Passionate Progressive Patriot

Greatness could arrive on High Speed Rail: Silver Pen Award to Bruce McF for Great Writing and Ideas

2011-04-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.progressiveblue.com/diary/6052/sunday-train-american-greatness-and-high-speed-rail

Bruce McF continues to write with utmost passion and conviction on how high speed rail could spell out greatness for America.

His has been a steady beacon of light on the subject and he deserves praise and recognition for his research and development of such an important theme to America's future.

How can we get the policy makers to listen up? If only we could!

How to deal with the right tilting Center: Empathy. Responsibility and Excellence

2011-01-28T00:17:00.000-08:00

"George Lakoff, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley" (Common Dreams) still provides the kind of language and concepts for Progressive Persuasion.

It's just amazing that the same advice we needed in 2004, in the aftermath of the 2004 election, with all its anomalies and questionable results, and politics of distortion, we are now getting from George Lakoff, once again, in the aftermath of the Tea Party's influence on the last election and, perhaps even worse, that of the impact of Citizens United on our electoral process and rightward trending. See Common Dreams, "The “New Centrism” and Its Discontents"
by George Lakoff http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/25-0

To George Lakoff, of Rockridge Institute fame and author of "Don't Think of an Elephant", language does matter, and when Progressives package themselves as Conservatives they hand victory to the right. Heed, George Lakoff, we should!

"...progressives have to organize around a single morality, centered on empathy, both personal and social responsibility, and excellence - being the best person you can be, not just for your own sake, but for the sake of you family, community, and nation. All politics is moral; it is about the right things to do. Get your morality straight, learn to talk about it, then work on policy. It is patriotic to be progressive."

His advice is quite similar to that of the Network for Spiritual Progressives and Rabbi Michael Lerner (The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right ) See http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/

OK, so let's stay focused and never give up on ourselves, passionate progressive patriots that we are, as a counterweight to the rightward tilt in this country. Not to despair!! Focus on: empathy, both personal and social responsibility, and excellence Back to language and conceptual basics, under the tutelage of thinkers like George Lakoff and Rabbi Michael Lerner.

Santa Clara County: OHR and HRC collaborate on major report on immigration

2010-12-29T00:03:00.000-08:00

I am reprinting here the entire Santa Clara County Office of Human Relations and Human Relations Commission collaborative report, “Immigrant Voices; a Public Forum on Immigration”, for the sake of promoting justice through better education on the subject of immigration. Through widespread education on the facts regarding immigration, hopefully reason can overcome fear and hysteria on this most vital subject facing our Country. Our sense of morality and humanness as a society is at stake, and we can not allow the forces of irrational prejudice and disdain to prevail. Karita Hummer

In an Email to me today from these two offices, introducing this report, their introduction is utterly eloquent:

This report is a compilation of testimony presented by experts, community leaders, the general public and immigrants regarding the impact of immigration in Santa Clara County.
At the time the dialogue took place (2007) there was a tremendous amount of congressional and local debate on immigration policy in the US. Three years later, in 2010, we are again in heated national discussion about immigration and escalating racial tension. As we evaluate the current state laws that are being passed, (e.g. Arizona) and as we listen to the pundits frame the discussion, we must not forget that we are talking about human beings that live and work in our community.

OHR and HRC deserve our gratitude for shedding so much light on immigration in Santa Clara Valley.

“Immigrant Voices; a Public Forum on Immigration”, December, 2010, OHR and HRC, Santa Clara County, compiled from a Public forum

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD………………………………………………….Page 2

INTRODUCTION…………………..…………………...... Page 3

EXPERT TESTIMONY…………………………………… Page 4

PUBLIC TESTIMONY…………………………………....Page 9

1. Family Re-Unification………………………….... Page 9

2. Immigrant Workers……………………………… Page 10

3. Legalization/Undocumented Immigrants………. Page 11

4. Immigrant Youth and Students…………………. Page 13

5. Other Areas of Concern………………………….. Page 14

CONCLUSION…………………………………………….. Page 15

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION……………………….Page 16

METHODOLOGY………………………………………….Page 16

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION………………………Page 16

INFO ON OFFICE OF HUMAN RELATIONS…………...Page 17

RECOGNITION………………………………………...Back Cover

FOREWARD

Nearly three years ago, the Human Relations Commission, the Office of Human Relations and the community came together to dialogue about the impact of immigration in Santa Clara County. This forum came together during a time of community and congressional debate on immigration policy. What makes this report still relevant is that three years later, in 2010, we are again in heated national discussion regard-ing immigration. As we evaluate the current state laws that are being passed, (e.g. Arizona) and as we listen to the pundits frame the discussion, we must not forget that we are talking about real live individuals and families that live and work in our community.

We also need to keep in mind that a discussion on the issue of immigration does not need to be framed in the context of fear, hate, and/or race. Rather, it should be framed in the context of human rights, work force needs, aging population and global economy. For the past three decades Silicon Valley has been an important U.S. gate way into the global economy. A conversation on immigration as it relates to Santa Clara County must take place in the context of our future economy, technology and innovative environ-ment. In this valley where over 50% of the population speaks a language other than English at home, diversity and human innovation is what makes Santa Clara County unique in the future of human relations as it pertains to the construct of the American ideals of justice and equality.

The purpose of this public forum was multifaceted: to recognize the presence of these diverse communi-ties, to gather expert and public testimony to better understand the impacts and issues involved and to begin a dialogue to formulate strategies to address the challenges of immigrants in Silicon Valley, where 60% of all families are immigrant families.

On July 17 2007, community members voiced their struggles, concerns and hopes for a better future. Whether these individuals gave testimony anonymously, behind a curtain, or in front of an audience of 300 people, these County residents spoke to the impact of immigration on their lives. Their testimony brought to light the socially constructed experience of immigration.
It is the hope of the Human Relations Commission and the Office of Human Relations that the voices in this report will influence policy makers and community members to explore a more constructive dialogue within the context of immigration and the social and economic realities of our community.
Teresa Castellanos
Coordinator
Immigrant Relations & Integration Services
Office of Human Relation
4
“Over the course of United States
history
immigrants have played
important roles in the
develop-ment of a land of
opportunity often by-passing their own dreams and
aspirations for the benefit of the greater good”
Julia E. Curry
Rodriguez, Ph.D.,
SJSU
Immigrant Voices:
A Public Forum on Immigration
Introduction

The immigration debate has become a polarizing issue in this country. The matter of immigration is of particular importance to Santa Clara County due to the composition of its population. At present, over 35% of County residents, nearly 600,000 individuals, are foreign born. If you add in the U.S. born children of these immigrants, at least two thirds of Santa Clara County residents are directly impacted by immigration. In addition, Santa Clara County is in the top 1% of counties in the entire United States with regards to immigrant diversity. (see section on “Demographics”). It was in particular response to issues surrounding this controversy and its tremendous impact to the residents of Santa Clara County that the Human Relations Commission (HRC) decided to hold a public forum.

On July 17th, 2007 the HRC, in partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Human Relation’s Immigrant Relations and Integration Services program (IRIS), convened “Immigrant Voices: A Public Forum on Immigration”. The primary goals of the forum were to give voice to the concerns and perspectives of the community and to provide the Commission and policy makers with a broader understanding of the impact of current immigration policy on the lives of the residents of Silicon Valley.

The HRC convened over 300 individuals who brought diverse perspectives to this community dialogue on immigration. The forum was open to testimony from all interested county residents. A number of strategies were incorporated in the organizing of the forum in an effort to encourage and facilitate broad community participation and to address the fears of local immigrants in making their opinions known. The forum was held at a community based site, participants were allowed the choice of various methods for giving their testimony and simultaneous language translation was provided in Spanish and Vietnamese (see section under “Methodology” for more information).

In this report you will find selected highlights of the forty-nine testimonies that were given orally an/or in writing. They included presentations from experts, politicians, individuals, recognized immigrant leaders, business owners, union leaders, service providers from the non-profit sector, undocumented workers, students, parents, and even a known member of a regional chapter of the Minutemen.

Given the impact that this issue has on all the residents of Santa Clara County, it is the intent of the Human Relations Commission to set forth recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors regarding policy and legislation on immigration
reform in the future.

We thank the many members of the community who came forward to give their heart-felt testimony and expertise regarding this very important community concern.
5

Expert Testimony
In order to familiarize the Human Relations Commissioners with the basic components and issues, ten experts responded to a call for presentations on the following four basic aspects of the immigration debate, which included:

1. Family Unification 3. Legalization/Undocumented Immigrants
2. Immigrant Workers 4. Immigrant Youth and Students

These four categories were developed to help individuals to better understand the complexity of the issues involved. However, the reality is that immigrant families face multiple layers of difficulties related to their immigration status and specific situations created by the immigrant experience.

In addition to these four themes, expert testimony was opened with a legislative update and ended with testimony regarding a framework for comprehensive immigration reform. The following 10 expert speakers gave their testimony before the HRC during the forum and also responded to questions by members of the Commission.

Mike Nguyen and Cindy Avitia, representing Congress members Mike Honda and
Zoe Lofgren respectively, introduced the expert testimony with a legislative update. Nguyen highlighted Honda’s partnering with Lofgren to co-sponsor the DREAM Act (see section on Youth Issues). Avitia explained that although the avenues towards comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 were exhausted, parts of the reform could still be enacted by passing separate pieces of legislation and/or by combining different laws. Examples included the DREAM Act, AgJobs and H1B Visas.

Dr Bill Ong Hing, Professor of Law and Asian American Studies at UC Davis
discussed the affects of a shift from family based immigration to a merit point based system”. Dr. Hing provided the Commission with the first substantial theme of family based immigration policy and expressed concern over the push to shift policy towards a point based system. Dr. Hing noted that immigration policy has historically revolved around family unification. He noted that in 2006 63% of immigrant visas were given to relatives of United States citizens or legal permanent residents. However, in 2007 policy discussions shifted to granting visas based on a merit point system, instead of family preference. According to Dr. Hing the proposed point system was an attempt to gauge a potential immigrant's economic viability. Factors such as education, English speaking ability, and job skills would determine who would receive visas. Dr. Hing contended that such a change would drastically alter the face of immigration and would be a complete reversal of past immigration policy. He further stated that this kind of a system would likely disfavor Asians and Latinos, who currently dominate the family visa categories. Dr. Hing contended that not only would a point system be an attack on family values and the working class, but would also create a false dichotomy between family based immigration and worker based immigration.

He further stated that immigrants who come to the United States based on family preferences are economically more productive, particularly since siblings and adult offspring tend to begin working immediately upon their arrival. In addition, family networks tend to provide important emotional and economic support to their newly arriving family members. Many employers have decried a purely points based system since it strips them of their rights and autonomy to recruit qualified employees. Countries that utilize a merit point based system v/s industry needs to determine immigration, such as Canada and Australia, have found themselves with a large surplus of highly
“Please Don’t close the doors for family based immigration….Keep the American Dream alive.” Maile Ho, Community Activist
6
educated immigrants who are unable to find jobs due to too much competition.
Mike Garcia, President of SEIU Local 1877 spoke on the issue of unskilled labor. Garcia explained how the service sector economy, which relies heavily on immigrant labor, is one of the fastest growing industries in California in response to the high demand of emerging high tech businesses. Garcia stated:

“While there is a large push by corporations and high tech firms to increase the number of H1-B visas for skilled labor, comprehensive immigration reform must also address the issue of low wage service workers in order to meet the needs of a growing economy.”

In addition to this growing need, Garcia cited the exploitation that current immigrant workers face. The employer abuses he cited included paying employees off the books in cash, not paying payroll taxes, paying poverty wages, not paying them at all, not paying workers compensation, and not providing health coverage. Garcia further stated:

“As long as our immigration laws fail to recognize the reality of this new economy, workers will continue to be exploited and live in the shadows of our economy. Coupled with these abuses is the use of fear; employers will use an employee’s immigration status as a means to dissuade them from asserting their rights. This fear, is based on the reality that ICE targets immigrant worker and even unions, seeking to limit their voices.”

Garcia outlined what he would support with regards to immigration reform. Specifically, reform should include strong worker protections that allow immigrants to work legally. This would help put an end to company policies that exploit immigrant workers. He also felt that these efforts must be coupled with an eventual path towards permanent residency and citizenship. Garcia stated that he would support initiatives such as AgJobs, an expanded H1-B visa program, and guest worker programs for unskilled labor, contingent upon the previously mentioned protections and a path to permanent residency.

Farrukh Shah Khan’s, Executive Producer of WBT-T.V., provided testimony that focused on issues concerning skilled immigrant labor. Reflecting upon his own experience as an immigrant, Khan described the many barriers he had to maneuver in order to gain legal residency. A system that he stated has become more difficult for today’s immigrants. Seeing the attraction of skilled labor as a worldwide competition, Shan Khan believes that the United States is losing its competitive edge due to the bureaucratic difficulties faced by immigrants. Several of the difficulties he cited were: travel, home purchase, long waits to adjust immigration status, and the years it takes to sponsor family members.

Immigrant Youth and Immigrant Student Concerns

Francisco Alvarado of SJSU Student Advocates for High Education (SAHE) testified regarding the struggles faced by undocumented students and advocated for passage of the 2007 Dream Act.

“Silicon Valley is a place of hope and opportunity, and yet there are thousands of immigrant workers who have no access to the American dream.
The gap between the high-tech economy and the low wage services economy is growing and janitors represent that expand-ing divide, taking home only about $1,600 per month.
Mike Garcia
President,
SEIU Local 1877
7
According to Alvarado, many students are forced to abandon their studies in order to help financially support their families. Those who are able to continue with their studies often work many odd jobs to pay their own way since they are not eligible for financial aid. The difficulty of going to work in the day and taking classes in the evening is only compounded by the fact that they cannot obtain a driver’s license. Even outside their studies, undocumented students are at a disadvantage. Alvarado also noted that paid internships are only given to students with legal status causing undocumented students to miss out on essential paid learning experiences that can improve their prospects for future employment. Alvarado stated that placing these students at a disadvantage even before they graduate, causes the entire community to suffer the loss of their potential contributions.

Arturo Ocampo, Director of Equal Employment Opportunities for San Jose Evergreen Community College District also gave his own examples of the struggles his students face. He cited one case where a brother and sister were brought to the United States as children and who consider the United States their only home. Tragically, both of their parents died and they were raised by family members. Despite these hardships, they succeeded in school and were accepted to Harvard and Yale. Unable to receive financial aid, the brother gave up his dream for a higher education and now works as a truck driver in order to support his sister at Yale even though she will have no guarantee of economic security.

