Climate sustainability- what our nation must (and therefore will not) do

Now as we enter a year dominated by concerns for the appeasement of the Capitalist rulers, environmental policy seems poised for a massive rollback, or failure, depending on one’s point of view.   Under the present administration, oil extraction has reached new peaks, and unsafe new mining techniques poison dozens of communities in a pyrrhic quest for „clean burning“ Natural Gas.  We are entering a December that behaves like September, and erratic rainstorms follow an unseasonably severe hurricane, with no glimpse of the redeeming snow.

Global warming is ravaging our planet, permitted to run rampant by human excess, and we are doing precious little to address it.  We are going to lose a LOT of land over the next few decades, and the land we don’t lose will be blighted with chronic drought and wildfires, making the maintenance of adequate food supplies increasingly expensive- strengthening the corporations which own the very genomes of our crops- and driving many species to extinction.  While it is too late to prevent this, we still need to act quickly to reduce the damage.  to that end, I state my support of the following.  (Yes, I know that numbers 5 and 6 are impossible at the moment).

1.          Prohibition of new coal-fired power plants- we need to streamline our existing power grid to minimize power consumption, not generate more power.  The 4 billion of stimulus money towards a smart grid is a good beginning, but merely that, a beginning.  Sadly, this is one of only two environmentally meaningful actions taken by the administration in the last 4 years.

2.           Ban fracking- natural gas burns cleaner that coal or oil, but its extraction from rock reservoirs at present necessitates the injection of noxious chemicals into freshwater reservoirs, massive venting of methane, which is worse than any amount of CO2, and the fracking process seems to correlate with increased earthquakes.  Stop it, with EPA regulation if nothing else.

3.          Restore public transit- General Motors bought up and destroyed most of the nation’s streetcar systems in the early twentieth century.  This public transit system needs restoration.  Intercity rail is important, and the construction of such a system in California ia great, but what we need even more dearly is a convenient alternative to commuting by car- my hometown of St. Louis has the metro, which runs in a very limited fork, rather than a complete circuit of the metropolitan area.  Every major city needs a massive rail system like that in D.C., to better enable and encourage workers to make environmentally conscious choices.  that said, an inter-city rail project between St. Louis and Beloit would be pretty cool for me.

4.         Improve automobile mileage- some people ar ejust not going to be willing or able to use public transit, especially in more rural areas, but also for certain occasions.  The administration has introduced new mileage standards, to its credit, but they will not take full effect until 2020, barring Republican repeal of the policy, and even then will only determine new vehicle standards.  What we need is a way to get more fuel-efficient cars onto the market at affordable rates.  I confess to being VERY jealous of the Indian state car company Tata’s Nano- this is a two-door hatchback, on the Indian market for the equivalent of 2,500 dollars, which seats four, can maintain speeds of approximately sixty miles an hour, and gets 55 miles per gallon.  Assuming significantly higher prices, reflecting our labor, environmental, and safety standards does put something of a damper on it, but I think the idea is sound in principle.  The Department of Energy invites bids to develop a four-seater car with efficiency of at least 60 miles per gallon, and possessed of relative safety.  The winner would be subsidized by the government with the goal of reducing automobile inefficiency with greater haste than waiting for gas guzzlers to die natural deaths.  If we could put an affordable, efficient car on the market for between 5 and 10 thousand dollars, possibly with a generous subsidy, we could really reduce our impact even without making the (needed) changes in lifestyle.

5.         Nationalize, nationalize, nationalize!  I’m not saying the government manages things perfectly, but taking away the profit motive for maximum consumption is practically a necessity to any realistic address of the problem.  We need to build wind farms asap, install solar panels on every roof, and drill, baby drill-for geothermal climate control systems, not fossil fuels!  This is hard to do with the upfront cost- tax credits are a good idea, but to do this on a large enough scale (especially the macro-scale developments like Windfarms) we need centralized authority, and planned economic structure. 

