argue, it's better
to minimize Big Government. Their
premise is wrong: Not all politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt. Government
often does an admirable job. The fact that bad people try to subvert government
doesn't imply that government in general is bad; if conservatives believe that,
they should support gun control, since clearly criminals use guns to do harm.
The rich benefit disproportionately from deregulation, reduced
taxes and corporate welfare. The rest of us suffer, due to service cuts,
crushing national debt, and unsafe products and investments. Government isn't the problem; corruption,
lawlessness, and incompetence are the problem.
Donald A. Smith, Democratic precinct committee officer
and Democracy for America organizer
Liberals and Democrats
Barack Obama’s
Appointments
Barack Obama’s
transition team and process has been super.
Soliciting lots of suggestions.
Considering lots of potential appointees. Selecting appointees based upon competence
instead of past loyalties. Sending teams
to various government departments to gather information and analyze what needs to
be done. All this done in record time.
The appointees appear
to me to be highly qualified. Some have
some unfortunate choices in their backgrounds, but who among us hasn’t. The key will be how Barack Obama manages them. Besides competence, there is ethnic and
gender diversity. Joel Connelly has noted that none come from
our Pacific Northwest. With 5% of our nation’s population, we might
0 or 1 of the appointees on a geographic basis.
Note also that none of the appointees are from the South, except for Ron
Kirk from Dallas. But why is geography a
criterion? I believe it less important
the competence and ethnic and gender balance.
Dave Thomas
Barack Obama’s Cabinet Is Not
a Team of Rivals
The commercial
media pundits have made much of Barack Obama’s comments about Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, Team of Rivals. They suggest that Obama has included
political rivals in his cabinet so that he can control them. Barack Obama has chosen former rivals for our
Democratic presidential nomination: Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Bill
Richardson as colleagues. But only Clinton
could be considered a potential rival and then only if he falters badly.
Obama’s comments
focused upon having advisors who would be strong enough to discuss
disagreements with him. He focused upon
broadening the perspectives and information which would be included in his
decision making. This has been a major
consideration in of all of his appointments.
Some Liberals have worried that Obama’s choices include to others whose
background includes Illiberal choices and activities. But Obama has continued to emphasize his
Liberal programs and that he is the decider.
Barack Obama’s Refreshing
Humility
I must admit to great
admiration of Barack Obama, stopping just short of hero worship. I like his nuanced firmness of purpose; his
independence from prevailing wisdom, but open to many perspectives and facts;
and his broad strategic sense, cautiously but quickly and firmly implemented.
But perhaps most of
all, I like his humility. What other
politician has repeatedly referred to himself as a flawed candidate? What other politician has asked the public to
help him overcome his mistakes and established a grassroots organization to
enable this feedback?
When unfairly attacked, Conservative candidates whine. Not Barack Obama. Repeatedly attacked unfairly, he simply
dismisses it as part of our old politics.
Instead of attacking back, he ridicules (as when he described
the Okey-Doke actions of his debate rivals). He makes little of some
misstatements of his rivals and himself as expected when candidates talk day
after day for over a year. I’m sure he
wished he hadn’t referred to Hillary Clinton as “likable enough” and probably
also wished he hadn’t tried to analyze the bitterness of stressed rural and
small town residents. But instead of
trying to explain them away, he just ignored them and continued his agenda.
Here’s
the Beef
Barack Obama’s Christmas message (video).
Read what hate filled racist Conservatives are saying
about Barack Obama.
Voters are optimistic about Barack Obama’s plans. Want him to expand them.
See the Priorities of MoveOn members.
See the
recommendations of the Democratic Leadership Council and Progressive Policy
Institute.
Prospective Education Secretary Arne Duncan can improve education
without fighting teachers assn’s.
Prospective Labor
Secretary Hilda Solis is not just brown.
She’s green. For more.
Prospective Trade Representative Ron Kirk faces many challenges.
Barack Obama promises more regulation of financial activities.
After
decades of underfunding, we will invest in our infrastructure. For more.
Barack Obama must keep the pork out of our economic stimulus recovery package.