Ocampo further commented that such examples are not rare and he drew attention to the 2007 Dream Act which would address these kinds of situations. The 2007 Dream Act would repeal section 505 that limits the state’s ability to provide post secondary educational benefits based on residency. Under the 2007 Dream Act undocumented students are allowed to apply for student loans and work-study aid. Following the completion of college or military service, these youth would be eligible for eventual United States citizenship. In addition, they would have to meet eligibility requirements that include: arriving to the United States before the age of 16, residing in the United States for at least 5 years, graduating from high school or obtain a GED in the United States , and being of good moral standing. In addition to the national proposal, Ocampo also urged the Commission to support Assemblyman Gil Cedillo’s 2007 bill SB160 which was the state version of the Dream Act.

Robert Yabes, Immigration Counselor, Catholic Charities gave testimony illuminating the current predicament faced by undocumented immigrants. He estimated that there were at that time 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and that they often risk multiple trips to and from their birth country in order to reunite with their families. “Without legal authorization to work, undocumented immigrants will work primarily in the fields of construction, agriculture, cleaning services, and food industries. They will often be exploited and paid below minimum wage standards with an average family income of $25,000 or 70% less than the average documented American family. The long waits for permanent residency have created families of mixed immigration status. In addition, he stated: “ People should be asked to pay reasonable fees to process their applications. They should not have to jeopardize their families’ health and safety by having to pay excessive fees and fines.”
Yabes also noted that in 2007 ICE arrested over one hundred individuals in the Bay Area. “While ICE has characterized these individuals as criminals and gang bangers, in reality, only 18 of those arrested had previous criminal convictions. The majority of ICE sweeps arrest hard working men and women who have United States born children.” He also noted that there is an increasing mistrust of local law enforcement in immigrant communities because immigrants fear they are cooperating with ice since they are perceived as one in the same.

“The level of success in a country depends upon the education of its people, and we are a part of these people!” Emmanuel
8
Lynette Parker, Immigration Attorney, Katherine and George Alexander Community Law Center testified that:
“Undocumented immigrants are not only single men who arrive for reasons of employment; many are spouses, children, and siblings of permanent residents and United States citizens who are on 10 to 12 year waiting lists for an available immigrant visa. In addition, there has been a recent increase in unaccompanied minors fleeing violence to reunite with their families in the United States.”

Parker stated that there is an omnipresent fear of exposure in immigrant communities:
“For many reasons there is an overriding fear of the inability to provide for the needs of one’s family. Undocumented immigrants will forego medical treatment or social services for themselves or for their children because leaving one’s home to go to an agency opens one to questions.”

Parker also noted that immediately after the ICE raids began in 2007 there was a drop in the number of clients seeking help at the legal clinic she supervises.
“These ICE raids have created an environment in which children are not sure that after a day at school their parents will be there to pick them up.”

Parker outlined her legislative suggestions as they related to legalization. She commented that legalization should be centered on family unification rather than merely providing legal status to single individuals:

“Because the waiting period for permanent residency has created mixed status families and creates fear of separation, the processing times and waiting periods should be minimal. Immigrants in this process should not be trapped in in jobs or in marriages or in one immigration status. Instead they should have opportunity to obtain legal status through another avenue if other possibilities become available. This process should allow immigrants to legally work while processing their legal status which should occur while in the United States to avoid disruption to family and work life.” Parker urged that the process be as humanitarian as possible, taking into account the realities of life.

Judy Golub, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center,
was the last to provide expert testimony. Ms. Golub provided a workable framework for comprehensive immigration reform. She saw the existing system as dysfunctional for separating families, not serving the interests of American businesses, and wasting resources. Golub proposed reform in the following areas: legalization, reduction of family backlog, due process protections, a new worker program, worker rights, enforcement, and partnering closely with countries that have a high number of immigrants coming to the United States. She stated that:
“Successful reform mandates expansive earned legalization provisions that would make eligible the largest number of undocumented persons. Successful reform would also include the 2007 DREAM Act and AgJobs.”. As previously explained, the 2007 DREAM Act would allow eligible students to adjust their status to that of legal permanent residents and would return to states the discretion to charge in-state tuition rates.

“I have lived in the US for 17 years. My status is still in limbo. My children are fearful. They go into shock when they see an immigration raid.”
Olivia , Immigrant Mother

“In addition to contributing heavily to the U.S. economy and paying taxes through Individual Tax Identification numbers (ITIN), undocumented immigrants also pay into Social Security and the Medicare program, yet they cannot receive the benefits. This leaves many of them uninsured.” Lynette Parker, Immigration Attorney
9
She stated that “Successful reform mandates expansive earned legalization provisions that would make eligible the largest number of undocumented persons. Successful reform would also include the DREAM Act and AgJobs.”

As previously explained, the 2007 DREAM Act would allow eligible students to adjust their status to that of legal permanent residents and would allow states the discretion to change in-state college tuition rates.

Golub also stated:
“AgJobs would legalize agricultural workers and offer needed reforms to the H-2A program. Cur-rently citizens and legal resides face lengthy wait periods for family members to receive visas, sometimes waiting as long as twenty years. A pro-family nation must eliminate the family backlog and increase the number of visas available to reunite families.”
Golub spoke in support of a new worker program that would legalize the flow of future migration and meet labor market needs:
“There is a need for workers in the economy, especially in the service and high-tech sectors: health care, construction, and the hospitality industry as well as in the more skilled occupations. New worker programs reflect the fact that some workers do not seek to reside permanently in the U.S., while others do. Any new worker program must contain protections including: portability of visas so that workers can change jobs; the right to join unions and have full labor rights; the right to bring their families with them; and the ability to self-petition for permanent residency and citizenship. In addition to this new worker program, there must be vigorous enforcement of labor and civil rights laws. Local, state and federal labor and civil rights laws, must protect all workers, regardless of their immigration status. Immigration enforcement also must complement rather than undermine the enforcement of labor and employment laws.”
Golub then focused on enforcement, which she believes to be a vital component of immigration re-form after just and equitable policies are in place:
“The most effective way to ensure that U.S. laws are enforced is to have laws that are workable and reflect the needs of American families, the economy and international obligations. These laws also must be humanely enforced and reflect a commitment to the American system of justice with regard to due process and civil liberty protections. Continued enforcement of dysfunctional laws will lead to more dysfunction, not more enforcement. Such dysfunction is especially apparent at our nation’s borders. Decades of increased border enforcement policies have not stopped the flow of undocu-mented immigration while benefiting smugglers, offering a competitive advantage to unscrupulous employers, and wreaking havoc in border communities.”
Golub also stated: “There is a significant need for reforming immigration laws so that there are legal avenues for people to enter and exit the U.S.; human rights training for Border Patrol agents; im-proving infrastructure at ports-of-entry; ending the use of military personnel to carry out border en-forcement operations; strictly prohibiting local law enforcement from enforcing immigration law; forming citizen oversight committees to ensure community input at all levels of border enforcement practice and policy; and developing clear complaint response procedures within the Border Patrol.”

In closing, Golub stated that successful immigration policy should neither begin nor end at the bor-ders but instead should address the realities of global policies as well as domestic considerations.

A pro-family nation must eliminate the family backlog and increase the number of visas available to reunite immigrant families. Judy Golub, Agency Director
“The U.S. government needs to work closely with other countries to consider the impact of U.S. foreign economic trade, civil and human rights and other policies that affect the immigration of People. “ Judy Golub, Agency Director
10
Public Testimony
Following a 30-minute intercession, public testimony began promptly at 6:30PM. Commissioners allotted 3 minutes to each member of the public, and 5 minutes if the individual was representing an organization. Given that the forum was designed to understand and address the issues of immigrants, testimony could be given in front of the commission or behind a curtain to allow anonymity and confidentiality. Translation services in Spanish and Vietnamese were available.

The evening’s testimony reinforced the aforementioned four topics:
1. Family Unification 2. Immigrant Workers
3. Earned Legalization. 4. Immigrant Youth and Students
In the 2.5 hour period, 51 individuals registered to speak, and of these, 43 eventually gave their verbal testimony and 6 submitted written testimony. Reasons for not coming forth may have included fear or inability to wait for their allotted turn.

The demand to give public testimony was so high, that the Commission, in order to accommodate all speakers, was forced to limit testimony to two minutes during the last hour. Despite the high demand to speak, no one was denied the opportunity to give testimony to the Commission, since they had the option to provide written testimony in addition to or in lieu of verbal testimony.

1. Family Unification

Of the public testimony received, eight individuals addressed the need to have immigration center around the family. Three of these testimonies in particular centered on the difficulties faced by families of mixed immigration status, such as: families who are constituted of individuals with different immigration status.

Highlighted in many of the testimonies was the fear of deportation separating families. One such example was given by Oliva, an immigrant mother:
“I have lived in the US for 17 years. My status is still in limbo. My children are fearful. They go into shock when they see an immigration raid.”

Another example of family separation was given by Shirley Lin Kinoshita:

“My family’s history (the Lumas family) in the United States dates back 150 years to the rice farmers in Hawaii. Both my great grandfather and grandfather worked there and then returned to China to raise families and live out their lives. They never returned to America. But my father stayed and became a United States Citizen in 1958.”
Families with children of differing immigration status also face the reality that one child can move on in their education while the other cannot. The testimonies that addressed this particular issue gave broad support for family based immigration.
Labor and the business community spoke of the need to allow those with temporary work visas to be able to sponsor their family members. Additionally, this topic was particularly important to the Asian and Latino communities.
“We are not just workers: we are parents, church members, soccer moms and dads striving for a
better life with
more opportuni-ties.”

Mike Garcia
President, SEIU 1877
“Some immgrant children in our program must have emergency plans in case their parents are detained by ICE. This causes the children a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety.
Imagine what it is like for children. Families are pre-paring for raids and detention. I feel the anxiety and fear of the families and the children who are our clients.”
Agency Service Provider
11
Richard Konda, Executive Director of the Asian Law Alliance stated :
“There are approximately 50,000 undocumented Asians in Santa Clara County. We need a clear and humane path to citizenship that is non-discriminatory, that holds families together and a shorter process.”
Anne Im from Asian Americans for Community Involvement reinforced this statement by stating:
“Media often portrays immigration as a Latino issue. It is not. It is a community issue.” She also stated that there are over 1.5 million Asian Americans waiting to re-unite with their families. They sometimes must wait for up to 23 years for reunifica-tion. She also noted that there is an estimated 1 million-plus Asian Americans in the US that are undocumented.
It should be noted that while many specifically asked the Commission to support fam-ily based immigration, no testimony was given in support of the point based system. Supporting Dr Hing’s example of professionals being unable to find work if a point based system were to be put into place was the testimony of a woman who gave an ex-ample of one of her clients who is a doctor who could not find work and was ulti-mately forced into living in a homeless shelter.
There were no testimonies given in support of shifting immigration policy away from families. In addition, several testimonies advocated for streamlined and expedited ways to sponsor family members, a process which currently takes years. Professor Desai testified that:
“Indo-American community is family oriented. They are not happy if they cannot reunite with their families. Silicon Valley’s [economic] development depends on these families.”
Three individuals spoke to the inability of many immigrants to leave the country, even for family emergencies, without risking their status. One woman conveyed how she was unable to go see her dying mother because she would loose her immigration status if she left the country:
“On July 2nd my mother passed away and I could not go to her funeral or I would lose my immigration status. Please urge our political representatives to do something about this.”
Her brother testified: “I am a professor and attorney in Mexico. I don’t want to criti-cize. I understand there are political complexities involved, but immigration laws need to be more humane. In Mexico, even prisoners are allowed to leave jail to attend a funeral when a close relative dies. I can’t believe that my sister could not go to see our mother before she died. Please address the humanity of people. Regard-less of where you come from, pain is felt just the same.”
“Undocumented immi-grants are not only single men.. many are spouses,
children, and
siblings of
permanent
residents and United States citizens who are on 10 to 12 year wait-ing lists for an available immigrant visa.

Recently there has been an increase in
unaccompa-nied minors fleeing violence to reunite with their families in the United States.
Lynette Parker,
Immigration Attorney
“The media often portrays immigration as a Latino issue. It is not. It is a community issue.”
Ann Im, AACI
12
.
“We are not a threat. We are an asset to this Country”
Speaker #39
“Immigrants contribute $162 billion in tax reve-nue annually and they contribute more annu-ally to Social Security that the average U.S. born household.
They also create tens of thousands of jobs in Santa Clara County through their small and large
businesses.”
Speaker #10
2. Immigrant Workers
Agreeing with the sentiments of the expert testimony, 11 of the 49 testimonies given addressed the theme of immigrant labor. Specifically, four individuals gave support for expanding temporary work visas programs with mention of support for unskilled and skilled labor and increased labor protections. A member of a union, outlined the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council’s principles on visa reform; a clear road toward citizenship for immigrant workers, the ability to unify families of immigrant workers, full workplace protections, and allowing the status of a person’s visa to be independent of the employer.
The ability to sponsor family members, was echoed by another testimony from the Indo-American community. Only one testimony came out against expanding worker visa pro-grams of any kind, believing that such visas are outsourcing in disguise and that they serve to depress wages.

Several testimonies detailed the many economic contributions of immigrants. One speaker stated that:
“Immigrants contribute $162 billion in tax revenue annually and they contribute more annually to social security than the average U.S.- born household. They also create tens of thousands of jobs in Santa Clara County through their small and large businesses.”
It was also noted that in the year 2000 Chinese and Indian owned businesses generated $19.5 billion in sales revenue and 73,000 jobs in Silicon Valley, and they generated a net benefit of $10 billion annually in the U. S.

