Thursday, November 6, 2008
Dancing In The Streets
There were so many wonderful things about the past week it is impossible to name just one astounding moment. As I was toasting the election with friends I received text messages from friends in DC, NYC and Berkeley. They were celebrating in the streets. During our drive home Claire and I encountered crowds in several neighborhoods. I was stunned to hear God Bless American and to see waving flags. The video is a collection of homemade videos from around the country. My favorite part is the picture of the woman ripping off her anti-Bush sticker and replacing it with a flag.
Yesterday one of my colleagues said, "I have never had a flag but today I feel like going out to buy one." Another teacher said, "It is a wonderful day to be an American- at last."
We took the flag back from the "Christianists".
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Why Did You Vote Today?
Here is a great blog post from TPM. It is really worth your time.
It starts out:
I have a confession to make.
I did not vote for Barack Obama today.
I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.....
Please follow the link to TPM
It starts out:
I have a confession to make.
I did not vote for Barack Obama today.
I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.....
Please follow the link to TPM
Sunday, November 2, 2008
#30 Becasue It Is Time
Hell- it is way past time........
Yesterday I was calling Florida voters for the Obama campaign. I reached an elderly woman in Florida and when I asked her if she was planning to vote and if she needed a ride to the polls she said,
"Honey, I made my doctor let me come home from the hospital so I can vote. I waited my whole life to see this. I would crawl if I had to because I am voting for my grandbabies. I am taking them with me too and they will know for sure, for the first time, that they can do great things in this country. I sure am gonna vote honey cuz I really do love this country. And you must too so thank you for calling but I gotta get back to my show"
Please vote.
Vote To Unite
I have never cared so much about an election. Clearly we face many serious problems and I firmly believe Obama is the best candidate to speak honestly, listen to the diverse viewpoints of all Americans (even those who revile him) and take difficult but necessary actions. Throughout my career I have worked to create a better world--as Carmelita Hinton said- "to further a civilization worthy of the name." This short video is a visual montage of why I care so much about this election. I know I'm not alone.
#29 Its A Damn Good List
Researching and writing this list has been a great exercise for me. Thanks to everyone for your kind words of encouragement. My next to the last reason is a simple one--the sum or the reasons makes a strong case for voting for Obama. I cannot think of another time in my adult life when there has been such a solid case for a candidate as there is this year for Obama.
In the November 1 edition of the NYT Thomas Friedman simply and clearly tells the truth:
"John McCain and Barack Obama have unveiled broad ideas about how to restore the nation’s financial health. But they continue to suggest that this will be largely pain-free. McCain says giving everyone a tax cut will save the day; Obama tells us only the rich will have to pay to help us out of this hole. Neither is true.
We are all going to have to pay, because this meltdown comes in the context of what has been “perhaps the greatest wealth transfer since the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917,” says Michael Mandelbaum, author of “Democracy’s Good Name.” “It is not a wealth transfer from rich to poor that the Bush administration will be remembered for. It is a wealth transfer from the future to the present.”
He goes on to recommend:
"First, we need a president who can speak English and deconstruct and navigate complex issues so Americans can make informed choices..............Second, we need a president who can energize, inspire and hold the country together during what will be a very stressful recovery........................Third, we need a president who can rally the world to our side."
I believe Barack Obama fits the Friedman's description. I hope my list demonstrates why I believe that Obama has the qualities to communicate complex issues to the people, to energize and unite our country and to gain the respect of the world.
Here is my list thus far:
1. Barak Obama is-reflective- He embraces country’s virtues and is not afraid to address problems.
2. Barak Obama is a gentleman- He treats others with respect.
3. Obama’s tax plan is a first step toward a responsible budget. The Congressional Budget Office projects that McCain's plan will lead to the biggest growth of the deficit.
4. Obama’s health care plan begins to address serious problems.
5. Obama’s call on the Iraq war was correct and courageous.
6. Obama balances faith and politics. He is a man of faith who respects other spiritual journies.
7. Obama has a history of unifying leadership. He can be a political unifier.
8. Barak Obama has temperament to be president. He has superior intellect and calmness.
9. Obama’s tax plan is a step toward necessary tax reform.
10. Obama has managed a well run campaign.
11. Obama advocates personal and public fiscal responsibility.
12. The vile racism of the Republican party must not win. Our children are watching?
13. Obama understands complexity of foreign policy issues and is realistic about what must be done.
14. Obama is respected around the world and and will represent us well.
15. His position on the difficult subject of abortion is fair and balanced.
16. Sarah Palin is not ready to be president and John McCain is 72.
17. John McCain’s lack of focus on what concerns people most and emphasis on the trival proves he is not capable of managing priorities as President.