How green should our stimulus package be?
Conservatives attack auto workers wages. Ignore
excessive managers and their wages. For more.
What
conditions should be placed on the bailout of American auto companies? For
more.
Our lame duck president Bush takes his last shots. For more.
State and Local
Governor Christine Gregoire
Explains Her Proposed Budget
Friends,
As you know, our state is facing significant economic turmoil. The national
economy has resulted in dramatic budget shortfalls in 43 states – Washington
among them. Our state relies heavily on sales tax revenue, and the significant
drop in spending has resulted in the largest budget gap in state history, $5.7
billion.
In approaching the budget, we kept one premise in mind: Now is not the time to
be raising taxes on our residents and businesses. These are hard times for
everyone. But I also approached the
budget writing with a core set of values:
·
Our first priority is to ensure a solid
foundation for our future, and that means investing in and protecting our
children as best we can.
·
We must maintain the safety of our
communities.
·
Government must partner with our
communities to support and protect our most vulnerable.
·
We must lay the foundation for a quality
of life and economy for the 21st century.
·
We are one community, and it will take
all of us working together to get through these tough times.
During these times, we must all make a shared
sacrifice. Just as Washington families and businesses are tightening their
belts, state government must also tighten its belt. This budget reflects that. While we are making significant cuts that
will be felt by Washingtonians, it is important to remember what we are
continuing to make investments that move our state forward, including:
·
Early learning programs for 8,000 kids.
·
Public education for 1 million K-12
graders.
·
Higher education opportunities and job
training for more than 300,000 people.
·
Providing health care coverage for
650,000 kids.
·
Community safety and services for our
senior and vulnerable individuals.
·
Environmental protection, particularly
on protecting Puget Sound.
Through these investments we are continuing to
invest in our future and our quality of life.
In the coming weeks and months, I will announce two additional proposals. The
first will be a package to help our working families and put people back to
work. The second will be a set of government reform measures – ensuring that we
are squeezing every ounce of value out of every taxpayer dollar while
maintaining our priorities of protecting families and kids the best we can.
During the last election, we all worked together and fought for our shared
values. This election was about many things, but for me it was about our
community – locally and nationally – coming together to meet a challenge. We
can meet this economic challenge, if we work together.
I encourage you to visit the budget page and learn more about our budget
proposal, or watch my video message to the people of Washington, to gain a
better understanding of the choices we are facing in preparing a balanced
budget. Thank You. Christine
Gregoire
Another
Note on Neighborliness
In last week’s newsletter, I expressed my
attempts to (stimulate House parties, block parties, forums and other
gatherings in Lake Hills so that neighbors could better know and care for each
other) had been mostly unsuccessful. In
a three hour period last Saturday with snow and ice on our streets, two
neighbors called to say they were going to the grocery store and as if they
could get anything for us. Another
neighbor brought a plate of homemade cookies.
And Charlotte’ s daughter drove 40 miles from Granite Falls to
visit. Maybe more neighborliness is
going on than is apparent.
Here’s the
Beef
Obtain Progressive States
Networks resources for improving many state government services.
Our snow storm is bringing us together.
Check
out the slow cities movement. For more.
How do Washington’s health costs compare?
Tacoma Metro Parks is ambitiously reducing its carbon
footprint.
Olympia’s Intercity Transit has adopted an ambitious 6
year plan.
Should state government employees have to take a wage
reduction?
Nation and World
Barack Obama’s Jobs Stimulus
Recovery Package
It has been
announced that our Jobs Stimulus Recovery Package will contain 5 types of
programs: immediate stimulus programs (including tax rebates, extended unemployment benefits,
additional food stamps and other measures which quickly provide money to people
who will quickly spend it to provide their basic needs); infrastructure;
environmental (conservation and non-carbon based energy);, health; and education. The first type of programs is primarily
stimulative, while the other four will also enhance the long run efficiency of
our economy. All five can be expected to
be modified over time and will be just the beginning of more extensive
programs. For more. For
more.