Fred Hirsch, a union activist stated:
“I am a participant in the labor movement and we are actively fighting for immigrant rights. Our principles are: legalization, a road to citizenship, family reunification, pro-tection for all workers, and civil liberties for all. We oppose guest worker programs if they deny workers the ability to change jobs, are denied labor rights and it hey cannot change their immigration status.”
Another witness noted that immigrants do integrate into American society and that within ten years of arrival 75% speak English well.
In general, much of the public testimony reiterated the sense of fear and exploitation in the immigrant community. Two individuals chronicled fear of applying for jobs. In one case a witness testified that due to his immigration status he was fearful of going to a scheduled interview for a well paying job. Another person spoke of feelings exploited because she had to work without vacation or sick leave. Since she was the sole provider for family, she could not afford to miss a day of work.
One testimony highlighted the wave of 2007 regulations and post 9/11 hysteria that im-pacted immigrants with and without documents. There was specific testimony that addressed the challenges facing Filipinos, particularly mass firings, unjust removal, deten-tion and deportation for failure to pay taxes.
“The Indo-American community is family oriented. They are not happy if they cannot reunite their families. Silicon Valley development depends on these families.” Professor Desai
13
The speaker also noted that the Aviation and Transportation Act of 2001 led to the firing of 1,000 Filipino airport workers in Bay Area airports and the deportation of green card holding immigrants for past convictions that prior to 9/11 had not been grounds for deportation.
3. Earned Legalization
The theme of “earned legalization” pervaded most testimony and manifested itself in the form of fear for loved ones who are undocumented, lack of documents, the lack of rights that citizen’s have, and a lack of services. Of the three that specifically addressed the issue of legalization, all were in favor of a path towards citizenship, particularly a process that would expedite family reunification.
Without legal status comes the inaccessibility to important documents, e.g.: Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses. Reflecting the concerns of Yabes and Parker, twelve of the testimonies touched upon the growing fear among immigrant communi-ties, specifically those without documents.
Two men spoke on their fear of local police because they cooperate with ICE. One of these men was currently driving with a soon to be expired driver’s license and who would be unable to renew it. He drives even more cautiously, afraid of being stopped for any reason. The second man spoke of his fear of paying a traffic ticket for a minor traffic violation, unsure as to whether or not local police will report him to ICE.
A third man spoke from behind the curtain stressing that he was not able to show his face because he applied for amnesty and did not qualify—his application was 20 days late.
Lynette Parker testified that: “ICE will often wear uniforms with the word “Police” or call themselves police when identifying themselves and therefore adding to the confu-sion in the community.”
An anonymous man stated; “This is not about me; it is about mothers with children
who don’t have money for transportation and have to walk long miles with their chil-dren in strollers. They don’t have driver’s licenses. I ask HRC to do something for these people.”
One service provider stated: “I am a community health advocate for Santa Clara County and for the transgender community. Of my 35 clients, 25 are immigrants and 17 of these are undocumented. They live in fear of deportation. I am very concerned for their safety and well-being.”
Seven individuals testified that the inability to obtain a driver’s license limited their employment opportunities or made attending school more difficult. Another four
testified on how the lack of a social security number was a barrier for their education.
Another four testimonies addressed the difficulty of petitioning for legal status and the ambiguity involved.
Three individuals testified that they were in limbo with regards to their applications for citizenship with one female student petitioning under the Violence Against Women Act. Another must return to his home country before he can continue his citizenship process, which has caused family much hardship. Six of the testimonies pointed out that there are a variety of services and financial benefits that immigrants cannot receive even though they pay taxes and contribute to social security.
“I urge the government to reform laws and to re-unite immigrant families…
Protect human rights, create stable relationships with others.
My recom-mendation is to restore
humane
policies.”
Speaker 9
“This is not about me; it is about mothers with children
who don’t have money for transpor-tation and have to walk long miles with their children in strollers. They don’t have driver’s licenses. I ask HRC to do something for these
people.”
Speaker # 23
14
These benefits range from the lack of income tax credit to requiring proof of U.S. citizenship in order to volunteer for Parks and Recreation programs.
One service provider from the County’s Health and Human Services Department that 2007 federal spending guidelines do not allow the use of any federal funds for providing health care to anyone who is not a documented U.S. citizen or legal resident. “This is a public health concern as children go without immunizations and women do not have access to prenatal care and this can turn routine medical issues into medical emergencies.”
This same speaker also noted a greater need for cultural awareness of the clinical
aspects of culture as they relate to improving the health of immigrant populations.
Testimony from an employee of the County’s Department of Mental Health also noted similar concerns. According to the testimony:
“ The County’s budget for mental health services was recently cut in half necessitating that services be limited to those mandated by law. This will end services to those who are not Medical recipients, including many immigrant and all undocumented immigrants. This distinction of legal status has not been made before and will have detrimental affects on the entire community by not providing care to those with mental illness.”
Other testimonies called for greater resources for immigrant services and for expanded citizenship programs.
4. Undocumented Youth and Students
Of all the topics brought up by public testimony during the forum, the topic of higher education for undocumented immigrant students and the 2007 DREAM Act drew the most support (15 of 49 testimonies). Testimonies of this nature were particularly strong from the Latino community. The 2007 DREAM Act was highlighted during the forum by a “mock graduation,” led by a San Jose State University professor and nine students from local colleges. The testimonies included 6 undocumented students whose stories, though unique, shared the same struggles of funding their own education and coming to terms with the possible irrelevance of their degrees despite their perseverance and years of hard work. According to their testimonies, the hopes and dreams of these students for a higher education and a better life would have to be put on hold.

One member of SAHE testified:
“My name is Karla, I am a student, a daughter, a leader and an aspiring college district chancellor. San Jose has been my home since I was nine years old…I have achieved many accomplishments such as becoming student government president at my college…I am also part of the executive board of a non-profit organization…I earned an AA…I am the first in my family to attend college…I have struggled to keep the motivation to keep going because of my immigration status…You see I am undocumented and because of my legal status my dreams of one day becoming a College District Chancellor many never become a reality.”
“I live in con-stant fear. I live a fear common to anyone who lives on the fringes, a fear that I can be physically attacked for being undocu-mented.

I also fear losing my job and not being able to pay for my education. But most importantly, I fear that one of my family members will get deported. I fear I will be deported… I am certain that my testi-mony is not unique. Many other people have suffered such distress in the past and in the
present.
Lalo,
College
Student
15

© José, “Illegal...I did not find out what that meant until I was in the 7th grade when I wanted to take an intensive math course at SJSU’s Department of Engineering.
I recall my dad telling me that I could not participate in the program because the application required a social security number, and I did not have one.
Without exactly knowing what it actually meant… I sensed that I was marked and that this status made me different from my peers.”
Emanuel, Student

Another SAHE student testified:
I am a SJSU student. I was brought to the U.S. at the age of 7. Now I am 21. I have lived in this country for two thirds of my life. Most of my fondest memories of my childhood are around my family in the U.S. As a child my undocumented status was not a concern to me, but in my senior year I came to the conclusion that my hard work as a student was a waste because my undocumented status would deny me opportunities to attend a top university to continue my education. I am reminded daily of the suffering, the humiliation, as well as the hardship that undocumented students and their families face.”

Two additional student testimonies expressed concern that their immigration status pre-vented them from attending college. Four students mentioned how the high cost of attend-ing school and the lack of financial resources available to them (student loans and work study) forced them to have to quit school and get jobs to help support their families. Another student noted that those who decided to continue their education had very limited
options.
“Even though I made straight A’s in high school I can’t go to a university. There are huge obstacles for me to graduate from college. I won’t be able to get a job. Now what is my fu-ture? I came here as a child due to my parent’s choices. We are a part of the people of the U.S. now.”
Two students mentioned their efforts to enlist in the military in order to gain residency. Only one of them succeeded. Several students sought to emphasize how the loss of educa-tional opportunities or immigrant students was a loss for the community as a whole be-cause it prevents these bright hard-working individuals from fully contributing to society.

Two sisters from the Chumash Tribe testified:
“This is not one person’s struggle but everyone’s. We strive for humanity, equality and so-cial justice. Immigration policy affects us all. It was not too long ago that skin color deter-mined the value of a person. For this generation it is a piece of paper that determines fair treatment. This was not right then and it isn’t right now.”

Professor Julia Curry made the following statement:
“These graduates of Berkeley, Irvine and San Jose State University graduated with de-grees in biology, sociology, education, mathematics, business administration, accounting and more. What do they do upon graduating? They make tacos, pick up grocery carts make cappuccinos, clean houses, lay lawns because they hope for something better in the end. It is not that those jobs are dishonorable; it is that they have learned that there minds and their academic excellence can also take them to a future of success. These students do not only dream, they act for the time when those in power will finally take their efforts into account.”

Additional Testimonies and Concerns

Three testimonies wished to address foreign economic policy as it pertains to the immigra-tion debate, specifically NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Act):
“ Corn from the U.S. is replacing Mexican corn leading to starvations and poverty. The rampant unemployment caused by NAFTA has lead to the need for Mexicans to
immigrate to the United States for survival.”
16
“Keep the United States a
beacon of hope for
immigrants.”
Mylene Madrid,
Community
Activist
“The U.S. has created through its trade
policies the very
conditions that have forced
immigrants off their land and into the U.S.”
Dr. Ann Lopez
Professor,
U.C. Santa Cruz
Dr. Ann Lopez stated:
“NAFTA has caused the unemployment of Mexican laborers in Mexico, and making them indentured slaves in the U.S. The U.S. has created through its trade policies the very
conditions that have forced immigrants off their land and into the U.S. NAFTA
has to be abolished before we can have comprehensive immigration reform.”
Of the 49 testimonies submitted, the overwhelming majority were in support of expanding immigrant rights. There were, however, three testimonies that expressed contrary
opinions. While these three testimonies were in the small minority of sentiments
expressed during the forum, they none the less, reflect common sentiments in the
immigration debate.

One individual gave spoken testimony for which he provided written documentation re-garding the negative economic impact of Indian and Mexican immigrants. He noted that their presence in the U.S. has led to outsourcing and the depression of wages.

Another individual testified regarding his experience of going to the dentist where some of the clients did not speak English and paid only in cash. He felt that these immigrants were not respecting the law and that they have a tendency to resist integrating into the lar-ger society. He commented:
“Immigrants distrust government. Please, we have to teach them respect for the law. What is this country doing? I understand they are going to take over.”
A third individual expressed her frustration because after following the complicated regu-lations in the immigration legalization process, her status is still in limbo. Meanwhile her friends found loopholes and now have their legal status.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) is to ensure that the voices of County residents are heard. On July 17th, 2007 the immigrant community in Santa Clara County bravely stepped forward to let the HRC know its frustrations , their dreams and their analysis of their personal situations in relation to current immigration laws and the community environment in which they must survive.
The Human Relations Commission, the IRIS Program and the Office of Human Relations thank the many members of the community who came forward to give their heart felt and professional expertise regarding this very important community concern.

These testimonies are intended to provide an invaluable resource to the Board of Supervi-sors and the broader community in understanding and in helping to shape services, po-lices and resources to better address immigration issues in Santa Clara County.
17
SANTA CLARA COUNTY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

• According to the 2006 population estimate, SCC has the highest percentage of foreign born residents (36.3%) in the state. LA County is second (36%). San Francisco County is third (35.8%). San Mateo is 5th (34.6%). Monterey County is 7th (30.4). Alameda is 8th (30.3%).
• 55% of SV science and engineering talents were born abroad
• 40% of the regions total workforce is foreign born
According to MediaNet analysis of Census Data
• SCC has the largest population of Hindi speakers in the US
• 2nd largest population of Vietnamese Speakers
• 3rd largest population of Farsi Speakers
• 5th largest population of Chinese speakers
• Spanish remains the most common foreign language in the County
• Over 49% of the population speaks a language other than English at home
METHODOLOGY Of the 49 testimonies taken, 43 were spoken testimonies, and 6 were in written form. 29 testimonies were self identified as immigrants, 16 of whom were undocumented. 26 were male, 21 women and 2 transgender women. Racial composition of those who testified is as follows ( in descending order of representation):
Latino, Asian, White and Native American. 20 of the testimonies were given by individuals representing organizations

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

2007 AgJOBS: The Agricultural Jobs Opportunities Benefits and Security Act (S. 340/H.R. 371) were bills that provided information about the bipartisan labor-management compromise known as “AgJOBS.” It contains two main parts: (1) an “earned legalization” program enabling many undocumented farm workers and H-2A guest workers to earn a temporary “blue card” with the possibility of permanent residency by con-tinuing to work in agriculture and meeting other requirements; and (2) revisions to the existing H-2A tempo-rary foreign agricultural worker program. AgJOBS enjoys bipartisan majority support and is endorsed by a broad spectrum of organizations. Congress is likely to consider the AgJOBS farm worker immigration legisla-tion again in early 2008. A summary is available from the Congressional Research Service website at http://www.opencrs.com
The 2007 D.R.E.A.M. ACT: The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act would pro-vide qualified undocumented high school students, who wish to attend college or serve in the armed forces, an opportunity to obtain a documented status and pursue these goals. The bill, in all incarnations, has never been brought to a floor vote as a stand-alone bill in the House of Representatives. However, on October 24, 2007, the DREAM Act was brought up for debate on the Senate floor, but failed to gain cloture by a 52-44 vote, 8 votes short of overcoming a filibuster. The text of the bill has also been included in various other immigration-related bills, including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Acts of 2006 and 2007. The California Dream Act, SB 160 (Cedillo) was introduced again in 2008 and allows undocumented AB 540 students to apply for community college fee waivers and for fees commensurate with other resident students. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there are over 25,000 undocumented students who graduate every year from high school. These students confront a difficult challenge of financing their college education because they are ineligible for any loans or federal grants and are unable to legally work.
Copyright 2007 Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission
2310 North First Street, Suite 104, San Jose, CA, 95131 PH: (408) 792-2300
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the HRC.
18
THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RELATIONS
is a division of the Office of the County Executive and has long been considered one of the leading govern-ment sponsored organizations of its kind in the nation. OHR has proven itself invaluable in protecting civil and human rights, facilitating peace, fighting against discrimination and in promoting equality and respect for all residents of Santa Clara County.

THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION

advises the County Board of Supervisors on issues that affect the human and civil rights of county residents, advocates for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination, and promotes peace and justice for all resident of Santa Clara County
The Commission consists of 15 community members who are appointed by the County Board of Supervi-sors to represent their respective districts. Each commissioner can serve up to two consecutive three year terms.
To seek appointment to the Human Relations Commission contact the Office of the Clerk of the Board at: (408) 299-4321 OR contact the Director of the Office of Human Relations: (408) 792-2301
IMMIGRANT RELATIONS & INTEGRATION SERVICES (IRIS)
strives to improve the lives of immigrants in Santa Clara County by acknowledging their contributions to our community, fostering immigrant leadership and civic participation, providing education regarding the backgrounds, values and life conditions of immigrants in our community and by providing resources to assist immigrants to achieve U.S. citizenship and to educate the larger community regarding the diversity of our County. These resources include
OTHER IRIS PUBLICATIONS: Knowledge of Immigrant Nationalities (KIN) Immigrant Resources, Responsibilities and Rights Guide Bridging Borders
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION GO TO: www. Immigrantinfo.org
19

Googling Bernie Sanders for President

2010-12-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

Re-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.progressiveblue.com/diary/5879/google-bernie-sanders-for-president

Google, Bernie Sanders for President! (+)

by: Karita Hummer

Sat Dec 11, 2010 at 01:37:02 AM EST

[edit diary]

I was taken by Common Dream's Abby Zimmet's editorial today on Bernie Sanders performance in the Senate. When she called him a mensch in the piece, I figured she meant something good by the term. But just to be sure, I looked up the definition, and this is what I got:

A person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose: "He radiates the kind of fundamental decency that has a name in Yiddish; he's a mensch" (James Atlas).http://www.answers.com/topic/m...

That got me thinking about how great it would be to have a person like him in the White House, and how can we ever get that to happen ...

Well, it wasn't long before I found myself googling, "Bernie Sanders for President", and, yes, it was amazing just how many entries there are. http://www.google.com/search?s...

One that intrigued me was:

ActBlue - Bernie Sanders For President
Join us! So far, 20 supporters have contributed $511.
www.actblue.com/page/bernie http://www.actblue.com/page/be...

