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on Conservative opposition to our American Dream Washington State’s 4 Major Needs Federal Funding for Health
and Education ·
A
Progressive Income Tax ·
Replacing
Republican Legislators Quote of the Week All truth passes
through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently
opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer
(1788 - 1860) For more.
Calendar of Events
Thursday, November 6 at 6 PM at Antioch University (2326 Sixth Avenue, Room 100, Seattle) – Post-Election Celebration with an informal reception/mixer and Panel Discussion, featuring Jennifer Pozner (Women in Media and News), Naomi Ishisaka (One America), Lorena Gonzalez (Latino Pac of Washington), B.J. Bullert (Center for Creative Change), Cory Fisher-Hoffman (Prometheus Radio Project, and Jan Strout (Reclaim the Media/Seattle NOW Women Voters Project)
Friday, November 7 at 10:30 AM at
Saturday, November 8 at 6:30PM at Bill Bradburd’s home (1640 S Lane Street,
Seattle) – inSpire Potluck, Presentation and
Discussion –
Opportunities, Petitions and Feedback
Communication with Our Members and Feedback
I have compiled all of my
commentaries on our economy into one document which is posted on
our website. I believe one hour
spent reading them will make you better informed than the vast majority of
Americans, including many of our congress members. Without
understanding our economic crises, their causes and needed solutions, you are
unable to act responsibly to correct the situation which affects all of
us. Dave Thomas
Take
a crash course (2½ hours) about our American economy (video).
Opportunities
Useful
Websites: contacts, maps, community organizing tools, and more.
Access
to jillions of political cartoons.
Download
Michael Moore’s latest movie ‘Slacker Uprising’ for free.
Sign up for a free
Brave New Films subscription to inform more people about the Real John McCain.
Download
Sightline Institute’s climate policy primer ‘Cap and Trade 101’. About
Sightline.
Wellstone
Actions tools of election protection.
Seven YouTube Videos: Be sure to Watch #7.
|
1. Brave New PAC's new video: McCain's Mavericks: 3. McCain's Medical Records Must Be Released: 5. Former POW Says McCain "Not Cut Out to Be
President": 7. And from our friends at MoveOn, Obama's Loss Traced to
[Your Friend's Name Here]: |
|
2. John McCain's Rage is a National Security Concern: 4. McCain's Ads Are Lies. Here's the Video Proof: 6. McCain's Women's Clinic: |
Petitions and Donations
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voters.
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Commentaries From Our Members
Excerpt from a post on Washblog
I understand that we are in the middle of a financial
crunch, but we are also in the middle of a cultural transformation period the
likes of which civilization has not seen since the end of the
Rich Austin: On Some of Our
Liberal History
Just a
general comment on the use of the word “liberal” in the newsletter’s title. Right on!
Hurrah! Kudos! It is refreshing to see there are those who
refuse to run away from the word “liberal”.
Why is it
that certain Republicans proudly call themselves “conservative”, but too few
Democrats want to carry the liberal banner?
Why is it that right-wing talk shows have successfully framed the word
“conservative” in a positive light, while reducing “liberal” to something just
north of “commie”?
It began in
the late 70’s – early 80’s. A vast
confederacy of operatives representing
the neoconservative agenda began railing against “tax and spend Democrats”. If more Democratic lawmakers had had the guts
to challenge those hollow assertions we wouldn’t be in the mess we are
today. If more Democrats had defended
New Deal and Great Society programs, the
word “liberal” would be revered instead
of pilloried.
What
follows is part of a “liberal” New Deal
agenda that President Roosevelt presented to Congress in 1944:
"This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its
present strength, under the protection of certain
inalienable political rights - among them the right of free speech, free press,
free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our nation has grown in size and stature,
however, - as our industrial economy
expanded - these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in
the pursuit of happiness. We cannot be
content, no matter how high the general standard of living may be, if some
fraction of our people - whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth - is
ill fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.
We have
come to a clear realization that true individual freedom cannot exist without
economic security and independence.
People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which
dictatorships are made.
In our day, these economic truths have become accepted as
self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under
which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all -
regardless of station, race, or creed.