In keeping with
Barack Obama’s political strategy of continually building political support,
these first programs are selected partly because they will be very popular and
will pass easily, even if many Republicans don’t support them. How Republicans vote is not so important for
the passage of the bills as it is for their reelection in 2010. If they oppose the popular programs, the
voters may vote for their more liberal rivals.
Having gained
popular support through quickly passing and implementing these programs, our
Obama administration can fine tune and add to them: more programs to increase
people’s incomes and to provide jobs in infrastructure, conservation and
non-carbon based energy, health and education.
We can expect major reforms in our health and education systems to
provide universal access to quality services.
Beyond preventing
private interest pork (such as roads and bridges to nowhere) , the first jobs
stimulus recovery package is designed for popularity, not to confront the strong
private interests that have distorted our country’s priorities. The follow-up health and education programs
in later 2009 and 2010 will necessarily confront them. No later than 2010, decisions will be made
concerning:
·
Fairly taxing our high income and
wealthy people
·
Eliminating subsidies (such as to our
petroleum, agro-business, military-business, media, insurance, and
pharmaceutical industries) which don’t provide sufficient public benefits
The war between Main Street versus K-Street will be joined, hopefully
with enough political support that Main Street will win most battles.
Some or many
Liberals may be impatient for the confrontation with Main Street. But by first building political strength, we
can better ensure our victory. In
addition, we can further isolate the remnant Southern cult that the Republican
Party is becoming. Without having
initially attacked the corrupt K-Street Republican party cronies, we provide
fewer targets for Republicans to attack.
If Republicans don’t join in supporting our jobs stimulus recovery
programs, Democratic candidates may make further inroads in the mid-west and
even into the Deep South. Dave Thomas
Is Enough Credit Available?
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told us bailouts were necessary to
restore credit. But the bailouts didn’t
require the recipient financial companies to provide credit. They didn’t.
Instead they increased their reserves.
Maybe this is just as well. To
return to an Earn, Conserve and Invest
economy, we need to quit borrowing so much.
We need to quit borrowing to consume so much. Or to speculate. Let our demand come from earnings from jobs
created by our stimulus recovery package, instead of from spending borrowed
money.
Maybe enough credit is already available. The reason people aren’t borrowing may not be because they can’t obtain credit. It may be because their assets (house and stocks) have lost value. Without this backup, they have decided to reduce their already extensive debt or at least, not increase it. Maybe businesses are not borrowing because the economy looks so dismal. The good news is that as our economic stimulus recovery package works, more people will earn money and won’t have as much need to borrow. For more.
The good news is that we are biting the bullet. Our stock market values may be mostly down to
where they should be. Although housing
prices need to decline more to reach historical levels (of median prices equal
3 – 3 ½ times median family income), they are well on the way to these
levels. Unlike Japan’s 10 years of
stagnation, we may begin our recovery after two years. The bad news, like ripping off a bandage, our quick decline in undeserved values is painful. But the end
may be in sight.
Nouriel Roubini, who
predicted our economic collapse in 2006, thinks the recession will last until
the end of 2009, with the economy contracting 4-5% and unemployment peaking
above 9% in 2010. The Dow may bottom out
near 7000. For more. For more. Here are Roubini’s recommendations for reviving global economies.
According to Business week, “The U.S. Economy will likely contract sharply in
2009 before the huge stimulus plans begin to kick in.” Having fallen 20% in 2008, house prices may
fall 10% more in 2009.
What Barack Obama Can Do to Advance GLBT Equality
Through
the power that our Constitution provides the president and executive branch,
the incoming Obama/Biden administration can institute much-needed changes in
federal policy without congressional action. The president has the power to
appoint officials who are receptive to civil rights, and judges who respect
fundamental constitutional principles and enforce legal protections for all
Americans. The president is also empowered to direct administrative actions
that will improve the lives of millions of LGBT people.
For
example:
·
Federal Workplace
Non-Discrimination: As leader of our
nation’s largest civilian work force, the president may institute
non-discrimination, healthcare access and other policies to establish the equal
rights of federal LGBT employees.