6.         Centrally planned economy- this is hard to pull off, but if we could make a conscious leap from promoting maximum consumption towards providing adequacy for all, we could really reduce our impact.  Psychologically, I think this would also have a beneficial outcome for workers- as it is, people do whatever job the capitalists are willing to pay them for, beacuse it makes the corporations more money.  Under a planned system, labor would be treated as the single most valuable asset, and given meaningful tasks, because to do otherwise is to waste finite human resources.  All my time in the pharmacy, I knew my every act was, in the final sense, coordinated to bring profit to the drug companies.  Seeing people clean out savings accounts for one months supply of pills, the walking sick unable to afford profit-motivated medicine, and facing the shame of those unable to care for their children’s health left me with quite a feling of futility- what if every worker had the satisfaction of knowing that their job has been expressly calculated to be of service to the community, not the capitalist overlords?

7.         Tax carbon- even many Republicans (albeit those out of office) support this.  A tax of a few dollars per tonne of carbon burned will singlehandedly make going green the most profitable outcome.  As we’ve seen with the destruction of our infrastructure and the sabotage of the electric car, our corporate sector is very adept at changing the habits and culture of the country when its profits are on the line.  This tax can go towards funding new green installations, constructed by public workers, ameeliorating environmental damage, and paying down the deficit incurred by years of environmental and economic unsustainability.  Basically, this is Cap-and-Trade without the bugs or loopholes, but as the administration sold out even on cap-and-trade, it seems unlikely.

8.       Reforestation- we’re running out of the time window in which trees are net reducers of carbon emissions- we need to exploit this simplest of tools as much as possible.  China in particular has been a real leader here.

9.         Follow Europe’s lead- last summer, on good days, Germany got half its power from solar banks alone!  The largest sustainable western economy has gone VERY green indeed, and is still thriving, despite Merkel’s conservatism!  The solutions practiced are incentivizing sustainable behavior, taxing unsustainable behavior, decent public transit, stringent mileage (kilometerage?) standards, and building lots and lots of wind farms.  It CAN be done. 
  Solidarität, mein Genossen und Genossinnen

farewell to my Saint George

Last month, I lost my hero, George McGovern.  I've been trying to write a suitable eulogy for the past few weeks, and I just can't do it justice.  Lo and behold, we were assigned to write a poem submission about a significant historical figure for Creative English, and mine turned out fairly well (if you're a history geek, that is).  It's the best I've managed to come up with since his death, so I thought I ought to post it here in absence of anything else.  Sorry for the delay.

1972

The choice of the young to lead us

In so strange a time, which is now reborn                     

In troubles, if not in champions

For who since has ever compared, or even shone?

Whoever since has called us home?

Truly our first candidate in so many ways                                                                        

 To think Gays are people                                                                                                                            That women deserve freedom

The first to see the spirit of the land and its nature

The first and last to rebuff our blood bill of needless wars and aggression

I hope you died with as little fear as you lived

What was it about that year?  So many      

 Whom I’ve cheered and booed in the pages of musty tomes

After the peak of our glory, we have 72, the Siege Perilous from which you rose

Like our Galahad, to make the quest, to serve our great calling

And many others, great and terrible alike deserve memory, even as our great Launcelot lay dying in Texas! 

Humphrey- the Gawain, greatest of men yet blinded by vengeance

Wallace the scoundrel, vile as any Agravain, struck down ere it ended

Chisolm- another first, in her challenge, perhaps she most approached a Gareth

Muskie as our Bors- imperfect, but always the survivor- the strong knight

McCarthy, our Tristan, our dreamer, our poet

What higher praise can escape human lips, than that none of these compare with you?

But there were none to aid you and your troops

To be your herald and squire fell to an enigma

An enigma as flawed as myself, as sad as your daughter

I know the drill- the vain hiding of truth behind... nothing material

I know you did too, as you watched her die

And so it emerged- a danger, a lunatic

No more or less these things than me or mine

And you dropped him, to save the cause

And all that remained was our Bedivere, Shriver

Deserted and betrayed, you entered history

As my greatest hero, twenty years before my birth

But who since has dared?

Who has called us to our „higher planes“?

Who has acted with the just right, not the cautious restraint?

Who has shielded little children from bombers‘ reign?

Who has given voice to the workers?  The downtrodden?                                                               

 The oppressed, the poor, the farmers, the women? 