18. I do not want more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court. Read Gary Wills and Cass Sunstein.
19. Obama’s Presidency will help bridge the racial and cultural divide.
20. The principles of capitalism support progressive tax. Obama is not a socialist indeed according to the principles of Adam Smith he is a good capitalist.
21. She Blinded Me With Science- Palin attacks necessary research that would help her own cause and rejects research based science.
22. I’m Sick of Divisive, Dishonest Destructive Manipulation by the Media. Let’s show the media that we will not be bamboozled by innuendo, guilt by association, trivia and lies
23. Americans Are Fair and Balanced- we are not ‘afraid’ of a Black man.
24. Democrat presidents have been good for the economy
25. Obama and his family is an authentic example of solid family values I want my children to admire and emulate
26. We are not as divided as our politics suggest; Obama is attracting leading conservative thinkers and leaders who are disgusted with the result of the past eight years and saddened by the McCain campaign
27. Obama understands the importance of net neutrality that will assure innovation, wealth creation and social change will thrive on the net; we need a responsible climate policy governed by science
28. We must defend the Constitution from distortion which allows sweeping executive powers.
29. Cuz it’s a damn good list
In the November 1 edition of the NYT Thomas Friedman simply and clearly tells the truth:
"John McCain and Barack Obama have unveiled broad ideas about how to restore the nation’s financial health. But they continue to suggest that this will be largely pain-free. McCain says giving everyone a tax cut will save the day; Obama tells us only the rich will have to pay to help us out of this hole. Neither is true.
We are all going to have to pay, because this meltdown comes in the context of what has been “perhaps the greatest wealth transfer since the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917,” says Michael Mandelbaum, author of “Democracy’s Good Name.” “It is not a wealth transfer from rich to poor that the Bush administration will be remembered for. It is a wealth transfer from the future to the present.”
He goes on to recommend:
"First, we need a president who can speak English and deconstruct and navigate complex issues so Americans can make informed choices..............Second, we need a president who can energize, inspire and hold the country together during what will be a very stressful recovery........................Third, we need a president who can rally the world to our side."
I believe Barack Obama fits the Friedman's description. I hope my list demonstrates why I believe that Obama has the qualities to communicate complex issues to the people, to energize and unite our country and to gain the respect of the world.
Here is my list thus far:
1. Barak Obama is-reflective- He embraces country’s virtues and is not afraid to address problems.
2. Barak Obama is a gentleman- He treats others with respect.
3. Obama’s tax plan is a first step toward a responsible budget. The Congressional Budget Office projects that McCain's plan will lead to the biggest growth of the deficit.
4. Obama’s health care plan begins to address serious problems.
5. Obama’s call on the Iraq war was correct and courageous.
6. Obama balances faith and politics. He is a man of faith who respects other spiritual journies.
7. Obama has a history of unifying leadership. He can be a political unifier.
8. Barak Obama has temperament to be president. He has superior intellect and calmness.
9. Obama’s tax plan is a step toward necessary tax reform.
10. Obama has managed a well run campaign.
11. Obama advocates personal and public fiscal responsibility.
12. The vile racism of the Republican party must not win. Our children are watching?
13. Obama understands complexity of foreign policy issues and is realistic about what must be done.
14. Obama is respected around the world and and will represent us well.
15. His position on the difficult subject of abortion is fair and balanced.
16. Sarah Palin is not ready to be president and John McCain is 72.
17. John McCain’s lack of focus on what concerns people most and emphasis on the trival proves he is not capable of managing priorities as President.
18. I do not want more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court. Read Gary Wills and Cass Sunstein.
19. Obama’s Presidency will help bridge the racial and cultural divide.
20. The principles of capitalism support progressive tax. Obama is not a socialist indeed according to the principles of Adam Smith he is a good capitalist.
21. She Blinded Me With Science- Palin attacks necessary research that would help her own cause and rejects research based science.