·
HIV and Health: The administration, and its secretary of Health and Human
Services can promote honest, accurate information about LGBT people in its
public information on HIV/AIDS and other health issues and support a national,
comprehensive strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in the United States.
·
Hate Crimes and Civil
Rights: As head of the nation’s
largest law- and civil rights-enforcement entities, the president can appoint
an attorney general committed to fighting bias-motivated violence against LGBT
Americans, as well as to rigorously enforcing all civil rights protections.
·
Federal Fundee
Non-Discrimination: The president can
ensure that no social service program uses federal funding to discriminate
against LGBT Americans. And although the LGBT community celebrates
America’s tradition of religious liberty, the president can oppose the use of
religious liberty as a proxy for anti-LGBT discrimination.
·
Judicial Appointments: A fair-minded judiciary is critical to the civil rights of
all Americans. LGBT Americans rely upon the president to appoint judges with a
robust understanding of fundamental rights and equal protection, and who
respect Congress’ power to enact civil rights legislation.
Barack Obama Has Promised Media
Reform
Barack Obama has made
the following promises:
·
Protecting an Open Internet: To "take a backseat to no one in my commitment to
Net Neutrality" and "protect the Internet's traditional openness to
innovation and creativity and ensure that it remains a platform for free speech
and innovation that will benefit consumers and our democracy."
·
Promoting Universal,
Affordable Broadband: To see that "in the
country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get
online" by bringing "true broadband to every community in
America."
·
Diversifying Media Ownership: To create "the diverse media environment that
federal law requires and the country deserves."
·
Renewing Public Media: To foster "the next generation of public
media," and "support the transition of existing public broadcasting
entities and help renew their founding vision in the digital world."
·
Spurring Economic Growth: To "strengthen America's competitiveness in the
world" and leverage technology "to grow the economy, create jobs, and
solve our country's most pressing problems."
·
Ensuring Open Government: To reverse "policies that favor the few against the
public interest," close "the revolving door between government and
industry," and achieve "a new level of transparency, accountability
and participation for America's citizens."
An alliance of more than 100 groups, unions, musicians, bloggers and media and technology leaders sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama calling on his administration to appoint leaders who will reform the media and protect the open Internet. You can read the letter and add your own name here. For more.
Sierra Club: 4 Day One Environmental Actions for Obama
There's nothing
like a fresh start. On his first day in office, President-elect Barack Obama
could make four decisions that would start 2009 with a "clean slate"
of energy policies. These four policies would have an immediate impact by
cutting global-warming pollution and spurring a clean-energy economy.
We call these four
policies the Clean Slate Energy Agenda:
·
Reduce
global warming emissions quickly by making it possible for over a dozen states
to implement their clean car requirements.
·
Require
new and existing coal power plants to limit their global warming
emissions.
·
End
destructive mountaintop removal mining by stopping coal companies
from being allowed to dump rock and waste into valleys and streams.
·
Restore
America's international leadership in the fight to end global warming by
publicly committing the U.S. to cut its CO2 emissions at least 35 percent by
2020.
President-elect Obama could make our
clean-energy future a reality with the stroke of a pen. Please, join us in
asking him to make these four requests a priority for his
new administration. If you are one of the 29,000 people who have already
contacted President-elect Obama, you can tell all your friends about the Clean
Slate Energy Agenda here. Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club
Here’s the Beef
Hundreds of billions spent for useless weapons is
money not available to meet vital needs.
Our Treasury Department keeps its bailout activities secret. For more.
Our Federal Reserve will now loan $200 billion to
unregulated hedge funds.
Some banks
should be allowed to fail, as Roosevelt did in 1933.
Paul Krugman tells us that we need to
continue public investment instead of private consumption.
To protect our planet, we need to change our 5 aspects
of mindset and practices.
The cost of not doing health care reform ($200 billion) is more than
the cost of reform.
Major health care reform: 2009 or 2010?
Unregulated drug monopoly institutes killing
prices. It’s time for a change.
How can police brutality be stopped, when it is not punished?