Who fought to feed the hungry? 

Who has sent food, not bombers?

Any who try to answer will see

Just how great this emptiness will be

There will never be another like my Saint George

Who called his country home, and then went down

                In the flames of defeat

And could it be any other way?  As if to answer, I hear you

                „From secrecy and deception in high places, Come Home, America

                From a conflict abroad which maims our ideals as well as our soldiers, Come Home,                                America

                From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation, Come Home America

From the entrenchment of special privilege and tax favoritism, from the waste of idle hands to the joy of useful labor, from the prejudice of race and sex, from the loneliness of the aging poor and the despair of the neglected sick, Come Home, America!

Come Home to the affirmation that we have the dream.

Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward

Come home to the belief that we can seek a newer world

And let us be joyful in the homecoming...  This land was made for you and me...

...This is the time“

As you enter Avalon, I will always be waiting for your return.

For the time to arrive when we may once more try to bring our country home

Why I Voted Third Party

I originally published this in the Beloit Round Table, which will be distributed Monday November 5th.  You all get a sneak preview, you lucky people:).

Ok, Ok, I’ll confess to voting third party !

                Last Wednesday, I cast an early ballot with the write-in slot marked for Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, and on Tuesday will stand for election to the Electoral College on his behalf.  My reasoning is simple- both major party candidates promise war, Austerity, capitalist health care, environmental degradation, and patriarchy.  I cannot morally support the president who ordered more airstrikes in one year than Bush did in eight, who overruled his own HHS Department to prevent young women from using birth control without their fathers‘ permission, failed to defend our precious natural resources and abandoned his central promise of civil rights protection in employment and housing to the Gay community.  Nor can I support a Republican.  I’m left with a choice between two war-mongering, theocratic climate change deniers who will continue to accelerate the evolving exploitation of the workers.  This is unacceptable to me, and last summer, I began seeking a qualified third-party candidate for whom to cast a sincere protest vote.

                Rocky Anderson is that candidate.  (At least in the opinions of myself, Ralph Nader and Barbara Ehrenreich among others).  While I respect Jill Stein and Stewart Alexander, neither of them have ever served in government.  Rocky was Mayor of Salt Lake City from 2000-2008, during which time he cut city greenhouse gas emissions by 31 percent, expanded contracts with unionized labor, grew the surplus by 60 percent by defunding failed anti-drug programs, and created the Family to Family program to assist immigrants who had lost family members to deportation.  He also fought for and passed a municipal version of the Gay Civil Rights law conveniently abandoned by the president.  That’s right- Gay Rights.  In Utah.  Successfully.  (He also passed an ordinance raising the minimum wage, but it was struck down by the court.)  Anderson has also served as a board member of Planned Parenthood of Utah and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, as well as president of the Utah ACLU, and founded the High Road for Human Rights group.  He’s ranked as one of the fifteen greenest politicians in America, as well as in the Human Rights Campaign’s “Top 10 Straight Advocates for LGBT Americans“.  Most impressively, Anderson organized the massive 2006 anti-war rallies which greeted President Bush’s visit with a call for peace.  Now, he’s running for president, on the ballot in 15 states, and with recognized write-in status in some 25 others, including Wisconsin. 

                Anderson is calling for single-payer healthcare, an immediate end to the undeclared drone war, restoration of Civil Liberties, Public Employment for the jobless,forgiveness of student debt, legalizing hemp, abolishing the regressive Payroll tax cap, and repealing the regressive Bush tax cuts. 

If supporting someone who not only calls for what I truly believe in, but has actually implemented many of those same principles in an accomplished government career is a protest vote, so be it.  I cast my first presidential vote for Rocky Anderson, and I’m proud to have done so.

Vice-Presidential Debate

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my long absence.  There have been a succession of personal difficulties, with which most of you are familiar.  But things have seemingly calmed down, and I'm back.

So let's talk about Joe.

On balance, I think Ryan performed better, but Joe really came through, and decidedly won the sound-bite war, which is generally better for the news cycles, so it'll get better with time.  Biden acquitted himself well, and was able to talk about populist issues with a credibility unthinkable in an Obama speech.