22. I’m Sick of Divisive, Dishonest Destructive Manipulation by the Media. Let’s show the media that we will not be bamboozled by innuendo, guilt by association, trivia and lies
23. Americans Are Fair and Balanced- we are not ‘afraid’ of a Black man.
24. Democrat presidents have been good for the economy
25. Obama and his family is an authentic example of solid family values I want my children to admire and emulate
26. We are not as divided as our politics suggest; Obama is attracting leading conservative thinkers and leaders who are disgusted with the result of the past eight years and saddened by the McCain campaign
27. Obama understands the importance of net neutrality that will assure innovation, wealth creation and social change will thrive on the net; we need a responsible climate policy governed by science
28. We must defend the Constitution from distortion which allows sweeping executive powers.
29. Cuz it’s a damn good list
Friday, October 31, 2008
#27 Defense of the United States Constitution
"The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man."
-- W. E. Gladstone 4 Term Prime Minister of Britain
We Americans tell ourselves many stories about our past and our purpose. Some of these stories are noble and some are shameful. Some are absolutely true, others must be seen in a historical context and still others are pure fiction. The best and most true story of our nation is the Constitution and the mechanisms for amending and interpreting it. At the core of all of the troubling events of the Bush administration is what the historian Gary Wills calls the "executive usurptions" of the Constitution. We need a president who understands and will defend the Constitution so that we can recover from the current administration's serious abuses .
In a commentary for The New York Review of Books, Wills listed the many ways GW Bush has trashed our nation's most important foundational element. He wrote that Bush asserted the executive powers to wage undeclared wars, create military courts, authorize extraordinary renditions, use secret prisons, employ severe coercive interrogation, hold trials with undisclosed evidence, conduct domestic surveillance, and "override congressional oversight in every aspect of government from energy policy to health services."
Wills posits that the Supreme Court will rule on the executive use of these powers. Currently we have four justices who are enthusiastic supporters of the "unitary executive". The next President will probably appoint at least two new justices. It is important that the new justices believe in what Cass Sunstein describes as "a strongly unitary executive branch while also believing that the President cannot make war, or torture people, or engage in foreign surveillance without congressional authorization." It will fall to the Supreme Court to "prevent the "the most thorough reworking and distortion of the Constitution in all our history."
Defense of the Constitution against "sweeping presidential power" is a very important reason to vote for Barack Obama.
-- W. E. Gladstone 4 Term Prime Minister of Britain
We Americans tell ourselves many stories about our past and our purpose. Some of these stories are noble and some are shameful. Some are absolutely true, others must be seen in a historical context and still others are pure fiction. The best and most true story of our nation is the Constitution and the mechanisms for amending and interpreting it. At the core of all of the troubling events of the Bush administration is what the historian Gary Wills calls the "executive usurptions" of the Constitution. We need a president who understands and will defend the Constitution so that we can recover from the current administration's serious abuses .
In a commentary for The New York Review of Books, Wills listed the many ways GW Bush has trashed our nation's most important foundational element. He wrote that Bush asserted the executive powers to wage undeclared wars, create military courts, authorize extraordinary renditions, use secret prisons, employ severe coercive interrogation, hold trials with undisclosed evidence, conduct domestic surveillance, and "override congressional oversight in every aspect of government from energy policy to health services."
Wills posits that the Supreme Court will rule on the executive use of these powers. Currently we have four justices who are enthusiastic supporters of the "unitary executive". The next President will probably appoint at least two new justices. It is important that the new justices believe in what Cass Sunstein describes as "a strongly unitary executive branch while also believing that the President cannot make war, or torture people, or engage in foreign surveillance without congressional authorization." It will fall to the Supreme Court to "prevent the "the most thorough reworking and distortion of the Constitution in all our history."
Defense of the Constitution against "sweeping presidential power" is a very important reason to vote for Barack Obama.
#27- O'Reilly Says It Best
That's Tim O'Reilly, no the screaming, finger jabbing, self important Bill.
Tim O'Reilly is known for coining the term Web 2.0. He is a writer and leader in the open source movement. You can read his thoughtful and detailed endorsement of Obama here:
27. a Climate Change
I was always planning on writing about climate change but O'Reilly says it best so I will simply quote him without my own pontificating:
"the most urgent case for the election of Barack Obama was made by John McCain. Despite being an early and thoughtful advocate on the threat of global warming, he lost all credibility with his selection of Governor Palin as his running mate. We can not afford to take the risk of a Vice-President (especially for a candidate as old as McCain) who is scornful of science, denies human involvement in creating climate change, and is completely unprepared to tackle this most urgent of problems. If scientists are right, we have to act now. Every year counts. There is no "do over" on this issue."