Twenty
years later “liberal” Great Society programs were launched during Lyndon
Johnson’s presidency. They included
civil rights legislation; Medicare; increased support for public education
including Head Start and tuition assistance for college; a war on poverty; and mass transit construction.
Both the
New Deal and the Great Society had common goals: the assurance that
Neoconservatives
were successful at demonizing those tax-payer supported “liberal”
programs. They told us that we would get
tax cuts if we agreed to scrap those social policies. What they did not tell us is that by
eradicating federal assistance to states, states would be required to raise revenue (taxes) or cut programs. The drop-in-the-bucket tax “breaks” that a
portion of
Reagan said
trickle down economics would help everyone. He said that by giving huge tax
breaks to the filthy rich (while tossing us a few pennies) the rich would invest in new factories and
technologies thereby creating new jobs. New
jobs were created! They were created in
We’re seeing the results. Factories have closed down in the
Yup, we got conned. While Democratic lawmakers ran for cover, and
while we bought the okie-doke that neoconservatives were peddling, our pockets got picked!
Which
brings us to this: Why would any working
class person continue to listen to - and
support - the same people who
alibi such a mean-spirited agenda? It’s
mind-boggling!
In the
words of Benjamin Franklin, “God helps those who help themselves”. Metaphorically speaking, voting in our own best interests is a way to
help ourselves.
Here we
are, at a crossroads. We can continue
down the dangerous, unconscionable path that the neoconservative movement wants
us to follow, or we can take the other road…the one that leads us back to a
“liberal” New Deal and Great Society
“Bill of Rights” written for the
90% of us who have been conned, yet who ultimately turn the wheels in our country.
“For if leisure and security were
enjoyed by all alike, the great masses of human beings who are normally
stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for
themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later
realize that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away”. George Orwell – “1984”
Rich Austin
Dick Burkhart: More Information
about Light Rail
Read your most recent write-up on Prop 1.
Some comments.
(1) "Unlike heavy rail, light rail is
appropriate for routes with stops as often as every 4 miles." Actually
light rail can have almost any spacing between stations. It depends on density
and destinations. For example, it is about 1/4 from the International District
Station to the Pioneer Square Station in downtown
(2) The endorsement was by the PI, not the Times,
which opposes Prop 1 (they've always opposed light rail, following Kemper
Freeman's lead, on very dubious grounds)
(3) Light rail works best when it follows
main-street type commercial corridors, because it promotes transit
oriented development along such corridors, rather than suburban sprawl. But
sometimes, especially in the suburbs, the natural corridor may have sections
which are primarily residential. If the corridor is wide enough, it can go
right down the middle of the street on a raised median at 35 mph, as it does
along
In fact the residents here are being told to look
both ways carefully when they cross the street at one of the signalized
crossings, as they may not hear it coming. Also mid-block accidents disappear
as left turns are permitted only at such crossings. If the right-of-way is too
narrow, then the light rail may run on an aerial guideway above the center of
the street. This is less desirable as it costs more and is less neighborhood
friendly from a visual point of view, but it is doable, permits higher
speeds, and riders like the views (sections are aerial between the Boeing
Access Road and the Tukwila Station). Dick
Burkhart
Dick Burkhart:
Light Rail and Buses
Pitting
light rail against buses, as in Mike Lindbloom’s article, is a false choice. I
know. I’ve ridden the world’s most renowned bus rapid transit system, the one
in
What makes
the Curitiba BRT system so effective? It is designed, built, and operated
almost like light rail. And if we were to do the same thing here, it would cost
in the same ballpark to build, depending on routing, and more to operate.
The
Curitiba BRT operates mostly on dedicated bus lanes, well separated from other
traffic, with fancy “tube” stations. To do this cheaply here, you’d have to
take all those bus lanes away from existing vehicles and go head-to-head with
Tim Eyman and legions of irate drivers caught in massive traffic jams.
So we’re
better off with light rail where ridership is high, or where it will be high
when a corridor is fully developed. Then we need to finance more buses for use
where they are most effective: on secondary corridors as pseudo-BRT
(mostly without dedicated lanes), as feeders to light rail stations, or for
other local or suburban service. Dick Burkhart
Five reasons to vote for Light
Rail.