Seems like I dreamed of something like this before: in 1968 with Bobby Kennedy (I was even part of a national "draft Bobby" effort, in 1968, collecting signatures for that cause, way back then, in my home town of Pittsburgh, PA., in Market Square and again in 1979, for Teddy. I'm not there yet, but it is intriguing. And, just to send a mersage, I did donate a small contribution at the ACT Blue, Bernie Sanders for President. I figure it doesn't hurt to send a message.

Karita Hummer

Karita Hummer :: Google, Bernie Sanders for President!

American fast track to economic stagnation

2010-12-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

While USA slips behind, China speeds forward.

Re-powering America hould be a no-brainer for citizens who knew America once
as the economic powerhouse that it once was. We should demand no less now.
Americans were once united for the best interests of all, and now we have
descended into a vicious spiral downward of greediness and distortion.

The attention of Americans is being purposefully diverted from raising
all boats for economic well-being to a game of torpedoing and destroying
those who want prosperity for all. In the wake of this tragedy, China sails
(or should I say, speeds) ahead with new energy and high speed rail. They
have their eye on the prize, but we have lost that target.

This saddens us beyond words.

Karita and Paul Hummer
San Jose, CA

Fast tracking backwards

2010-12-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

The Alliance for Climate Protection's latest graphic tells the story in the starkest of terms. Wake up America, wake up!!

Re-powering America hould be a no-brainer for citizens who once knew America once as the economic powerhouse that it once was. We should demand no less now. Americans were once united for the best interests of all, and now we have descended into a vicious spiral downward of greediness and distortion. The attention of Americans is being purposefully diverted from raising all boats for economic well-being to a game of torpedoing and destroying those who want prosperity for all. In the wake of this tragedy, China sails (or should I say, speeds) ahead with new energy and high speed rail. They have their eye on the prize, but we have lost that target.

This is very saddening, quite sicening and most maddening.

Karita M. Hummer

Fast tracking backwards

2010-12-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

The Alliance for Climate Protection's latest graphic tells the story in the starkest of terms!

Why don't Americans get it?

Re-powering America hould be a no-brainer for citizens who once knew America as the economic powerhouse that it once was. We should demand no less now. Americans were once united for the

best interests of all, and now we have descended into a vicious spiral downward of greediness and distortion. The attention of Americans is being purposefully diverted from raising all boats for

economic well-being to a game of torpedoing and destroying those who want prosperity for all. In

the wake of this tragedy, China sails (or should I say, speeds) ahead with new energy and high

speed rail.

They have their eye on the prize, but we have lost that target.

Wake up America, wake up!!!

Karita M. Hummer

Fast track to permanent economic stagnation and recession?

2010-12-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

China is on a fast track to economic gains through renewable energy, while

the United States languishes in diversion and wallows in greed!

Re-powering America should be a no-brainer for citizens who once knew America as the

economic powerhouse that it once was. We should demand no less now. Americans were

once united for the best interests of all, and now we have descended into a vicious spiral

downward of greediness and distortion.

The attention of Americans is being purposefully diverted from raising all boats for economic

well-being to a game of torpedoing and destroying those who want prosperity for all. In the

wake of this tragedy, China sails (or should I say, speeds) ahead with new energy and

high speed rail. They have their eye on the prize, but we have lost the target.

Wake up, America, wake up! Keep your eye on the Prize.

Karita Hummer

Wrongheaded Decision Point

2010-11-08T20:31:00.000-08:00

Despite the United States having ratified the Convention against Torture, Bush defends his "decision point" in authorizing waterboarding

The defense of torture by President Bush during an interview about his new book, Decision Points is utterly appalling. This position of his is both immoral and illegal, under International Law, in so far as the United States ratified the international Convention Against Torture. And neither is the position even pragmatic, as it undermines the taboo against torture by other nations, and reduces our own protections against reprisals and victimization by torture.

Immoral, Illegal and, in the end, not very smart or wise, Bush’s policy eroded international law and human rights protections previously afforded to us all, tainted us as citizens and branded our nation as immoral, unjust, impervious to international law, and simply not very wise. Does that not mark decline of a different sort for our country?

"This is not a speech. Two weeks ago I set aside the speech I prepared. This is a cry from the heart, a lamentation for the loss of this country's goodness and therefore its greatness.", Ted Sorenson, from a "A Time to Weep", Commencement speech at the New School University in New York on May 21, 2004

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/31-8

My Advice to President Obama

2010-11-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Make the White House a school house!

Dear President Obama,

Use the Bully Pulpit to your advantage, Sir. What the American public doesn’t need, is the manipulation of the Republican Party nor the obfuscation of the Democratic Party, but what it does sorely need is education, boldly, courageously, honestly, and passionately delivered. Real facts, real analysis, real explanation. of consequences. You have all the potential to become our Nations’s Great Educator. Bring on the pie charts!

We are in great need for real knowledge to understand and solve our problems. You have all the power to become the Great Educator, for the lasting benefit of our nation..

Karita Hummer

Words of Wisdom from Rabbi Lerner, Credo and Professor Lessig

2010-11-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Lerner has ten new commandments for Progressives, and if we are smart, we will take heed, because the same old way will not work for America, or any place for that matter.

Today, in despair, in response to a question from a friend about how I felt about the election debacle, I wrote these words :

"I feel horrible and really angry that the Supreme Court gave them such a free ride with their decision about corporate personhood political money influence=a person's right to speech. It helped them buy candidate. It is demoralizing, and the only saving grace is that I live in California, but we had losses, too. Senator Rand Paul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????? What is especially disappointing is that the Supreme Court decision was never properly castigated either by Democrats who missed the boat or media, as usual. Now, our Democracy has been bought, and it feels almost too late to do anything about it!

Demoralized and angry and feeling pretty powerless,

Karita"

Then I got these words of wisdom from Rabbi Lerner, and somehow I began to feel better.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-michael-lerner/10-commandments-to-revive_b_777961.html

And this great analysis from Credo:

http://credoaction.com/pages/ten_things.html

I posted the Credo analysis and call to action on Facebook, with this preface of my own:

"I share this, because I love my country and I want it to live up to the social contract, embodied in our Constitution.

Today, I was feeling mournful, because it seemed to me that the forces of greed, narrow-mindedness, and distortion had won in some, quite large, parts of the country, but then Credo sent me some very credible analysis with some antidotes and possible ameliorative actions, that go well beyond the palliative, which we sorely need, in my ever so humble opinion.

Weep no more, consider Credo's Action Plan, and take action.

Karita Hummer"

And, yet more words of wisdom from Professor Lawrence Lessig:

http://www.fixcongressfirst.org/blog/entry/has-the-tyranny-ended/

Take heart, fellow passionate progressive patriots, search for guidance, look deeply for wisdom and endurance to fight the good fight, continuously. i share the links as good antidotes to despair. do you remmber the despair of the 2004 election. This is a lot like that, but we didn't give up then, and we shouldn't do so now. Keep the faith.

Karita Hummer

Fair Elections Act needed now more than ever

2010-10-05T01:04:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court made it possible for our elections and candidates to be bought and sold by corporations. This is a true disgrace, for a country that calls itself democratic. Most sinister, oppressive and demoralizing!!!!!

Karita Hummer

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/04-0

Tom Geohagan's Formula for Democratic Party Success

2010-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Tom Geohagan is a perfectly brilliant writer on politics and I only can wish that leaders in the Democratic Party could think as well, or at least heed his advice.

His formula for Democratic success is a must read, for anyone who cares if populist needs are ever to be enacted in this country. He hits the nail on the head. Sure wish the Party had this kind of back-bone.

Karita Hummer

Entitled,

Ten Things Dems Could Do to Win

Thomas Geoghegan, it can be found in The Nation magazine at:

http://www.thenation.com/article/154607/ten-things-dems-could-do-win

A Tale of Two Municipal Rose Gardens in One City

2010-05-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Civic Spending and Civic Pride in an age of Budget Cuts

In the span of about an hour or so, my husband and I visited two rose gardens here in San Jose, the Municipal Rose Garden in the affluent Rosegarden neighborhood of San Jose and the Heritage Rose Garden, in Guadalupe Gardens, bordering downtown San Jose. Both were abundant in roses and color, and both were delightful and wondrous to behold, in this apparently bumper crop year for roses. . However, the Municipal Rose Garden was utterly pristine, showing the utmost of care and attention, apparently by City Parks workers and community volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood. Despite budget cuts, apparently, the community surrounding the garden had rallied to the cause of keeping this place special for the neighborhood, city and region. As we walked through the Rose Garden, I commented on how there was nary a dead head on a bush and what good care the garden was receiving.

On the other hand, when we landed in the Heritage Rose Garden, though I delighted in the slightly wilder look of the massing of heritage roses, climbing everywhere,, as I looked closer, I could see that this garden was receiving far less attention, apparently the result of fewer gardeners available to tend the garden , from both city and community. These massive bushes, with their beautiful heritage flowers were being degraded by scads of deadheads, that could only ultimately deplete these heritage bushes of their blooms and vitality. So, I ask my fellow citizens of the City of San Jose, how long will it be before the beauty and vitality of our parks will be thoroughly eroded.

There seems to be a civic lesson in all this. Public assets such as parks are for the good and well-being of all of us, and it behooves all of us to support them willingly through our taxes, Tea Partiers, notwithstanding, and good old fashioned community volunteerism. And, yes, tea partiers, please visit our City parks, and ask yourself if they deserve attention as a common asset. Heritage roses are worth preserving for everyone.

Karita Hummer

Municipal Rose Garden, San Jose, CA

Naglee and Dana

San Jose, CA

Guadalupe Gardens, Heritage Rose Garden

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
Spring and Taylor Streets, San Jose, California

Should such beauty be neglected?

I always feel a surge of pride when I visit this Heritage garden as I invariably recall how my Mother, quite elderly at the time, and I helped the day of the initial plsnitng of the gardens.

The beauty and glory of Western Pennsylvania in the Spring!

2010-03-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

Is there any place more beautiful than western Pennsylvania in the Spring?

I went out this sunny spring morning here in California to check on my tulips, beginning to bud.

The cool crisp air of this sunny morning here reminded me of Easter in my hometown of Carnegie, PA

I remembered how every Easter Day, on my way to Church, I would go down a long walkway from our home high on the hill, walking through a pathway of Irises and many other flowers, all decked out in my Easter finery, new every year, a little girl in a finely made dress and coat (navy wool, with a beautiful little cape), a fine straw hat, purchased in a wonderful department store in Pittsburgh, PA with a blue, velvet ribbon (to match the coat), bedecked with flowers, with new patent leather shoes and little purse to match, and, oh yes, always, new, white, gloves.

I felt utterly nostalgic for the beauty and generosity of that time. Grateful to my Mother who did all the beautiful sewing and shopping with me for the occasion, and, of course, to my father who was so admiring, and who made our beautiful home on the hill possible. (It was a lovely Chateauesque mansion we lived in perched high on a hill in Carnegie, PA, where in keeping with Sicilian traditions, my father and his two brothers lived with their families.)

And Easter Sunday was so special in our Italian parish church, gloriously bedecked in Lilies. I felt just like a princess, running home, then, to Easter baskets, filled with hard boiled colored eggs my brother and I had dyed the day before and just a little bit of chocolate (probabbly a Hershey Bar, put in by my Dad.) And to the lamb dinner around the family's beautiful dining room table, with a Sicilian Cassata - all fluff, custard, rum soaked sponge cake and canned fruits -my Mother had prepared for our dessert.

Yes, nostalgic for Easter in Carnegie, PA. and for Western Pennsylvania.

Karita Hummer
This Passionate Progressive Patriot will always be a Pennsylvania girl!

The Socialist Shibboleth, is false at the core, and contrary to the American Social Contract

2010-03-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Crying over the distortion of America!

March 4, 2010

Last night I had a bad dream....., and it went like this: I dreamt the Health Care Reform Bill failed. In the dream, I was lamenting to a friend, a doctor, how a handful of right wing, well-funded, Tea Partiers are determined to tear our Country's progress down, almost in self-destruct mode. (The trigger for the dream must have been something I read in an article by Dave Sirota on the unimaginable nerve of Glenn Beck declaring his hatred for the word, “community” at the infamous Tea Party Convention. Now, how awful is that? A community can be good or bad, but we, of the community, should make it good for all its members. Now, that’s how I read the Gospel, according to Matthew.

For a wonderful example of advocacy for the community as good, visit the site of The Social Contract Project:
http://www.neighborhoodsonline.net/SocPhilosophy/socphilosophy.html

Neighborhood Social Contracts: Principles
“A community,” St. Augustine observed, “is a group of people united by the common objects of their love.” The principles underlying the Social Contract Project grow out of this basic definition of community.

We can summarize these principles as follows:

1. Building community is the process of defining the values that we share and that we are willing to work together to achieve.
2. The basic values that we share as citizens are the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
3. The framework for community embodied in the Preamble to the Constitution, in turn, asks that “we the people,” “insure domestic tranqillity,” “establish justice,” “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” and “promote the general welfare.” These principles shape our expectations of community in America, as surely as “equality,” “inalienable rights,” and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” define what we expect as individuals.
4. Whereever we live, we all want our communities to be clean, safe, economically viable, and decent places to raise our children. This is what “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” means to us.
5. In accordance with these principles, we expect public officials to perform what the Constitution requires--however we understand these requirements. This is the fundamental social contract between government and the people.
http://www.neighborhoodsonline.net/SocPhilosophy/socphilosophy.html

Then waking this morning, I saw an editorial cartoon in the Mercury News about a citizen immersed in shark infested water, sinking fast, and being devoured by sharks, refusing, terrified, to reach out to a rope with the label, "Socialist Rope" printed on it. Amazing, isn't it? How long a group will continue to tap that old socialist shibboleth, and be so successful as to prevent people from even reaching out in self defense to exmine the true nature of the rope, and, if it's been mislabeled?

Downright demoralizing for this Passionate Progressive Patriot!

So, what’s a real populist to do?

Well, fortunately we have a group (maybe several) around to come to the aid of true, real populists,, their revenue stream being only the constant inspiration of the true Social Contract imbedded in the Preamble to our Constituttion.

From Social Contract Project:

http://www.neighborhoodsonline.net/socialcontract.html

”All governments set forth a social contract between public leaders and the people. The American social contract grows out of the Preamble to the Constitution, which demands that “we the people” work in partnership with government to “establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.””
>

This crazy “socialist” talk has a direct line in the regressive politics of Conservative ideology in America. I remember, all too well, Spiro Agnews, fomenting negativism through his calls to the so-called “Silent Majority”. Almost like yesterday, I remember when H.R. Haldeman tried to degrade my whole profession of Social Work, saying Social Workers never earned an honest day’s wage in their lives. Yes, the socialist shibboleth has been around a long time. It was used to fight Medicare, and now it is being used to fight health care reform, and every manner of reform for the common good.

Let’s heed George Lakoff’s advice, call a spade a spade and use the language of our convictions. Let us take charge of the debate. Let’s put the Socialist Shibboleth in its place, no place int the American social Contract.