Why it matters- Biden's old, but he's relatively spry.  Watching him, it's obvious that he loves politics.  No Vice-President who wants the nomination for president has failed to get it in sixty years.  In that period, sitting or former (non-incumbent) Vice-Presidents who have won their parties nominations for president include Richard Nixon (twice), Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, George Bush, and Al Gore.  In addition, many former Vice Presidents and former VP nominees have run competitive though unsuccessful campaigns, such as Sargent Shriver, Dan Quayle, Joe Lieberman (ugh), and John Edwards.  If Clinton declines to run again, Biden is the heir apparent to the Obama administration.

Why that's good- Biden has always been the dedicated progressive voice in the Obama administration- calling for a quick withdrawal from Afghanistan, supporting Public Health Care, successfully overseeing the stimulus, speaking more truthfully than tactfully on the goals of American conservatives (most memorably at the NAACP convention), and taking the lead on Gay Rights.  Now, he's not perfect, largely due to the decisions of his boss, but I do like him, and with 40 years in Washington, and some truly impressive accomplishments as a Senator, he clearly knows how to get things done, and bargain more effectively than Obama.  I would very happily work for him in 2016, and would slightly prefer him to Clinton, as she has consistently been ever-so-slightly more hawkish especially on Iran.

I know the Democrats tend not to win three presidential elections consecutively, and Biden's chances take a sharp nosedive if Obama loses this election.  Even if Obama wins, his natural timidity and Republican control of Congress will preclude any accomplishments other than his under-the-table plan to gut Social Security.  Watching Biden's public persona in the next two years, assuming a second term as Vice-President, will be very instructive in gauging his worthiness, although I am favorably predisposed towards him.  Still, a Biden presidency seems unlikely.  A Biden candidacy and nomination, however, seems likely, indeed, inevitable if Obama wins and if Clinton declines to run.

Why this is important- all the Democratic Party's big name, up-and-comers are even more conservative than Obama, which is saying a lot.  Cuomo is doing basically Walker-lite in New York, O'Malley of Maryland isn't much better, Castro has quite a centrist reputation, which is hard to come by in a media that treats Obama as a genuine liberal, and...  is there anyone else?  Warren perhaps, but I doubt she'll run for President so soon.  We need a new generation of left-wing leadership in Congress, and I think her chances are better there anyway.  (For the purposes of this discussion, we must assume that my dream candidate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is out of the question, as she would only run if Cuomo doesn't, and he'll only not run if Biden does and that's a few too many conditionals for me to take such a discussion seriously:)  My resident oracle, who can be a trifle irritating in his poll obsession but is nonetheless a generally good fellow, and very trustworthy in his predictions, assures me that Cuomo will be the next Democratic President.  To which, I say, if the new generation is incapable of restoring the soul of the Democratic Party after the twenty years of betrayal inaugurated by Bill Clinton and completed under Barack Obama, then we must turn to the previous generation, and hope they can hold the line until new left-wing leadership emerges.  Biden is the logical standard bearer in such a case, as he is an experienced Progressive, and as VP will have the unconditional backing of the Democratic establishment, should the circumstances previously enumerated arise.  Best Case scenario, he wins the presidency, and actually does some of what Obama promised to in 2008, Worst Case scenario, he loses, but I have the experience of working for a respectable candidate who has the resources to hire lots of ground troops.  As I do this professionally, job satisfaction is as important as winning to me- I want to be working for a guy I'll vote for.  Biden is one for whom I'd be proud to stump.