Thanks for sending me all your newsletters. Did you hear about the BCC canvassing-rally
today for our neighborhood, with Darcy, Christine, Patty & Maria, and Janet
Napolitano & Kathleen Sebelius?
I've made a short Daily Kos diary about the rally, to share my pictures around:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/27/04114/546/485/643278 Feel free to recommend it, to get the word
out!
I saw quite a few "Proud
Liberals" during my local canvassing today! Three ‘Proud Liberal’ yard signs in one
precinct.
Hi everybody. As you know, I only send Action Alerts when the action involves activism of one of our members. This time it happens to be me! I’ve volunteered on the Family Planning Advisory Board to the Seattle / King County Public Health Department for over 12 years.
Here's the deal -
many of you already know that
We have very little time to act. The King County Council will adopt the 2009 budget by November 24th, the Monday before Thanksgiving. Please consider any, or all, of these actions, urging the King County Council to restore funding to these vital services:
1. Email a letter to all the King County Councilmembers. I have included a message below which you are free to cut and paste, or to use as a guide. It would also be helpful to cc Executive Ron Sims (exec.sims@kingcounty.gov), David Fleming, Director of Public Health – Seattle & King County (david.fleming@kingcounty.gov), Bob Cowan, Director of the Budget Office (bob.cowan@kingcounty.gov), and your state legislators. To find your legislators, enter your address in this website: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/
King County Council email addresses:
julia.patterson@kingcounty.gov
pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov
dow.constantine@kingcounty.gov
2. Attend one of the two remaining County Council Budget Hearings. Sign up to testify or hold a "save family planning" sign.
·
Tuesday, October 28 -
·
Monday, November 10 - King County Council
Chambers,
3. Testify electronically to the County Council. If you can't attend a budget hearing, you can share your comments (your testimony) online at this address: http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/budget/Testify_Online.aspx. It's fine to cut and paste the sample message below as your testimony, or to use it as a guide. It only takes a minute.
Thank you for taking
a role in saving birth control and STD services in our county. This issue is
very important to me personally, as I know it is to many of you. Up to
now, there has been no outcry about these proposed cuts. I hope you'll
take action right away. The County Council really needs to hear that we
will not sacrifice family planning services.
Sorry for the long email! And, thank you SO MUCH in advance.
P.S. You can cut and paste the letter below. If you have your own personal story about how subsidized family planning care has helped you or someone you care about, please feel free to add that in.
_____________________________________________
Dear King County Council members,
I am writing to you to today to urge you as strongly as I can to preserve
all Public Health Family Planning and STD services in
Eliminating
Family Planning just doesn't make financial sense. Making free
family planning services available to poor women actually saves us money. In
fact, for every $1 invested in family planning, we save $4.
Cutting family planning and STD services constitutes a misuse of taxpayer
money, as we are only deferring the cost until a later time. Furthermore, we
are doing so at
the expense of poor women and their families. I realize that
cuts must be made somewhere, but to do so by targeting the most vulnerable
members of our community is simply unethical.
Access to
birth control and STD services is the single most effective way to reduce
unintended pregnancies, to reduce state-supported births and abortions, and to
contain the spread of STDs. Additionally, these services
function as a critical entry point into broader medical care and social
services for low-income women and their families.
I urge you to restore funding to the family planning clinics at White Center,
I appreciate the difficult situation that
Thank you again for your service to the community. Sincerely,
Forwarded by Rose Schwartz: If Red and
Dear Red States: If you
manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend
to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In
case you aren't aware, that includes
To sum up briefly: You get
Please be aware that Nuevo
California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all
our citizens back from
With the Blue States in
hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than
90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of
America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95%
of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all
living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools
plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. We get
With the Red States, on
the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and
their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of
the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually
100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and
the University of Georgia.
Additionally, 38% of those
in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe
life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws,
44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11
and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we
lefties.
Finally, we're taking the
good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in
Liberals and Democrats
Should our
Grassroots Campaign Effort Continue?