Let’s join groups like Campaign for America’s Future and broadcast our beliefs, with the full weight of the Constitution behind us. Don’t let "them" shred our Social Contract and mis-define it for poisonous consumption.

http://www.ourfuture.org/

http://citizensposse.com/

Campaign for America's Future, convenes in June in Washington, where we can mobilize and strategize how we can win th debate.

Let's go!

http://ourfuture.org/now

Or join their Citizen's Posse in Washington on March 9th.

http://citizensposse.com/

Karita Hummer

p.s. My nightmare was real!!

Crying over the distortion of Ameria!

Day of 'Transfiguration is a call to action for the Faithful

2010-02-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

An old African adage, "When you pray, move your feet."

Who among us prayed harder this way than Martin Luther King, who time and time again, put his beliefs and moral vision in to marching action and non-violent protests?

That, too, is what I mean by "Faithful Citizenship", a phrase the Catholic Bishops of America use in calling Catholics to action.

I was reminded of the African Adage, "When you pray, move your feet.", this morning when the Pastor of the Church I attend, spoke of the meaning of the Transfiguration Gospel, which he said was, in essence, not to stay up on the Mountain top, away from the action needed below, but to wed contemplation and prayer to action, to have no division between them.

On this subject of Faithful Citizenshiip, let's listen to the Catholic Bishops in their message to the Faithful.

http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCBullInsert.pdf

In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation. As Catholics, we should be guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group. In today’s environment, Catholics may feel politically disenfranchised, sensing that no party and few candidates fully share our
comprehensive commitment to human life and dignity.

Catholic lay women and men need to act on the Church’s moral principles and become more involved:

- running for office,
- working within political parties,
- and communicating concerns to elected officials.

Even those who cannot vote should raise their voices on matters that affect their lives and the common good.

http://www.usccb.org/bishops/FCBullInsert.pdf

Exactly our calling!

Karita Hummer
Convenor: St. Joseph Basilica Forum for Catholic Social Teaching and Faithful Citizenship.

See Bishops Justice for Immigrants Campaign, as it implements their vision for justice for all people:.

Immigration reform legislation may soon be considered in Congress. Help us show your Senators and Representatives that Catholics and other supporters of immigrants want our elected officials to enact meaningful and compassionate immigration reform.

http://www.capwiz.com/justiceforimmigrants/issues/alert/?alertid=14503781&type=CO

Endless War in Afghanistan that continues to kill and maim children and families in our name.

2010-02-19T14:33:00.000-08:00

Bombarded Children of Afghanistan, "in our name"

Endless War in Afghanistan that continues to kill and maim children and families in our name. (+)
by: Karita Hummer
Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 16:19:14 PM EST

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.progressiveblue.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4917

Code Pink, through Gayle Brandeiss, sendt out an alert that is truly alarming: "Last weekend, twelve members of one Afghan family--including six children--were killed during NATO's Afghanistan offensive in Marjah." Code Pink, Gayle Brandeiss, from letter 2/19/2010

How much more of warfare can Afghanistan tolerate without completely falling apart. I know that the families of the recently deceased due to NATO bombing are fragmented totally grief and probably despair. I certainly don't want this being done in my name, when police investigation is the best way to handle terrorist threats. Certainly, not through wanton destruction, which probably creates more terrorists than it ever kills. I highly recommend Khaled Hosseini's novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, to understand the disintegration of Afghan society due to relentless warfare. Whoever the adversaries have been over decades now, the result has been utter destruction and death.

See: http://www.khaledhosseini.com/...

Also: http://www.khaledhosseinifound...

Americans must ask, "Why is our government doing reckless killing in Afghanistan in our name, when other approaches are both more moral and smarter - fairer to US Citizens (because we need those resources, being spent) and fairer to the Afghan people?". We must ask the necessary questions, as Obama did in Chicago when Bush launched his invasion of Iraq. (Notice that well in to the Obama Administration that we are still not out of Iraq!)

So which Americans are asking the hard questions, and when, if ever, will the media wake up again to is being done in our name.

Well, some Americans are asking the hard questions, and, in the forefront, is Code Pink. Today, I received a letter from the writer, Gayle Brandeis,who is responsible for writing Code Pink Alerts, and this time she gets attention with a little of her own personal, poignant, narrative in the letter.

Because Code Pink offers to let this alert be shared on Facebook and Twitter, I think it is quite appropriate to share it here in its entirety on Progressive Blue as well.
Here is her poignant letter:

January 19, 2010
Dear Friend,
I have been writing the alerts for CODEPINK for several years, but this is the first time I feel compelled to step out from behind the collective voice I normally use and talk to you directly, in my own voice, from my own heart.
As I write this, my three month old baby has pneumonia. He is doing quite well, given the circumstances, but it breaks my heart to see him suffer in any way. My mother took her own life a week after the baby was born, so I feel especially vulnerable right now, especially attuned to potential loss. In this raw, open state, the latest news from Afghanistan hits hard.
Last weekend, twelve members of one Afghan family--including six children--were killed during NATO's Afghanistan offensive in Marjah. As I grapple with the grief over my mom's death, as well as worry over my sick baby, I can't begin to comprehend the grief of those affected by this massive loss. NATO Commander, US General Stanley McChrystal has apologized to President Karzai, but how can his words be anything but cold and empty to those left behind?
Won't you join me in writing to NATO Command to let them know that if they continue to kill Afghan babies and children, they will only create more terrorists? An apology alone won't appease those who have suffered such profound loss. These military attacks are not making us safer; in fact, they are inspiring more people to take up arms against our troops.
Click here to let NATO know that we cannot continue to terrorize and dehumanize the Afghan people.
As a concerned new mother, as a grieving daughter, as a human being who wants no other human being to suffer, I urge you to use your own pain, your own love, to help change the hearts and minds of those in power. Write to NATO today. And join your individual voice with us in collective chorus as we congregate in DC this March to mark the anniversary of the war and work to end our military engagements abroad. Click here to find out more.
I watch my baby sleep, follow the rise and fall of each precious breath and know I'd do anything to keep him safe. Don't the children of Afghanistan deserve to grow up feeling safe, as well? Thank you for speaking out on their behalf and on the behalf of all of our children's future.

With love and outrage and hope,

Gayle Brandeis

CodePink Alert, Gayle Brandeiss, Feb. 19, 2010

Well, no time for standing by idly. Go to Code Pink and sign their petition to General McChrystal.

http://salsa.democracyinaction...

Far too many Americans see Afghanistan as the worthy war, because of Osama Bin Laden (who probably is elsewhere, indeed, if he is still alive). Instead of killing innocent children and families, why aren't we trying less harmful remedies first like good global police work.

For anyone wishing to get a picture of the lives of Afghan citizens, as they have been pummeled in relentless wars, read Khaled Hosseini's enlightening novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns".

http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

Stand up America! Do what's right.

Karita Hummer

Answer the Supreme court with the only voice that should count!

2010-02-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

">

Let the world know that you disagree with the Supreme Court decision giving unfettered voice to corporations through the use of their money to influence elections. Their decision threatens the very bedrock of our democracy, "We the People". The bailout pales by comparison to this wrongheaded, very destructive, decision.

Tun, go and sign the Petition. http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1030.php For rightly so, you belong to "We, the people". It is your voice that should count in our elections, not corporate money.

Pregnant Women Support Act deserves the support of LIberals

2010-01-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

This document was published in Facebook, by the Group, "We support the "Pregnant Women Support Act"" I copy it here in its entirety because I agree fully that the Pregnant Women Support Act is profoundly deep and compassionate and provides all women with the resources to carry them through pregnancy safely, healthfully and with confidence for their future. It is in every way a populist bill that affords opportunity for all women, regardless of economic status. It should satisfy the populist vision of liberals and progressives and shoud be supported.

Karita Hummer

This is the URL for the Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=mf&gid=44368869333

Information
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
Group founded Jan. 22, 2009.

An important step toward drastically reducing the U.S. abortion rate is making sure that pregnant women do not feel forced into abortion because of socioeconomic circumstances. This is something that people of good will can get behind, even apart from debates about overturning Roe v. Wade. The PWSA should serve as an area of common ground for people across the political spectrum who care about pregnant women and want to reduce the number of abortions in the U.S.

The Pregnant Women Support Act (S1032 in the Senate and HR 2035 in the House) would provide for programs that:
• Repeal the sunset on adoption tax credits and make them permanent
• Fully fund the federal WIC Program, Special Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Increase funding for domestic violence programs
• End the denial to pregnant women of health care from insurance companies because of "pre-existing conditions”
• Create a new pilot program for 'Life Support Centers' to offer comprehensive and supportive services for pregnant women, mothers and children
• Establish a national toll-free number and public awareness campaign to offer women support and knowledge about options and resources available to them when they face an unplanned pregnancy
• Provide new mothers with free home visits by registered nurses
• Help pregnant high-school and college students stay in school, offering them counseling as well as assistance with continuing their education, parenting support and classes, and child care assistance.
• Codify the current regulation allowing states to provide State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage to unborn children and their mothers

The PWSA is the one bill already demonstrated to attract bi-partisan House support and build common ground, rather than further polarizing political parties and segmenting pro-life groups. Cardinal Rigali of the USCCB described Pregnant Women Support Act legislation in the House and Senate as "entirely separate" from controversial proposals involving pregnancy prevention, which many studies show do not reduce abortions.

This bill is wise and it is profound and it deserves the support oaf all liberals. In every way, it is a populist bill that provides all women with the resources they need for healtrh and economic well-being during pregnancy. Be wise, support this bill.

Copied from Facebook:

The Cardinal recently wrote to U.S. Representatives encouraging them to support the House version of the PWSA (H.R. 2035) introduced by Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN). The PWSA “reaches out to women with a helping hand when they are most vulnerable, and most engaged in making a decision about life or death for their unborn children,” Cardinal Rigali said. “It provides an authentic common ground, an approach that people can embrace regardless of their position on other issues.” (http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2009/09-105.shtml )

From the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention website on Jan. 7, 2009 ( http://erlc.com/article/legislative-agenda-for-2009/ )
"...we believe a positive approach is also needed. The Pregnant Women Support Act is just that. This bill, which was introduced in the last Congress, would provide various kinds of federal assistance to women who find themselves in challenging pregnancies so they would have the kinds of health and personal support they need to decide to give their babies life rather than aborting them."

But does a corporation really proverbially quack like you and I?

2010-01-21T14:13:00.000-08:00

https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/476/images/dontgetrolled%20banner-1.jpg

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue
http://www.progressiveblue.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4795

Grassroots outcry needed NOW! Sign Petition at Public Citizen and spread the news of this travesty by the Supreme Court over Corporate Personhood. http://action.citizen.org/t/10...
Comments below. Cross-posted from Facebook.

Such sorrow over the demise of our democracy! Bush's supremes deliver again for Corporate America - and it is such a misinterpretation of our Constitution.

We live in Silicon Valley, where corporations are big, bold and innovative, but I have yet to see one of them look like, walk like or act like a human being, with one heart, one brain, veins, tongue or lungs. In other words, the corporation doesn't proverbially "quack" like us. As a whole, they are essential, and we admire what they contribute to our local and national economy. Mostly, though, they are entities with so much money, with their eye glued to the bottom line, that we would never want to accede our democratic power to them, because we know we would be over-powered completely.

Karita and Paul Hummer
San Jose, CA

p.s. I have started kickboxing exercise, and I think I will know the object of the exercise tonight.

Teddy Kennedy's seat should be filled by a Democrat

2010-01-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Call Massachusetts for Martha Coakley! Go to: http://www.marthacoakley.com/get_involved/Neighbor-to-Neighbor

Getting Martha Coakley elected is paramount on my mind this weekend. Isn't it unthinkable that Scott Brown, committed to blocking health care reform could have even the remotest chance to fill Teddy Kennedy's seat in the U.S. Senate. Right wing extremists are said to be putting tons of money in tho this race against Martha Coakley. We can't let them get away with their false tea party antics. For real democracy, and real social justice let's ensure a win for the Democrat, Martha Coakely.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102051919009/archive/1102945783472.html

Karita Hummer
San Jose

Such great beauty! from Bosnia

2010-01-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

	Goran Bregovic - Ederlezi .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

My Answer to the Moveon Question, What do I remember about Teddy ?

2009-08-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

Teddy became a legend in his lifetime, of such magnificent fight and accomplishment, to, on the eve of his death, asking the Massachusetts Governor to replace his seat with someone quickly. That's how I will remember Ted Kennedy, always watching out for all of our best interests, for the common good. That inspires us all.

The greatest tribute would be for us to mobilize our resources as a nation now to pass, comprehensive, universal, affordable health care for all and treat it as the right that it is - for all Americans. And let's do that by starting to call it Medicare for All! Americans know and revere the word, Medicare, because of the pioneering work of his brother, John Kennedy.

The American legacy of three brothers: John, Robert and Teddy. They have helped me shape my political life of activism. We are called to that mission, each of us, and we can find no better inspiration than in the life of Ted Kennedy: passionate, wise and dedicated.

Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers that we honor the memory of Senator Kennedy by sending a contribution to the Senator Edward Kennedy Senate Institute, which will be situated on the University of Massachusetts Campus, and will be a place to study Senatorial processes. It is a way for America to learn about the US Senate and how we can get the best legislation. It will be next to his brother's memorial library. A place where the common good can be considered civilly. One may contribute by going to: https://secure.kennedyinstitute.org/page/contribute?__utma=1.2475021559397214700.1251318298.1251318298.1251323121.2&__utmb=1.1.10.1251323121&__utmc=1&__utmx=-

Red Window Furniture Store, beautiful!

2009-08-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Elizabeth,

Your store appears quite lovely and I think it is based on a lovely concept and sure to boost the furniture, furnishings and crafts production and economy of North Carolina. Kudos for sharing such loveliness with us all and congratulations to your whole family for this achievement.

Karita and Paul Hummer
San Jose, CA

p.s. I don't think we have enough attention in our country to the role crafts can play for a warmer, richer quality of life.

Makes me want to hop over there to Chapel Hill!

California Voters Reject Robin Hood in Reverse in Tuesday's Election on budget propositions

2009-05-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Land of Budget Shortfalls, Deception and Low education ratings!

California Voters Reject Robin Hood in Reverse in Tuesday's Election on budget propositions (+)
by: Karita Hummer
Fri May 22, 2009 at 03:02:44 AM EDT

Cross-Posted from Progressive Blue

http://www.eenrblog.com/diary/3890/california-voters-reject-robin-hood-in-reverse-in-tuesdays-election-on-budget-propositions
http://www.ca.gov/images/gov.jpg

So what does the Goverrnator say after his deceptive and tricky propositions got defeated. He says, "The people have spoken, and they want drastic cuts in the State budget." Foul play! That is not why I voted "no" on Prop 1D and Prop 1E. I voted against these measures because they were raiding funds that were set aside for the very young, especially from low-income families and the mentally ill.