The preponderance of scientists agree that climate change is a problem. Even the Bush administration has acknowledged the need to address warming.
O'Reilly also writes, "Climate change and energy policy can no longer be dictated by "politically possible" but must be dictated by "technically necessary." NASA's James Hansen has recently argued that an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 350 ppm looks to be the safe bet climate wise for humanity. We are already at more than 380 ppm!" You can read a pdf of Hanson's paper embedded within O'Reilly's endorsement.
27. b. Net Neutrality
I really hadn't thought about the candidates position on this issue until I read O'Reilly.
Net neutrality is a principle that endorses the free and open internet. It is not about free connections rather it is concerned with preventing ISPs from "blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination." (definition from SaveTheInternet.com) If you appreciate access to any Web site, whenever you wish- at the fastest speed- whether it's Amazon or your sister's family reunion site, if you like using any service- from online video to podcasts and sending instant messages- without paying extra fees to the telephone or cable company that provides you with Internet service then you support New Neutrality. .
Here is what O'Reilly says,
"I love the internet. It's been one of the most fertile grounds for technological innovation, wealth creation, and social change that our country has seen in my lifetime. I believe passionately in the "small pieces loosely joined" model that allows anyone to invent a compelling new service, find other people to use it, and grow a business without having to ask anyone's permission.
It's essential that we preserve the architecture of the internet.
Under the guise of free market experimentation, big companies with monopoly positions in local markets are asking us to change the fundamental rules that have served the internet so well. They want to be able to charge differential fees for different types of data traffic.
This will, quite simply, be the end of the internet as we know it, turning it into a network that works much more like the cellphone network, slow to innovate, hostile to its users, extracting profits through artificial barriers rather than true value creation.Barack Obama supports net neutrality"
I encourage you to read O'Reilly's endorsement.
Tim O'Reilly is known for coining the term Web 2.0. He is a writer and leader in the open source movement. You can read his thoughtful and detailed endorsement of Obama here:
27. a Climate Change
I was always planning on writing about climate change but O'Reilly says it best so I will simply quote him without my own pontificating:
"the most urgent case for the election of Barack Obama was made by John McCain. Despite being an early and thoughtful advocate on the threat of global warming, he lost all credibility with his selection of Governor Palin as his running mate. We can not afford to take the risk of a Vice-President (especially for a candidate as old as McCain) who is scornful of science, denies human involvement in creating climate change, and is completely unprepared to tackle this most urgent of problems. If scientists are right, we have to act now. Every year counts. There is no "do over" on this issue."
The preponderance of scientists agree that climate change is a problem. Even the Bush administration has acknowledged the need to address warming.
O'Reilly also writes, "Climate change and energy policy can no longer be dictated by "politically possible" but must be dictated by "technically necessary." NASA's James Hansen has recently argued that an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 350 ppm looks to be the safe bet climate wise for humanity. We are already at more than 380 ppm!" You can read a pdf of Hanson's paper embedded within O'Reilly's endorsement.
27. b. Net Neutrality
I really hadn't thought about the candidates position on this issue until I read O'Reilly.
Net neutrality is a principle that endorses the free and open internet. It is not about free connections rather it is concerned with preventing ISPs from "blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination." (definition from SaveTheInternet.com) If you appreciate access to any Web site, whenever you wish- at the fastest speed- whether it's Amazon or your sister's family reunion site, if you like using any service- from online video to podcasts and sending instant messages- without paying extra fees to the telephone or cable company that provides you with Internet service then you support New Neutrality. .
Here is what O'Reilly says,
"I love the internet. It's been one of the most fertile grounds for technological innovation, wealth creation, and social change that our country has seen in my lifetime. I believe passionately in the "small pieces loosely joined" model that allows anyone to invent a compelling new service, find other people to use it, and grow a business without having to ask anyone's permission.
It's essential that we preserve the architecture of the internet.
Under the guise of free market experimentation, big companies with monopoly positions in local markets are asking us to change the fundamental rules that have served the internet so well. They want to be able to charge differential fees for different types of data traffic.
This will, quite simply, be the end of the internet as we know it, turning it into a network that works much more like the cellphone network, slow to innovate, hostile to its users, extracting profits through artificial barriers rather than true value creation.Barack Obama supports net neutrality"
I encourage you to read O'Reilly's endorsement.
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