As Barack Obama has repeatedly said, we need to do more than elect him. We need to change our politics. Change our country. Change the world. And change ourselves. To do this, we need to continue our internet connected grassroots movement that he has created. We need to be able to support his initiatives, pressure congress to support them, and attack those - inside and outside of government – who oppose them. When Barack Obama is too cautious or not cautious enough, we need to support corrections. For more.
Our movement should continue. To maintain and increase our membership. To communicate and educate our members. To discuss our issues and develop shared understandings of our problems, their causes and solutions. To raise money to support grass roots organizing, internet resources and other political infrastructure and for public advertising. To counter ‘Harold and Maud’ advertisements by private interests opposed to our reforms. To lobby Barack Obama, other administration officials and our legislators.
Our movement might remain within our Democratic Party. But our Democratic Party needs reforming, which may necessitate a separate movement. Maybe we should be independent like MoveOn. Then we could more likely address adoption of instant run-off voting, opening up debates to candidates from more than our Democratic and Republican Party and other issues to stimulate attention to a wider variety of issues and viewpoints.
For more. For more. For more. Let us know what you think? Dave Thomas
Will Barack Obama email 3 million Christmas cards this December? Or more?
What Should We
Call the Movement that Obama Created?
Barack Obama’s internet connected grass roots movement is inspired by his call for urgently needed change. To Reclaim the American Dream, imperiled by President Bush and his Republican colleagues. Through unifying our people. What name (such a ‘New Deal’, ‘Fair Deal’, or ‘Great Society’ would reflect the crucial characteristics of this movement?
Calling it the ‘Unity Movement’ would speak to its means. The ‘Tough Hope Movement’ or ‘Yes, We Can Movement’ speaks to its resolve. Perhaps the ‘American Renewal movement’, as mentioned in the subtitle of a book of Barack Obama’s speeches. Or perhaps simply the ‘People’s’ movement as in ‘of, for and by the people’. Or the ‘People’s Interest’ movement.
I’m not satisfied with any of these names. What would you suggest? The person with the best answer will receive a free subscription to this newsletter. Dave Thomas
Here’s the Beef
Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton were younger than Obama. They did OK.
Democrats clearly do better than Republicans in managing government and our economy.
Barack Obama’s closing ½ hour advertisement shows that he gets it.
Barack Obama’s closing argument (video).
Barack Obama says what he will do to make you better off 4 years from now (video).
If Barack Obama is a socialist for advocating progressive taxation, so was Adam Smith.
Latin American experts hope Barack Obama will improve relations with Latin America.
McCain only sees individuals. Obama sees a community.
Bush’s failure to destroy Ben Laden left opportunity for Obama to be the hawk.
Barack Obama overcomes David Sirota’s skepticism.
Bob Kerrey describes Obama as resisting Liberals. He doesn’t understand Liberals, including Obama.
Howard Dean and our Liberal bloggers were right to support a 50 state strategy.
Early voters are favoring Democrats.
Begun during Nixon era, the Republican Southern Strategy may be dying.
As Obama converts attracts more groups, Republicans are becoming a southern cult.
Republican candidates distance themselves from both President Bush and John McCain.
Republicans are blaming McCain or Palin instead of Bush for their disaster. For more on blame game.
Bye Bye last remaining New England Republican Congressman.
McCain campaign fails to coordinate with local Republican campaigns.
Various factors harm John McCain in Mountain West states.
Various factors favor Barack Obama in Florida.
See seventeen anti-McCain YouTube videos by Brave New Films.
Quarterly reports showing declining mutual funds or IRAs may finish off McCain.
Republicans nominate consistently Conservative candidates who can’t win elections.
Bye Bye Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens.
FactCheck.org is biased in favor of John McCain.
Also see Robert Kennedy Jr.’s and Greg Palast’s commentary in Rolling Stone.
Obama would direct money to state & local governments; McCain to high income people & companies.
State and Local
How Should We
Respond to Declining State Revenues?