California voters rejected the Governor's and the State Assembly's Robin Hood in reverse propositions, and it is time the Governor and the State Assembly recognize that fact. We were not condoning the draconian cuts being proposed for us out here in health care, education and law enforcement. All pretty basic needs. Does it make sense for Gov. Schwarznegger and his Republican cohorts and Democratic collaborators to believe that voters who rejected cuts to young children and the mentally ill would want to see the draconian cuts they propose for the disasabled, those in need of health care and education. No, it doesn't! But, will they do the difficult job of finding a solution instead, as they refused to do earlier in the year when they were confronted with the dilemma they have now. What is obvious is that if California wants to keep ranking near the bottom in public education and other critical services, the Governor and his erstwhile colleagues and collaborators will continue to proceed as they have: refuse to raise necessary taxes to address budget shortfalls and refuse to address the highly undemocratic requirement that 2/3 of the Assembly approve of any budget. The latter is the real reason California is in the mess that it is in, and how Republicans continually hold the democrats hostage to their Conservative agenda.

Though the San Jose Mercury News refers to us voters as uncompromising and perhaps uninformed, the height of insult, the paper did have a dissenting view by Larry Gerston, political scientist, from San Jose State University today, entitled, "FIVE DEFENSIBLE SOURCES OF NEW MONEY FOR CALIFORNIA:, San Jose Mercury News

With Tuesday's election decided, California's economic condition is more precarious than ever.
Two facts make this moment extraordinary. First, the new deficit appears just weeks after the governor and Legislature "closed" a $42 billion gap, including $15 billion in new taxes and $16 billion of cuts in programs and services. Second, California now ranks near the bottom in per capita commitments to critical areas such as public education (47th), highways (50th), and number of state employees (49th). Additional cuts will render the state into developing nation status, a tragic distinction for the world's eighth-largest economy.

Yet cuts are the heart of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest proposal.

Some suggest that the voters' rejections of Propositions 1A-1E underscore that point. Rather, it's likely that the voters spurned misleading reform propositions that simply targeted vulnerable constituencies such as children and the mentally ill with one-time solutions. So how then can California become whole again? The five suggestions below suggest new revenues without increasing traditional tax rates.

(box) Broaden the sales tax. Currently, the state applies sales taxes to only 21 of a possible 168 areas, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Nine states tax fewer areas, while 40 tax more. Taxing phone service alone would generate $3 billion annually, while sales taxes on entertainment would add $1 billion. Sales taxes could also be applied to professional services, storage, repairs and agricultural services. Twenty years ago, sales taxes and income taxes each represented about 40 percent of the state's revenues; today income taxes constitute 55 percent, compared with 25 percent for sales taxes. Broadening this tax could easily add $5 billion annually to state coffers without touching basic necessities such as food.

(box) Restoration of the vehicle license fee. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now regrets eliminating it in 2004. Then the loss accounted for $4 billion annually. With higher new car prices, the fee over the past five years would have netted the state about $25 billion. In today's dollars, the annual fee would total about $6 billion. Why should drivers pay next to nothing for the privilege of operating their cars, given the costs of maintaining roads? This would not be a new fee, but rather restoration of an abandoned fee.

(box) Alcohol fee. The state alcohol tax has not changed in nearly 20 years. Recently, San Jose Assembly member Jim Beall introduced a bill that would add 10 cents to each alcoholic drink. The money would be used to treat alcoholism, mental health and victims affected by alcoholism. This user tax would be paid only by alcohol consumers and bring in $1.5 billion annually.

(box) Oil severance fee. California is the only oil-producing state without a severance tax. It produces more than 215 million barrels of oil each year. A fee of $2 per barrel (5 cents per gallon) would yield $400 million annually.

(box) Cancellation of recent corporate tax breaks. In the recent budget agreement, the governor and Legislature gave nearly $1 billion in tax breaks to corporations and entertainment companies. Think of it -- as schools were losing teachers and the disabled were doing without health-care workers, the state relinquished $1 billion dollars. The Legislature should rescind this giveaway as soon as possible.

Combined, these suggestions amount to $14 billion in annual revenues. They are neither one-time gimmicks nor overly painful to any one target. They represent a start. To be sure, every recommendation will be ridiculed by the group effected as unnecessary or unfair. But if we believe that California must stop the bleeding, then now is the time to show leadership.Larry Gerston, "FIVE DEFENSIBLE SOURCES OF NEW MONEY FOR CALIFORNIA:, San Jose Mercury News, May 20, 2009

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-sear...

The people showed wisdom and expect more from their leaders than a draconian punishment response, as in "There! Take your cuts, folks"

Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA

FDR warned about Economic Royalists -- Guess What, They're Back! by jamess receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-05-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

jamess receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for a great piece on the kind of corporatists about which FDR warned us.

Karita Hummer

FDR warned about Economic Royalists -- Guess What, They're Back! (+)
by: jamess
Tue May 12, 2009 at 22:10:15 PM EDT

[subscribe]
(power and profits... - promoted by poligirl)

Economic Royalists:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for a second term, delivered at Philadelphia on 27 June 1936, said, "The economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power."

(emphasis added)
http://www.answers.com/topic/e...
jamess :: FDR warned about Economic Royalists -- Guess What, They're Back!
Huh, Royalists? we have no "Royalty" in America, unless you count Celebrities and Sports Stars. What is FDR talking about? Who are the Kings and Queens of our Economy?

Franklin D. Roosevelt Speeches
Democratic National Convention (June 27, 1936)
link to Audio

For out of this modern civilization economic royalists carved new dynasties. New kingdoms were built upon concentration of control over material things. Through new uses of corporations, banks and securities, new machinery of industry and agriculture, of labor and capital--all undreamed of by the fathers--the whole structure of modern life was impressed into this royal service.

There was no place among this royalty for our many thousands of small business men and merchants who sought to make a worthy use of the American system of initiative and profit. They were no more free than the worker or the farmer. Even honest and progressive-minded men of wealth, aware of their obligation to their generation, could never know just where they fitted into this dynastic scheme of things.

It was natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over Government itself. They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the robes of legal sanction.
[...]
For too many of us the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality. A small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor--other people's lives. For too many of us life was no longer free; liberty no longer real; men could no longer follow the pursuit of happiness.

Against economic tyranny such as this, the American citizen could appeal only to the organized power of Government. The collapse of 1929 showed up the despotism for what it was. The election of 1932 was the people's mandate to end it. Under that mandate it is being ended.
[...]
Today we stand committed to the proposition that freedom is no half-and-half affair. If the average citizen is guaranteed equal opportunity in the polling place, he must have equal opportunity in the market place.

These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.

(emphasis added)
http://www.oldamericancentury....

So what do Economic Royalists look like? Do they where capes and masks? Or is it, the suit of Respectability and Credibility that they are more likely to don.

"Shocked" (with Rick Scott)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Who is Rick Scott?
By Jessica Kutch - May 4, 2009

Recently, Mr. Scott bought ads for his group "Conservatives for Patients' Rights" on CNN and FOX News networks. The ads were created by the same firm behind the now discredited "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" ads from the 2004 presidential campaign.

Rick Scott's anti-health care reform ad is chock-full of misinformation. SEIU has requested that the ads be pulled

(emphasis added)
http://www.seiu.org/2009/05/wh...

So Here we go again! Those Economist Royalist are spending Big Bucks to get their way. Whether or Not, the Truth is the Victim, in their Charades of mis-direction. Why should the Health Insurance Industry bother to let Facts get in the way, when they can hire smooth talking spokemen, to muddy the waters?

U.S. health care lies about Canada
Greed, U.S. Politics, dysfunction
May 12, 2009, 8:40 AM by Diane Francis

Just who is this jerk, Rick Scott of propaganda-mongering Conservatives for Patients' Rights? He and his group are fabricating negatives about Canada's health care system and I resent this. I am an American who has lived in Canada for more than 35 years. I can vouch that the system is more than adequate and is not run by civil servants but by doctors who are able to treat everyone, rich or poor.
[...]
4. Canada's health care system enhances economic productivity. Workers diagnosed with illnesses can still change employers and be employable because they are not rejected by employers with health benefits due to pre-conditions.
[...]
6. Outcomes with major illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease, are better than in the United States.
[...]
10. No one in Canada goes broke because of medical bills whereas ARP estimates half of personal bankruptcies are due to unpaid, high medical bills.

(emphasis added)
http://network.nationalpost.co...

Economic Royalists care about one thing, keeping their Power, and keeping their Profits (oops, that's 2 things).

So much so, that the Royalists in the Health Denial business, have sparked a war of sorts, with the Doctors and Nurses just trying to care for their Patients:

Denial Management Industry Grows Amid Debate Between Health Insurers, Physicians Over Claims
16 Feb 2007 - Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News

"[T]ension" between insurers and physicians over claims payments "has spawned a booming industry of intermediaries" known as denial management, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some doctors, clinics and hospitals are investing in software systems that help navigate insurers' payment systems and prevent denials

[...] medical group Paluxy Valley Physicians, which four years ago was trying to recover more than $500,000 in denied or unpaid claims from insurers [...] Shari Reynolds, the administrator at Paluxy Valley, said, "The insurers outcode us, they outsmart us and they have more manpower. Now, at least we have a fighting chance."

(emphasis added)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.co...

The high stakes of the "Business of No"

from Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP)

When Profits matter more than People -- perhaps the Royalists (aka Elites) have too much Power and too much control. (Monopolies and Oligopolies, tend to do that.)

When our lives are frittered away in an insane system of endless Payments, that steals our Freedom, and steals our Health, and in some say our Economic Security -- well those "excising" those endless Payments, could indeed have TOO MUCH Power.

So what does an Economic Royalist look like? Do they wear capes and masks? Or is it, the Cloak of Impartiality, when conducting the People's business. Sadly it seems that all Voices, are indeed NOT welcome in some chambers -- be they the Voices of Doctors or Nurses, or not -- No Seat for you!

Protesters Disrupt Senate Hearing on Health Care

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Sooner or later the People must Demand the Representation, that is pledged through our Votes. Those Seats should NOT be for sale to the highest Bidder! (aka Lobbyists, the agents of Royalty.)

Sooner or later a truly Progressive-People's party must stand up and be heard.

Bruce McF gets another silver pen for What's in SUPERTRAINS for Small Town and Rural America?

2009-04-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Bruce McF receives another Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for his accomplished writing on the subject of high speed rail, which would connect our country in the most remarkable and effective way possible, for a more connected, sense of nastion.

What's in SUPERTRAINS for Small Town and Rural America? (+)
by: BruceMcF
Sat Apr 25, 2009

Crossposted from Progressive Blue: http://www.progressiveblue.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=AD7115B2C9851F3FBB289A1E29545A06?diaryId=3790

This last weekend I wrote up a small diary, cross-posted to various places ... which even stumbled into being wrecklisted at Agent Orange ... about the High Speed Rail plan released by the Obama administration.

That diary focused on laying out the three "tiers" of HSR in the announced plan. "Express HSR" is one of the bullet train systems, like they are planning for California. But between that tier and conventional rail, are two more tiers:

* "Regional HSR", with a top speed of around 125mph, able to provide trips at average speeds in the range of 100mph, operating in existing rail rights of way, but mostly on its own track, with upgraded signaling and substantial investment in grade separation and/or the top level of "hardened" level crossings, normally with electrified lines; and
* "Emerging HSR", with a top speed of 110mph, able provide trips at average speed in excess of 80mph, operating on existing rail right of way with improved capacity, but sometimes sharing track with freight rail, the 110mph standard of quad gate, speed sensitive level crossings, and provided by either electric or diesel 110mph tilt-trains

The bullet trains are the show ponies ... but for small town and rural America, the genuine seat at the table for Emerging and Regional HSR is the real good news from the announcement.
BruceMcF :: What's in SUPERTRAINS for Small Town and Rural America?
Now, I do not want to give the impression that Express HSR is somehow "anti-rural development". Far from it ... all forms of HSR share a key feature that is very good news for small town and rural America.

Trains lose much less time on a stop than airplanes do. And while an Express HSR route might be built in order to serve transport markets between two big metro areas ... you need two way track pretty much all the way to run them properly, and once you have it, adding services to serve smaller cities in between is very cost efficient.

That doesn't mean a station in every little village and hamlet, but it does mean that there can be a station every thirty to fifty miles, which means the areas that the HSR passes through are likely to see far more frequent services at the closest HSR station than at the closest airfield.

So, compared to the current state of affairs, there are going to be more rural areas with more effective transport options in reasonable driving distance with "Express HSR" than with the two level system of short-hop flights and interstate buses.

Cost Matters

No, what makes the seat at the table for Emerging HSR and Regional HSR so exciting is that they cost so much less per mile to get built.

Consider that basically one Express HSR corridor from San Francisco to San Jose through the Central Valley then LA and ending in Anaheim California ... is projected to cost $46b.

However, to build the Ohio Hub for 110mph service (blue and orange lines) would cost under $10b ... maybe under $5b. That's Buffalo to Cleveland to Columbus to Dayton to Cincinnati ... connecting to Indianapolis and Chicago, Pittsburgh to Cleveland to Toledo to Fort Wayne .... connecting to Chicago, Pittsburgh to Columbus to Toledo to Detroit, and Pittsburgh to Columbus to Fort Wayne.

The thing is, when existing rail sees light freight traffic, it can be upgraded, 10miles of passing tracks added in each 50 miles of track, when existing rail sees heavy freight traffic, a new passenger track can be laid ... and all in existing rail rights of way. Most of the worst headaches of establishing a new rail line in terms of environmental clearances, property fights, etc, ... just are not there when building inside an existing rail right of way.

The track is built for 60mph freight traffic, and then the extra tilt that has to be added to allow trains to go through turns at 110mph without tossing the passengers around is added by the train itself.

And consider the stations ...

... while it is patronage involving the three largest cities in that provides the financial foundation for the Ohio Hub system, once the rail line is passing through, it makes sense to add a station every so often, to get an additional increment of passengers.

And so there are stations laid out in Coshocton, Springfield, Kenton, New Castle PA, Findlay, Defiance ... a lot more stations a lot more accessible to the rural counties of the state than a single Express HSR system could be, and for less money.

And its not just the Regional HSR Systems

The red corridors in that map is the Midwest Hub ... one of the main inspirations of the Ohio Hub, as the Midwest Hub was originally to connect to Cleveland and Cincinnati, and someone said, "Hmmm, something seems to be missing here".

The Midwest Hub is a product of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (FAQ), an alliance of states.

And the membership of the MIRPC extends beyond the boundaries of the Midwest Hub, extending on to North Dakota.

North Dakota? Why are they a member of the alliance?

Note that North Dakota may not be in that route map, but rail is still important to North Dakota. The transcontinental Amtrak system is quite important for many North Dakota towns and rural counties. And so the Midwest Hub will benefit North Dakota in two main ways:

* First, the Amtrak to Minneapolis will then connect to a Regional HSR corridor to Chicago, offering a substantially quicker train trip than what is currently available; and,
* Second, when the Amtrak is running through an area with a Regional HSR system, it will be able to use the improved track as well, avoiding the delays from freight trains that currently plague the transcontinental routes and can put them many hours behind schedule.