Some companies are cutting work instead of workers.
American automobile companies suffer from their own decisions. Also from Government failures.
Bye bye
retirement as we have known it. Will
this help our social security budget?
Our war in Afghanistan increasingly parallels the Soviet War there.
Cooperation between China and Taiwan is increasing.
Our Liberal Spirit
Leaving Our Past.
Opening Our Future.
For 2000 years,
multitudes of people have been attracted by Christianity. Especially in troubled times and
places. I believe that Christianity’s attractiveness
is primarily due to its messages of hope. That no matter our past, our future can be
better. A person can be born in a manger
and become the son of God. A person can be reborn. I person can be crucified and then resurrected. Jesus has saved us from (the effects of) our
sins. As the song ‘Amazing Grace’ says
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found. Was
blind but now I see
Or the spiritual: I was
lost and now am found. Praise the Lord,
I’m glory bound.
We have made
mistakes. We all have bad experiences. Various things we liked and to which we have
been accustomed disappear. New things
occur that we don’t like. We may generalize
to despair that we can reclaim our previous situation, or another situation
better than the one we have.
How can we live as
a person with one arm? Or without our
much loved spouse? Or with all of our
savings gone? Or with a terminal
illness. When we fall down, or get
thrown down, how can we pick ourselves up to keep going? How do we accept our past and present, yet
recognize that we still have choices which may affect our future. How do we avoid missing opportunities because
we are so focused upon our misfortunes?
I like a parable
of an hourglass. Imagine that life is
like an hourglass, with uneven grains of sand representing our
experiences. With the top grains of sand
representing our future experiences, the grains at the apex the present and the
bottom grains of sand the past. We stand
at the apex, observing the grains of sand and attempting to direct them toward
the pile below. But other forces also
affect where they land. Where they land
is due to both our efforts and luck. We
may be able to improve our condition, but there is no guarantee.
If we haven’t
observed and learned from the past. If
we haven’t built a story of how the past and our actions may affect the
future. Then we don’t have any reason to
direct the grains of sand. Living fully
requires living in the present out of a rich story of our past and future. This story should include an understanding
that good and bad times occur. We must
be ready for both. We can’t expect that
either will continue. We must not give
up to the past. We must be open to the
future.
This makes
sense. But it is not so easy in
practice. When we are in pain, we often
would rather continue our pain than risk even greater pain. We may try to quit dreaming, because we know
our dreams are always accompanied by pain.
The pain that they may not be realized or maintained and that such
realization and maintenance requires struggle.
Life is a glorious struggle.
Glorious because of our risky dreams.
A struggle because of our risky dreams.
But being human, we can hardly avoid dreaming. We are constantly faced with the possible
realization of dreams which outweighs their risk.
We must understand
that while our past may limit some aspects of our future, our past cannot
control our future unless we decide to allow it to. We must understand that whether we succeed or
fail, whether we have good or bad luck, we are still free to decide how to deal
with our new present. We must decide
whether to be a human, or attempt to be a rock.
Dave Thomas
Recommended Books
– See our list of books for liberals
Bill Moyers, 2004, Moyers on
America, a Journalist and his Times
As a commentator, I. F. Stone and Bill Moyers are my major role models. I also attempt to educate my readers about
our Liberal values and their application to a wide range of circumstances and
issues. Unfortunately, I have no formal
journalistic education or experience.
I often fail to open with a pithy comment which
catches your attention. Trying to simply
explain complex phenomena, I often over-simplify. I often fail to include other relevant
comments, which I realize only later.
Trying to avoid lectures, I attempt a
conversational style which drives my grammar checker nuts. I use lots of stand alone phrases and
parentheses instead of long sentences with lots of commas. I
capitalize for emphasis, but often can’t decide how to capitalize nouns and
other words. I avoid using words such as
however, but, and yet; leaving it to you to decide the relationships.
To see how commentary should be done, ready Moyers on America. For commentary on more immediate events, I
enjoy many of the commentators who appear in Liberal
Opinion, especially E.J. Dionne. For more.
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Dave Thomas
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