Solidarität
Genosse Graham

Fighting Bobfest

Wow.  Last Saturday was amazing.  Went up to Madison with Sam Borgos and Susie Smela for Fighting Bobfest, a yearly left-convention in honor of Robert M. "Fighting Bob" La Follette.  I assumed everyone knew who he was, but very few people in my dorm (even the Wisconsin natives!) did, so here's a quick summary.
     Most important Progressive leader of the late 19th-early 20th century, as governor of and then senator from Wisconsin.  Successfully fought for women's suffrage, progressive taxation, state control of railroads, university influence in policy-making, the initiative, the recall, and referendum, and the abolition of child labor, as well as a host of union-friendly measures, aided by the oratorical and organizational skills of his brilliant wife, Belle.  Later in his life, he led the opposition to our entry into World War I and, importantly for my current endeavors, bolted his party to run a left-wing third-party candidacy in 1924, winning over 15 percent of the vote, and carrying Wisconsin.  He also enjoyed hairdressing.
    This year's lineup of speakers was truly exceptional.  I finally got to hear Tammy Baldwin speak, and it redoubled my enthusiasm for her.  I wish she had a campaign of her own for which I could volunteer, but all Democratic operations are structured around the presidential election, meaning all activities, even those paid for by Baldwin's own campaign, treat her as an afterthought.  This really isn't fair, as she has rather different views than the president, especially on foreign policy, and much more backbone when it comes to domestic.  She's the first mainstream Democrat I've heard make tariffs a big issue, which is important both from economic and environmental standpoints.  She hit her stride, and the crowd loved her.  Spoke a lot about how proud she is of her grandparents, how hard they worked to raise her, and how much they cared about social justice.  This of course made me think of Nanny, I wish she could have come with us.
     The next speaker was Mahlon Mitchell, our last nominee for Lt. governor, and president of the Firefighters' Union.  That man...  I'm still breathless just thinking about it.  Such a hardcore stance on behalf of the workers, who candidly addressed the sellouts of not only conservative Democrats like Barrett and Obama, but also the overly cautious union leadership which bears part of the blame for the American proletariat's lack of organization.  He works a crowd better than any politician I've seen, especially an informed crowd.  He also has a very amusing routine of "trying not to curse" but it always slips out to much merriment.  He's also a damn fine-looking young man, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather see launch a long-term political career.
     Gwen Moore (Milwaukee's congresswoman), spoke after the midday break (during which I got my well-annotated copy of Professor Nancy Unger's definitive La Follette biography signed!).  She could work the crowd too, and offered the best voice on women's issues I've ever heard, and that's saying something!  I think the best way to describe her is "warrior mother", so driven, so principled, and so overwhelmingly concerned for people.  She went through a nicely consistent oration, describing the conservative attacks on students, workers, women, teachers, veterans, environmentalists, gays, the retired, ending each stanza with the question "Are you going to let them kick you out of our family?"  She brought the house down, and I teared up more than a little.
    Buddy Roemer spoke too, and while he's rather conservative on many social issues, he's a true populist on the power of business to corrupt society, and spoke very eloquently.  Something about hearing social injustice excoriated in that Louisiana drawl...  He's a real Kingfish.  Long would be proud.
     The day reached its saddest point with the speech of Greg Palast, an expat BBC journalist who's so awesome he has a hard time getting back into the country.  He's best known for documenting how Republican caging operations routinely invalidate the ballots of nearly 20 percent of all black voters, giving Bush the presidency in 2004.  His speaking style struck me as a combination of my own with that of the fictional Dr. House.  Also, the man wears a fedora in 2012.  Gotta give him credit for that.

Jill Stein and Bill McKibbon spoke too, but I didn't hear them, as I was canvassing the fairgrounds for Rocky Anderson.  (got two more electors, and another today-the end is in sight!).  Came away fired up and ready to go.  I'm definitely going every chance I get over the next few years.

Solidarität
Kamerad Graham

Are women the property of their employers?

The Missouri legislature just overrode a rare courageous veto from Governor Nixon on the issue of insurance plans.  In Missouri, employers may now unconditionally keep their female employees from purchasing family planning services through their insurance provider.  Possible effects include-

More abortions- less family planning means more unwanted pregnancies.


Dangerous precedent- now that religious grounds are all that is needed for an employer to assert patriarchal authority over female employees whose sexual behavior he wishes to control, what guarantee of safety is left to Missouri's women?

I rather think, however, that their ultimate goal is simple- to prevent even a handful of women from being economically independent is a victory in their eyes.  They want women to have to have babies at the command of their Lord, and leave "man's work" for "man".  This bill will by no means keep all women from working, but it will make it more difficult for women to control their own bodies, and keeping the burden of paying for basic health care -which saves all society money- firmly anchored upon working women, rather than their Capitalist Patriarchs.  Glorious day for the army of the Lord, I suppose- if even one woman has an unintended pregnancy and is pressured into keeping the baby, and leaves her job, a man can take it and restore the proudest of American traditions- chauvinism.