Getting down to work

Note that the plan set down is not a centralized, top-down plan. It involves states, one at a time or in groups, sitting down, deciding what kind of improved rail service would benefit them, working out a desired alignment, and going through the process to get it added to one of the existing systems of HSR corridors.

Some states have taken a lead, like the alliance led by Illinois, and the Southeast corridor led by Virginia and North Carolina.

Some states are scurrying to catch up, like Colorado, which started studying a corridor from Cheyenne through Denver and Colorado Springs to the New Mexico border last year.

Some states have had stop-start-stop approaches, like Florida and Texas, both of which almost got started on HSR systems, and both of which had their HSR projects killed by a Governor Bush.

And some states have lagged behind. There ought to be a Southeast Hub spreading out from Atlanta, similar to the one spreading out from Chicago, but Georgia seems content to sit on its hands, letting others do the work. And Tennessee seems to be completely asleep at the wheel. That means obvious lines, like Atlanta to Nashville connecting to the Midwest Hub at Louisville, are missing.

But the advantage of the system is that we do not need to get heard over the noise in Washington DC in order to get the ball rolling in our own neck of the woods. What we need to do is to corral our own State Legislator, State Senator, even Governor, and talk to them about when they are going to get off their fat asses and get to work on working up a Regional HSR system to serve both the cities in their states and the country in between the cities that the rail lines will pass through.

How To Build a National High Speed Rail system receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award.

2009-04-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Kudos and a Silver Pen Award to Bruce McFadden who writes eloquently and brilliantly on the need for high speed rail, which would be a great way to connect the country. It's thrilling to think of traveling through the country on high speed. All aboard!

How To Build a National High Speed Rail system (+)
by: BruceMcF
Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 14:56:16 PM EDT

[subscribe]
(it's always midnight somewhere... - promoted by poligirl)

Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence

... A Four Step Program

Step 1. Give states a framework to develop plans, either individually or in groups, and present them to the Federal government for vetting, approval, and funding support.

Step 2. States do that.

Step 3. Fund a substantial number of seed corridors, so that a large number of metro areas (House) and States (Senate) have a stake in maintaining ongoing Federal HSR funding.

Step 4. Keep funding the construction of more.

That is my plan. But, OTOH, I'm just an obscure Development Economist with a field specialization in Regional Economics, so the fact that its my plan is neither here nor there.

More newsworthy, it seems to be the plan of the Obama administration. So, unlike the Bank Bail-out, I find myself on the "cheerleader" side of Administration activity.

Give Me an H! Give Me an S! Give Me an R! What's It Spell? One Piece of the Energy Independent Transport Puzzle! YEAH!!!!
BruceMcF :: How To Build a National High Speed Rail system

Wait a minute, what about the network map?

What about it? You want a network map, here's a network map:

That from a crude spreadsheet of pairs of 1m+ metro areas within a line-of-sight radius for Express HSR, based on geometric mean population per mile. Its main flaws, of course, are lack of detailed knowledge of local conditions ... for example, the Pacheco Alignment selected for the California HSR system, with HSR train running up the Caltrain Corridor from San Jose to San Francisco, has the impact on an HSR service of making San Jose and San Francisco into a single destination zone from Southern California, and adjusting for that adjustment would make for a much stronger corridor between LA and the BAY.

But, that's the point of the strategy, above. Those dots and lines are not a corridor map, they are a service map. One strong network economy of HSR is the ability to provide multiple trip-pair services on a single train with far less difficulty than an airplane.

Here is the (newly buffed and polished) Department of Transportation map of the HSR corridors that have already won official designation:

These corridors are shown laid out over a ghost of the existing Amtrak intercity network, which is reasonable since connection to existing passenger rail service is one of the criteria for designation.

They are not a design for a future HSR network. What they are is the result of the pieces of the four part strategy that were already in place. To make a long story short, we had everything in the above strategy except the money.

IOW, Shorter Obama: "High Speed Rail makes sense. Let's take our HSR plans and start funding them".

zOMG, some of those are not Bullet Trains! MASSIVE FAIL

There is some hyperventilating about the fact that many of the systems being talked about receiving funding are not going to be among the fastest trains on the face of the earth.

This hyperventilation is based on a fundamental misconception about how HSR works.

High Speed Rail does not work by being the fastest mode of transport on the planet. The fastest mode of transport on the planet is the Rocket. After that the Supersonic Plane. After that regular Jet Aircraft ... which, should be noted, is the mode that has commercial passenger operations ... then short-haul commuter jets, then prop planes, then ... I'm not sure what is next. Sooner or later we get to bullet trains.

High Speed Rail works be being fast enough so that it can offer competitive trip speeds, and then leveraging the other competitive advantages of rail over air and car transport to carve out a successful market niche.

How fast is fast enough depends on the distance between two cities.

Outside of congested areas, conventional rail cannot compete for speed against cars on the Interstate Highway system, so for most of the country, conventional rail relies entirely on its other competitive advantages in order to attract patronage ... not everyone has a car, some people dislike driving and view it as a tedious chore, on a train you can watch a movie on a portable DVD player or get work done on a laptop, there are some (mostly urban) destinations where having a car is a pain rather than a benefit, etc.

For conventional rail with conventional signaling and running over conventional level crossings, Federal Railroad Administration regulations typically mandate a top speed of 79mph. Add in slow zones for curves, station stops, etc., and conventional rail is only faster than the Interstate in congested areas.

Raise the top speed to 110mph and the effective trip speed to the 80mph-90mph range, and for most non-insane drivers a train trip begins to be faster than driving. This is the "Emerging HSR" class of HSR. When you take an existing rail corridor and upgrade it to take faster than conventional trains, this is the first step up from there. 110mph here is a limit for a specific class of upgraded level crossings.

Raise the top speed to 125mph and the effective trip speed to the 90mph to 110mph range, and for all non-insane drivers, a train trip of 2 to 3 hours begins to be significantly faster than driving. This is the "Regional HSR" class of HSR. 125mph here is the limit for trains relying on conventional signaling with lights and information next to the track ... beyond 125mph, signals have to be brought into the cab.

Most of the planned corridors on the DoT map above are Emerging HSR corridors ... and by the same token, since they were the ones that states took seriously enough to push through the process, they are mostly strategic enough corridors that they are likely to end up as Regional HSR corridors.

For many metro areas trip pairs, an effective trip speed of 100mph, which is a radius of 300mph, is fast enough to bring trips down to 3 hours or less. For others, its not. For Cleveland/Cincinnati, Regional HSR is certainly "High Speed Enough". For the LA Basin to the Bay Area, Regional HSR is not "High Speed Enough".

And that brings the final class of HSR, "Express HSR", also known as bullet trains. This is the class which would be referred to as HSR basically anywhere in the world. It requires all grade separated corridors ... 200mph is too fast to take across a level crossing, no matter how "hardened" the crossing may be. It requires that the track be banked for operation far above the speeds of normal container freight cars. It requires an ability to broadcast signals into the driver cabs of the trains. It requires broader, more sweeping turns than conventional rail. In order to keep the mass down and the driving energy up, it essentially requires an all-electrified corridor.

It is, in other words, not an incremental upgrade to an existing rail corridor. It might use an appropriate existing rail Right of Way, but it would use that right of way as a location to lay new bullet train tracks. And its not uncommon for bullet train systems to use the margins of rural and suburban Expressways for their Right of Way.

Fighting HSR Segregation

Now, assuming good design, you get what you pay for. Or as a programmer I am acquainted with writes, "Good, Fast, Cheap ... pick any Two out of Three".

The danger in providing only Express HSR funding is that an Express HSR corridor is expensive. Not every part of the country will find it possible to justify the required state contribution.

That means that if we segregate Express HSR out as the "only true and holy" HSR, we leave it politically exposed to counterattack in the areas that are left out.

And where, precisely, is left in? Well, California has passed $9b in state bond funding for a California HSR system that is Express HSR. The Northeast Corridor is the only place in the country that has established a "Regional HSR" system (though because it is operating in such a congested rail corridor with substantial legacy constraints, it operates in effect as an Emerging HSR system).

Florida and Texas have at various times flirted with bullet train systems ... indeed, a Governor Bush helped kill the flirtation in both instances.

Anyway, California, and the Northeast Corridor. That's it.

Now, instead of fighting over the "true and holy meaning of HSR", suppose that all of the systems that met the original Department of Transportation HSR corridor designation are given a definition as a "class of" HSR.

Now you have Southeastern Corridor, the Gulf Corridor, the Empire and Keystone corridors, the Ohio Hub, the Midwest Hub, possibilities for Emerging HSR corridor development in Texas, the Cascade Corridor in the Pacific Northwest, the New England Corridor connecting into the NEC. Add to that the Front Range corridor presently in early exploratory stages, and there is a massive footprint ... in total number of beneficiary states, for the Senate, in metro populations served, for the House, and even in terms of Swing States, for Presidential Politics.

And unlike bullet train corridors, those are systems that can have their foundation corridors built and put into operation in five years or less, which means corridors that can see ground broken before 2012 and passengers being served before the 2014 midterm elections.

Express and Regional HSR Should Be Friends

When built out, one way that Express HSR and Regional HSR work together is by sharing transfer passengers.

However, by electrifying the Regional HSR line, the Express HSR train can also simply continue on the Regional HSR to a destination that is off the HSR corridor.

So consider the following Express HSR alignment: New York City directly through northern Pennsylvania to North Central Ohio to Fort Wayne Indiana and on to Chicago.

"But it doesn't go to..." is the first reaction. If I set out that map, then assuming anyone was reading, the reaction would be to point out all the places it does not go. But that is ignoring the Midwest and Ohio Hubs. Which is a silly thing to do. Consider the following (note that this is from the Ohio Hub site ... it does not include the entire Midwest Hub, but only the eastern corridors ... the Midwest Hub does actually extend from the Great Lakes into the Midwest proper):

Only the far western stretch of that bullet train alignment appears in this map ...

... but from where it crosses the "Pittsburgh to Cleveland via the Rail Line I Cycle Commute Over" alignment, a bullet train can run from New York City to Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, from where it crosses the Triple-C from New York City to Columbus to Cincinnati (and likely on to Louisville and Memphis).

... from Chicago, Chicago to the Triple C to Buffalo and Albany, Chicago to the Cleveland / Pittsburgh corridor to Pittsburgh / Harrisburg / Philadelphia, as well as after upgrading the Pittsburgh / DC alignment, Chicago / Pittsburgh / DC.

That is, after all, how it is done overseas ... quite a large number of the French TGV routes, for instance, keep going for quite a way beyond the end of the bullet train corridor. In the map to the right, grey lines are TGV's running on conventional French rail corridors ... which, because of the differences between European and American rail systems, could be considered to be running on "Regional HSR" lines.

Indeed, much of the French TGV system was built in stages, with individual segments of a corridor brought into service on completion, with each segment reducing the travel time on that corridor until all bullet train corridors are completed.

Anyway, that's how to build a HSR system

It doesn't actually matter whether someone is an "Amtrak incrementalist", a "Rapid Rail advocate", or a "HSR advocate" ... its the same plan.

Which is why its not big deal if "Emerging HSR" and "Regional HSR" is not what some Europeans would call "Real HSR". Now that we have the blueprint, we have the language to say "Express HSR" when we mean bullet trains, "Regional HSR" when we mean full fledged Rapid Rail, and "Emerging HSR" when we mean turbocharged conventional rail corridors with plans to build toward full fledged Rapid Rail.

Its a natural coalition of interests, which is a durable foundation for a political coalition among the supporters of the full range of systems.

Those of us living in flyover country no that this is not really building the "Regional HSR" in the outback ... but we do need to be building systems between the Appalachians and the Rockies if we want the robust political coalition that will allow the building of ten and twenty year infrastructure projects in the new century ahead.

Tags: Infrastructure, HSR, rail electrification, A Brawny Recovery, Living Energy Independence, (All Tags) :: Add/Edit Tags on this Post

How To Build a National High Speed Rail system receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award.

2009-04-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

How To Build a National High Speed Rail system (+)
by: BruceMcF
Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 14:56:16 PM EDT

[subscribe]
(it's always midnight somewhere... - promoted by poligirl)

Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence

... A Four Step Program

Step 1. Give states a framework to develop plans, either individually or in groups, and present them to the Federal government for vetting, approval, and funding support.

Step 2. States do that.

Step 3. Fund a substantial number of seed corridors, so that a large number of metro areas (House) and States (Senate) have a stake in maintaining ongoing Federal HSR funding.

Step 4. Keep funding the construction of more.

That is my plan. But, OTOH, I'm just an obscure Development Economist with a field specialization in Regional Economics, so the fact that its my plan is neither here nor there.

More newsworthy, it seems to be the plan of the Obama administration. So, unlike the Bank Bail-out, I find myself on the "cheerleader" side of Administration activity.

Give Me an H! Give Me an S! Give Me an R! What's It Spell? One Piece of the Energy Independent Transport Puzzle! YEAH!!!!
BruceMcF :: How To Build a National High Speed Rail system

Wait a minute, what about the network map?

What about it? You want a network map, here's a network map:

That from a crude spreadsheet of pairs of 1m+ metro areas within a line-of-sight radius for Express HSR, based on geometric mean population per mile. Its main flaws, of course, are lack of detailed knowledge of local conditions ... for example, the Pacheco Alignment selected for the California HSR system, with HSR train running up the Caltrain Corridor from San Jose to San Francisco, has the impact on an HSR service of making San Jose and San Francisco into a single destination zone from Southern California, and adjusting for that adjustment would make for a much stronger corridor between LA and the BAY.

But, that's the point of the strategy, above. Those dots and lines are not a corridor map, they are a service map. One strong network economy of HSR is the ability to provide multiple trip-pair services on a single train with far less difficulty than an airplane.

Here is the (newly buffed and polished) Department of Transportation map of the HSR corridors that have already won official designation:

These corridors are shown laid out over a ghost of the existing Amtrak intercity network, which is reasonable since connection to existing passenger rail service is one of the criteria for designation.

They are not a design for a future HSR network. What they are is the result of the pieces of the four part strategy that were already in place. To make a long story short, we had everything in the above strategy except the money.

IOW, Shorter Obama: "High Speed Rail makes sense. Let's take our HSR plans and start funding them".

zOMG, some of those are not Bullet Trains! MASSIVE FAIL

There is some hyperventilating about the fact that many of the systems being talked about receiving funding are not going to be among the fastest trains on the face of the earth.

This hyperventilation is based on a fundamental misconception about how HSR works.