Our
Through various budget changes beginning now, Christine Gregoire only has to adjust the budget by $1.7 billion more to produce a balanced budget. This could be done by increasing our already regressive taxes, which Gregoire has said she will not do. Alternatively, cuts could be made in spending, primarily in education or social services, which are already inadequately funded. In addition such cuts would be a negative stimulus during our recession. Counter to a Keynesian stimulus which would help our economy.
Several alternatives are available. We should substitute a progressive state income tax for some of our regressive sales, excise and property taxes. This should be done so that 50% would pay no state income tax and thus would see their taxes decline. Another 40% should gain more from the decline of their other taxes than they would lose by paying income taxes. Only our highest income 10% would end up paying higher taxes, money which they owe for maintaining and improving our physical and social infrastructure which makes their high income possible.
Barack Obama is convincing the
American people that he will lower taxes for 95% of us, while letting taxes
increase only for the 5% making more than $250,000. The same argument should be used for
initiating a
Another alternative is to receive
some money from our federal government.
As part of his program to provide jobs quickly and stimulate our
economy, Barack Obama has said that he will quickly transfer $25 billion to state
and local governments for infrastructure repairs and improvements. That would give
We in
Using
Yard Sign Locations to Identify Voter Preference
Just before the November election in 2004, we drove the 15 miles of streets in our one square mile (12 precincts) Lake Hills neighborhood to note the addresses where yard signs appeared. We found 84 Democratic and 44 Republican yard signs. Our first canvassing at the houses with Democratic yard signs recruited 75 people for our Lake Hills Liberals. Our MS Access database of registered Lake Hills voters contains a field for noting signs, including the 80 houses which have displayed our ‘Proud Liberal’ signs.
We are now canvassing our neighborhood yard signs again. We are finding about the same number of Democratic yard signs. But fewer Republican ones. When identifying voter preferences, we can typically interview people at 5 households per hour. So for each 5 people, we identify though their yard signs instead of having to interview them, we save an hour’s canvassing effort.
Our list of Democrats who display yard signs is available to our candidates, so they can easily find places in Lake Hills to display their signs. Dave Thomas
Here’s the Beef
See who’s filing to
run for Washington state and federal offices.
Endorsements
for General Election Candidates
ACLU informs us how to protect our right to vote.
The Progressive Voters Guide endorses Sam Reed, a Republican who could run for governor. Yuk.
More about our Land Commissioner Race.
Washington State Labor Council comments on Dino Rossi’s positions on labor issues.
Conservatives attack Democrats who suggest that we should substitute an income tax.
300 business member Enterprise Washington intends to spend $450,000 lobbying for businesses.
Prominent developers and builders are trying to buy County Executives.
Dino Rossi supporter Building Industry Association of Washington is Consistently Conservative.
After difficulty hiring educated workers, business leaders support education wrecker Dino Rossi.
Over time, Hispanic votes will loom larger in Washington.
Our Border Patrol is frightening away needed agricultural workers.
Our recession is stalling neighborhood retail development projects.
As we’ve advocated before, our state might fund clinics to take load off emergency rooms.
Seattle Mayor Nickels proposes to eliminate funding for cost-effective crime fighting programs.
Are hate crimes increasing in Washington? For more.
House Speaker Frank Chopp proposes a multi-purpose viaduct.
Experiments with wave energy are occurring in Washington and Oregon
Public campaign financing is doing well in Connecticut
Nation
and World
What Happened to Oil Prices?
Oil production has peaked or almost peaked, such that it will gradually decline. Demand for oil has declined, partly due to recent high gasoline prices. And by the global recession caused by the collapse of our financial system’s credit. Thus oil and gasoline prices have swiftly and greatly declined. More than I would have expected.
But due to government responses, our economies are likely to begin recovering within a year. As they do, we can expect oil and gas prices to again increase. Perhaps due to increased energy conservation and use of alternative energies, not as fast as they did during the past several years. But steadily to reach and surpass their previous highs.
High oil and gasoline prices are beneficial in stimulating energy conservation and the creation and implementation of alternative energy technologies. The short term disadvantage is stagflation. Dave Thomas
Bailout Money Is Being Misused
The first $125 billion is being given to 9 major banks (which did much to cause our credit bubble and collapse) in return for partial ownership. The intent is to enable these banks to begin offering credit. But our government is not using its ownership to insist that the banks offer more credit, as the British government is doing. Instead, the banks are planning to use it to buy other financial companies. So we are just strengthening these banks, without increasing the availability of credit. For more. For more. For more.