I try not to blog angry, but...

Superman: American Subversive (and why that's ok)

As you should know, I'm something of a nerd.  This has long extended to vintage DC comics of the 1930s and 40s, which, aside from their entertainment value, are an interesting window into pop culture of past decades, and yes, I just like comics.  I've chuckled at the implications of the stories, of the simplistic villains, and the cloying patriotism of the war years.  (There's also the instance of Robin exhorting the children of America to be "Regular", a battle cry to conformity or bowel movement, depending on your perspective).  Aside from the typical and comical scenes of Batman outwitting the police before his inclusion as an "honorary member" in 1941, the message is what you'd expect from a period piece aimed at impressionable children- follow your country, the only villains you must face are the foreign, the disabled, and the active women.  It hit me recently, however, that the first twenty or so issues of Action Comics (which introduced Superman in its debut publication), there's quite a bit of creative daring at work.

     The very first act Superman performs for the benefit of America's impressionable youth is MAN-HANDLING THE GOVERNOR IF ILLINOIS TO COERCE A PARDON OF AN (INNOCENT) CONDEMNED WOMAN JUST AS SHE IS BEING SETTLED INTO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.  This really is exciting, as we see not only the possibility of official error, but also the danger such error poses, and, most importantly, the notion that truth and justice is more important than official opinion is really a bold statement for the times.  Just remember, this is less than two decades after the mass censorship and repression of the World War I era, and a children's magazine dared to point out flaws in government which would, if left unchecked, cost an innocent woman her life in an exceptionally brutal fashion.

     But wait, you say.  The trope of mistaken identity in criminal proceedings is nothing new, and Superman deserves no special recognition for using it as a showcase for his power and character.
Fair enough, but this was his first appearance ever, and forecast a pattern of behavior that can only be described as subversive.  One of Superman's next appearances involves him infiltrating a prison to expose the cruelty of the guards and the mistreatment of the prisoners.  Not once are the crimes of the inmates mentioned, only their rights to decent treatment in prison.  This was in the 1930s, when the country made extensive use of slave labor by prisoners, under conditions even more brutal than those of today. 
      Further stories depict Superman battling cruel foster care facilities and corrupt policemen, both far more loathsome than their comic-relief counterparts in Batman stories of the area.  One of the earliest truly detestable Superman villains is "100%" O'Reilly, policeman extraordinaire who conspires to graft vast sums of money as a reward for stirring up lynch mobs and intimidating citizens.  Most memorably in one issue Superman dares to confront juvenile delinquency head on- by a frank discussion of poverty and the hopelessness that had already infested American cities, and, rather than punching the young "criminals" into a prison, he provokes the government into renovating the slums and constructing massive public-housing projects.  Simplistic?  Yes.  Courageous in its daring to blame the system rather than the victims?  Very yes.

     These writers were kids, daring to publish children's literature openly criticizing standard government practice, and their creation has become immortal as an American icon.  This most-loved creation of American pop culture began as a fearless reformer, who dared to stick it to bloodthirsty officials who in any other setting would have enjoyed the patriotic obedience of the people (and still do in real life, of course).  Daring to question existing social structures is always commendable, but from a 75 year old piece of children's literature it is all the more notable.  Before his transformation into a boy-scout-like champion of the status quo, Superman was willing to attack even villains with a stamp of legitimacy upon them, and to go to any lengths to help the people.  What does it say about us that our quintessential mythological creation originated as someone who would stop at nothing to help the people, even breaking society's conventions apart to do it?  What does it say that he proceeded to turn into a defender of the order of things, even the excesses of Capitalism?  It seems to me that the narrative of Superman as a champion of the oppressed is stronger when he acts from conviction, not from a sense of duty to those privileged few who dominate so much of our society. 

All right, I confess I'm tired, and have been listening to John Kerry and Joe Biden speak for the last 2 hours, so my concentration hasn't been 100%.  My point stands.  Hope to see your thoughts!