At the least, we should use our partial ownership of these banks to control their credit and other policies. Better yet, we should not be bailing out the big bad banks. We should be loaning credit money to local credit unions and local and regional banks which avoided leveraged buying of mystery securities.
Will Our
Congress Subdue Lobbyists?
Barack Obama has repeatedly said
that the resistance to our needed reforms will come from lobbyists backed by
corporate campaign contributors. To pass
health care and other reforms, we will have to overcome these lobbyists. But many of our Democratic as well as
Republican congress members have been bought off. Including many of our
We need public campaign financing. But this may take time. Our people’s interest movement which Obama has created should continue to function to offset private interest lobbyists. One of our highest priorities should be not only to counter ‘Harold and Louise’ type ads. But to put the private interest lobbyists out of business. It’s us against them. We should do what it takes to be sure it’s us that prevail.
Do We Need
Micro-Credit in Our
I read increasing numbers of stories of people stuck in low paying jobs. Of people losing their houses. Of homeless people. Because they can’t raise a few hundred or thousand dollars to buy a car. Or to pay the deposit on an apartment or house. Can our local banks, credit unions or new agencies create micro-credit programs similar to those in other countries? This type of credit could alleviate more misery than making credit available to less poor people to buy new cars or whatever.
Don’t Forget
our Need for Global Governance
The
collapse of our financial system has sucked all the oxygen out of the
discussion of issues by our presidential candidates. Even our occupation of
People around the world basically like
Our international reputation can be quickly
restored. The first major step is to
respect other nations as partners as we did most non-communist industrialized
nations during the cold war. Beyond
leading international efforts to reduce global warming, we need the creation of a democratic global
governance system with to authority and resources to deal with threats posed by
global warming, international trade, tyranny and conflict between and within
countries.
A just and democratic
global government is needed, with the ability to make and enforce laws and mediate
disputes. No such global government now exists.
Just as 13 independent states formed a constitutionally based
The United Nations could become
more representative of our world’s people, by eliminating the Security Council
with only 5 nations welding veto power.
As an interim compromise, we should make the General Assembly’s
decisions binding when the supporting nations represent over half of the
world’s people, half of the world’s governments and governments with half of
the world’s wealth. Just as occurred
with the selection of our members of congress, we should over time adopt direct
election of General Assembly members to replace their appointment by
governments. The World Bank, IMF, WTO and other such global institutions should
be placed under UN auspices, instead of being governed by our wealthy nations
as occurs now. Our UN should be funded through
a tax on currency exchange (Tobin
Tax).
Nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons of mass destruction should be inventoried and controlled or
eliminated. Enforceable limits should be
placed upon emissions of greenhouse gases.
Other measures should be adopted to protect ecosystems and species.
International disputes should be
settled through court action instead of war.
Our International Criminal Court should try tyrants. Civil rights should be protected for ethnic
minorities, men, women, children, elders and others. Our UN should maintain standing military and
peace-keeping forces, not dependent upon contributions from countries in
response to specific incidents.
International laws should be created to enable the UN to intervene to protect
peoples from tyranny and force settlement of disputes between and within nations.
Create institutions and programs to
promote integrated environmentally sustainable economic development with
protection of investor, labor, consumer, supplier and community rights. Regulate international trade to ensure that
it allows fair competition with protections for farmers and others in
developing countries. Require
multinational business and other organizations to obtain a UN charter
In the Short Run
Creating a democratic global governance system with authority and
resources to deal with our global problems will take some time. In the meantime, We should quickly
provide leadership for nations to cooperate in dealing with such global
problems as climate change, government mistreatment of its citizens and strife
as in
O
· convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women
· convention on the rights of children
· comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty
· provisions for an international criminal court
· treaty to ban land mines
· law of the sea treaty
As
we provided the Marshall Plan, we could provide similar assistance to African and
other countries with a focus upon stimulating entrepreneurship among lower
income people. We
should encourage private efforts to limit population, educate women and men,
finance small enterprises and improve public health.
Here’s
the Beef
1989 Goodbye communism. 2008 Goodbye market fundamentalism. Goodbye U.S. world leadership.
President Bush may be unable to obtain agreement with Iraq to legitimize our Iraqi occupation. For more.
We need a Keynesian instead of a Hoover response to our recession.
We are spending lots of money to restore the economy. See what for. For more.
Asian and European leaders will present U.S. with proposals for counteracting our economic crisis.
Developing countries also face dept crises.
Reducing our military can save big bucks.
As financial companies depend upon government bailouts, gov’t has power to change the system.
Our gov’t may refinance 2-3 million mortgages at a cost of $40-50 billion ($20,000 per mortgage).
State and local pension funds serving 21 million people are taking a beating.
10,000 hedge funds with $2 trillion assets are tanking, harming stocks and pension funds.
Bye bye hedge funds. Bye bye retirement money.
Can’t get money from your stocks or house. It’s getting more difficult to get it from credit cards.
Energy efficiency created 1.5 million jobs in California. Should occur nationwide.
California and other states are increasing solar energy.
Will we change toward conservation and sustainable fuels, even if oil and gasoline become cheaper?
Will we reduce our production and consumption rationally?
We need sustainable agriculture which doesn’t contribute to global warming.
To increase oil prices, OPEC pledges to reduce production.
China calls on wealthier nations to assist poorer nations to reduce their global warming emissions.
How about giving environmentally safe and healthy Halloween and Christmas gifts?
Bono says “Let’s put humanity back on Earth.”
Our American Bar Association endorses public campaign financing for judicial elections.
Our Liberal Spirit
As young children, we learn about honesty and dishonesty and a variety of strategies and tactics (scripts) for each. We learn that telling the truth can get us in trouble. Lying successfully may produce a more favorable outcome. But if we get caught lying, the outcome may be worse than telling the truth. So we must decide whether to tell the truth or risk lying. We learn that getting a reputation of lying will produce extra scrutiny, such that it will be more difficult to lie successfully.
We also learn that we can tell the truth, without telling all the truth or nothing but the truth. We learn various ways to finagle the truth. To steer the conversation away from addressing the truth. As we grow up, we may adopt one set of strategies more than others. But we remain aware of a wider set of possibilities.
Politicians must address many issues before their constituents. Their constituents typically don’t like bad news, unless it is obvious. Voters have their understanding of the truth which may be false. Confronted with such constituents whom the politician wants to impress favorably, the politician faces many temptations to tell less than all the truth and nothing but the truth.
One strategy is to simply say what you believe. This can often command respect, even from people who disagree. Jesse Ventura, Paul Wellstone, Russ Feingold have successfully used this strategy. At one time, John McCain had a reputation for straight talking.
Another strategy is to tell each audience what the audience wants to hear, even when this involves telling blatant lies. The John McCain campaign has frequently done this recently, and has ruined his reputation. Barack Obama campaign has seldom told lies. He has occasionally said things that his audience might not enjoy. Obama has repeated that he is a flawed candidate. He has emphasized that the struggle that he is leading will be long and difficult.
Both candidates have avoided various topics. Which would require lying or telling people bad news. Or telling people what they need to hear, at varience with what they believe. They have avoided telling something they need to hear, but which would be attacked by their opponent who would support what they erroneously believe. Thus many topics have not been addressed.
Hopefully, Barack Obama will as president be more willing to sacrifice some of his political reputation in order to talk straight with us. Hopefully, he will say that we cannot continue to live by borrowing and consuming. That we cannot hope to get rich by speculating. Hopefully, he will lead us in downsizing to a level appropriate to our environment, our whole community and our individual satisfaction. For more.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for
liberals
Robert Kuttner, 2008,
Obama’s Challenge, America’s Economic
Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency
Barack Obama, 2008, Change We Can
Believe in, Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew
If you want to know what Obama should do and what he intends to do after becoming president, these books are essential. Kuttner’s book goes beyond what is to be done to indicate why.
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