High Speed Rail does not work by being the fastest mode of transport on the planet. The fastest mode of transport on the planet is the Rocket. After that the Supersonic Plane. After that regular Jet Aircraft ... which, should be noted, is the mode that has commercial passenger operations ... then short-haul commuter jets, then prop planes, then ... I'm not sure what is next. Sooner or later we get to bullet trains.

High Speed Rail works be being fast enough so that it can offer competitive trip speeds, and then leveraging the other competitive advantages of rail over air and car transport to carve out a successful market niche.

How fast is fast enough depends on the distance between two cities.

Outside of congested areas, conventional rail cannot compete for speed against cars on the Interstate Highway system, so for most of the country, conventional rail relies entirely on its other competitive advantages in order to attract patronage ... not everyone has a car, some people dislike driving and view it as a tedious chore, on a train you can watch a movie on a portable DVD player or get work done on a laptop, there are some (mostly urban) destinations where having a car is a pain rather than a benefit, etc.

For conventional rail with conventional signaling and running over conventional level crossings, Federal Railroad Administration regulations typically mandate a top speed of 79mph. Add in slow zones for curves, station stops, etc., and conventional rail is only faster than the Interstate in congested areas.

Raise the top speed to 110mph and the effective trip speed to the 80mph-90mph range, and for most non-insane drivers a train trip begins to be faster than driving. This is the "Emerging HSR" class of HSR. When you take an existing rail corridor and upgrade it to take faster than conventional trains, this is the first step up from there. 110mph here is a limit for a specific class of upgraded level crossings.

Raise the top speed to 125mph and the effective trip speed to the 90mph to 110mph range, and for all non-insane drivers, a train trip of 2 to 3 hours begins to be significantly faster than driving. This is the "Regional HSR" class of HSR. 125mph here is the limit for trains relying on conventional signaling with lights and information next to the track ... beyond 125mph, signals have to be brought into the cab.

Most of the planned corridors on the DoT map above are Emerging HSR corridors ... and by the same token, since they were the ones that states took seriously enough to push through the process, they are mostly strategic enough corridors that they are likely to end up as Regional HSR corridors.

For many metro areas trip pairs, an effective trip speed of 100mph, which is a radius of 300mph, is fast enough to bring trips down to 3 hours or less. For others, its not. For Cleveland/Cincinnati, Regional HSR is certainly "High Speed Enough". For the LA Basin to the Bay Area, Regional HSR is not "High Speed Enough".

And that brings the final class of HSR, "Express HSR", also known as bullet trains. This is the class which would be referred to as HSR basically anywhere in the world. It requires all grade separated corridors ... 200mph is too fast to take across a level crossing, no matter how "hardened" the crossing may be. It requires that the track be banked for operation far above the speeds of normal container freight cars. It requires an ability to broadcast signals into the driver cabs of the trains. It requires broader, more sweeping turns than conventional rail. In order to keep the mass down and the driving energy up, it essentially requires an all-electrified corridor.

It is, in other words, not an incremental upgrade to an existing rail corridor. It might use an appropriate existing rail Right of Way, but it would use that right of way as a location to lay new bullet train tracks. And its not uncommon for bullet train systems to use the margins of rural and suburban Expressways for their Right of Way.

Fighting HSR Segregation

Now, assuming good design, you get what you pay for. Or as a programmer I am acquainted with writes, "Good, Fast, Cheap ... pick any Two out of Three".

The danger in providing only Express HSR funding is that an Express HSR corridor is expensive. Not every part of the country will find it possible to justify the required state contribution.

That means that if we segregate Express HSR out as the "only true and holy" HSR, we leave it politically exposed to counterattack in the areas that are left out.

And where, precisely, is left in? Well, California has passed $9b in state bond funding for a California HSR system that is Express HSR. The Northeast Corridor is the only place in the country that has established a "Regional HSR" system (though because it is operating in such a congested rail corridor with substantial legacy constraints, it operates in effect as an Emerging HSR system).

Florida and Texas have at various times flirted with bullet train systems ... indeed, a Governor Bush helped kill the flirtation in both instances.

Anyway, California, and the Northeast Corridor. That's it.

Now, instead of fighting over the "true and holy meaning of HSR", suppose that all of the systems that met the original Department of Transportation HSR corridor designation are given a definition as a "class of" HSR.

Now you have Southeastern Corridor, the Gulf Corridor, the Empire and Keystone corridors, the Ohio Hub, the Midwest Hub, possibilities for Emerging HSR corridor development in Texas, the Cascade Corridor in the Pacific Northwest, the New England Corridor connecting into the NEC. Add to that the Front Range corridor presently in early exploratory stages, and there is a massive footprint ... in total number of beneficiary states, for the Senate, in metro populations served, for the House, and even in terms of Swing States, for Presidential Politics.

And unlike bullet train corridors, those are systems that can have their foundation corridors built and put into operation in five years or less, which means corridors that can see ground broken before 2012 and passengers being served before the 2014 midterm elections.

Express and Regional HSR Should Be Friends

When built out, one way that Express HSR and Regional HSR work together is by sharing transfer passengers.

However, by electrifying the Regional HSR line, the Express HSR train can also simply continue on the Regional HSR to a destination that is off the HSR corridor.

So consider the following Express HSR alignment: New York City directly through northern Pennsylvania to North Central Ohio to Fort Wayne Indiana and on to Chicago.

"But it doesn't go to..." is the first reaction. If I set out that map, then assuming anyone was reading, the reaction would be to point out all the places it does not go. But that is ignoring the Midwest and Ohio Hubs. Which is a silly thing to do. Consider the following (note that this is from the Ohio Hub site ... it does not include the entire Midwest Hub, but only the eastern corridors ... the Midwest Hub does actually extend from the Great Lakes into the Midwest proper):

Only the far western stretch of that bullet train alignment appears in this map ...

... but from where it crosses the "Pittsburgh to Cleveland via the Rail Line I Cycle Commute Over" alignment, a bullet train can run from New York City to Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit, from where it crosses the Triple-C from New York City to Columbus to Cincinnati (and likely on to Louisville and Memphis).

... from Chicago, Chicago to the Triple C to Buffalo and Albany, Chicago to the Cleveland / Pittsburgh corridor to Pittsburgh / Harrisburg / Philadelphia, as well as after upgrading the Pittsburgh / DC alignment, Chicago / Pittsburgh / DC.

That is, after all, how it is done overseas ... quite a large number of the French TGV routes, for instance, keep going for quite a way beyond the end of the bullet train corridor. In the map to the right, grey lines are TGV's running on conventional French rail corridors ... which, because of the differences between European and American rail systems, could be considered to be running on "Regional HSR" lines.

Indeed, much of the French TGV system was built in stages, with individual segments of a corridor brought into service on completion, with each segment reducing the travel time on that corridor until all bullet train corridors are completed.

Anyway, that's how to build a HSR system

It doesn't actually matter whether someone is an "Amtrak incrementalist", a "Rapid Rail advocate", or a "HSR advocate" ... its the same plan.

Which is why its not big deal if "Emerging HSR" and "Regional HSR" is not what some Europeans would call "Real HSR". Now that we have the blueprint, we have the language to say "Express HSR" when we mean bullet trains, "Regional HSR" when we mean full fledged Rapid Rail, and "Emerging HSR" when we mean turbocharged conventional rail corridors with plans to build toward full fledged Rapid Rail.

Its a natural coalition of interests, which is a durable foundation for a political coalition among the supporters of the full range of systems.

Those of us living in flyover country no that this is not really building the "Regional HSR" in the outback ... but we do need to be building systems between the Appalachians and the Rockies if we want the robust political coalition that will allow the building of ten and twenty year infrastructure projects in the new century ahead.

Tags: Infrastructure, HSR, rail electrification, A Brawny Recovery, Living Energy Independence, (All Tags) :: Add/Edit Tags on this Post

On Supporting President Obama by Michael Conrad receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-04-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Cross-Posted from Progressive Blue Blog: http://www.progressiveblue.com/diary/3750/on-supporting-president-obama

Michael Conrad is the recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for this incisive piece on the need to praise and question President Obama as warranted by his policies and decisions. Democrats don't lose their ability for critical thinking. We must applaud and we must protest, as appropriate. Michael Conrad says it perfectly well, in a most balanced and insightful piece.

On Supporting President Obama (+)
by: Michael Conrad
Sun Apr 12, 2009 at 06:35:29 AM EDT

[subscribe]
(the title says it all... - promoted by poligirl)

I'm in the process of streamlining the project I've been working on. In order to make room for other content, I'm posting my general views about what it means to support President Obama now, ahead of the project itself.

Besides being something I can refer to when talking about how progressive populism relates to the Democratic president, I hope this contributes something to the grassroots conversation about values, priorities, goals, and how we reach them. I largely personalized this, as I can only speak for myself, but I'm interested in your feedback.
Michael Conrad :: On Supporting President Obama
The discussion in the netroots about the merits of the president's policies has become increasingly frustrating to many of those involved.

Some thoughts:

- Purposeful criticism is necessary. Part of our job is to hold elected Democrats accountable, whether they're in Congress or the White House.

- Applause and criticism for the Obama Administration are not mutually exclusive.

For example:

The way the president initially went about selling the stimulus was ineffective.
The weekly address he used to rally support for his budget was excellent.

Taking crucial economic advice from the Church of Rubin is bad on numerous levels.
Creating a Middle Class Task Force led by Jared Bernstein was a great move.

- Too much is on the line for this to be about us, or desire for personal vindication.

- President Obama has to deal with a dizzying amount of BS, from right - wing attacks and bizarre protests, to inane chatter from Pundit Land about "doing too much at once" despite the desperate need for action on numerous fronts, to incoherent opposition from members of his own party in the form of the Evan Bayh Vanity Project. Voicing our disagreements with the president isn't going to stop us from aggressively pushing back against the GOP, media hackery, and self - proclaimed "moderate" Democrats.

- If Obama is compared to his immediate predecessors, I think he'll likely clear the bar with ease. With that said, if he is going to get the economy working for everyone, there is a lot that must be done. In this case, very good might not be good enough.

- Merely saying that something is "smart strategy," or that the president is "doing what works" doesn't make it true. Distorting pragmatism is highly counterproductive.

- The notion that acknowledging the president's mistakes will damage him is wildly off the mark. If something he is doing undermines his message, the Democratic base isn't going to be the only entity to notice. This misguided mentality is anathema to improving the Democratic Party. It's also a direct contradiction of President Obama's own words about change coming from the bottom up, his supporters holding him accountable, and his willingness to admit mistakes.

- The influx of new participants presents the netroots with a real opportunity to build on the broad support for a bold Democratic agenda within its ranks. A focused netroots will find itself in a good position to accomplish things it has been working towards for years.

Weak Policy = Bad Politics

It's simplistic, but now more than ever, it's true. Our message machine isn't the feeble shell it used to be, and the GOP has very little credibility left.

Health Care

There is a difference between less than ideal policy and weak policy. Single - payer health care is ideal, but right now it makes sense to focus on passing the best health care legislation possible. This means making sure the public option is included.

Jonathan Cohn, a longtime advocate for Universal Health Care recently wrote about the divide within the administration over the issue. President Obama deserves a tremendous amount of credit for standing his ground, and not being swayed by the faction within his inner - circle that leaned toward delay. Defenders of the Clueless Caucus might say that they "only" wanted to wait, but even that is indefensible. Terrible advice like this shows that prominent Democratic consultants are still capable of scaling Mount Stupid in record time.

It's well - understand how cruel and nonsensical this would be policy wise, but what how can anyone argue it would make for good politics? The concerns mentioned in the article that UHC might not be sufficiently popular with persuadable middle class voters would be laughable if this wasn't such a critical issue. There's a reason why Cons like Bill Kristol and Michelle Bernard positively freak out at the thought of the American people getting the health care system they deserve. If you think the concept of Universal Health Care is popular now, wait until after it's enacted.

While I would bet some kind of polling was behind this concern, there is a ton of public polling showing support for UHC from the country as a whole, and especially from those who either vote for Democrats or are in play. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers what happened when health care came up during one of the presidential debates. Then - Senator Obama followed up John McCain's right - wing idiocy by saying that health care is a right. The response from the much - hyped focus group of Independents was overwhelmingly positive. A national poll taken shortly after the debate showed Senator Obama leading Senator McCain by 39% on health care, and trouncing him in the general election.

Wall Street

We'd all breathe easier if there weren't good reasons to question whether the Obama Administration is sufficiently challenging Wall Street, but there are... Larry Summers guiding policy, an anemic outside economic advisory board, Geithner's nomination of Neal Wolin, Elizabeth Warren's comments about the Treasury Department, etc.

I don't think the claim that personnel is largely irrelevant can pass its own "stress test." It seems to me that advocates of the DLC / Third Way / Hamilton Project approach have drowned out other voices. I'd like to be proven wrong about this, but we should be prepared for the outcome described by Robert Kuttner.

The grave political and economic risk is that Obama continues to let Summers and Geithner lead him down the garden path; the industry-oriented mortgage rescue saves too few homeowners; housing remains in the doldrums and mortgage securities with it; the hedge funds and private equity companies make some money with government guarantees, but the banking system remains comatose; and Republicans increasingly become the instruments of public anger.

Mike Lux on what to do next here and here.

Main Street

And then there is Michigan. The failure to distinguish between the big 3 and the auto workers was a sign of weakness. President Obama could have talked about the changes that need to be made and still done something long overdue; use the bully pulpit to confront the smears about people who have actually contribute to our economy. (I'll admit this wouldn't have won over the DC establishment, which much prefers defending those who devour the economy.)

This Wall Street / Michigan double standard was just the latest example of a problem that goes beyond the White House to the party as a whole. From the UAW to EFCA, we've seen how quickly debates involving unions become fundamentally dishonest if Democrats don't assert themselves.

Falling down on the Rust Belt is politically dangerous, and the mood of the electorate make it even harder to understand. The electorate isn't going to tolerate disingenuous attacks from Republicans and their K Street bosses. If we speak the truth, that they are being lied to again by the same people who got us into this mess, the American people are going to listen. Authenticity, passion, and candor will be admired, not shunned.

Fierce Discontent and Fierce Urgency

The Beltway bubble keep its residents insulated from the consequences of their action, and leads them to embrace cop outs and deeply flawed conventional wisdom. Evan Thomas' acknowledgement of the gap between conventional wisdom and reality received a lot of attention for good reason.

But sometimes, beneath the pleasant murmur and tinkle of cocktails, the old guard cannot hear the sound of ice cracking.

This was evident when talking heads came out in droves to condemn the recent wave of populism. To them, talking about stagnant wages makes you a dangerous populist. If you talk about channeling the outrage over ridiculous bonuses into support for re - regulating Wall Street, then you are an extra - scary double populist, and every pundit should be armed with a tranquilizer gun to protect themself from you.

Note: The "we're all in this together" ethos of progressive economic populism are a direct repudiation of right - wing populism. The role economic anxiety plays in fueling the Glenn Beck version is being overlooked.

The Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats need to focus on the perspective that really matters. I've said this before, but I think it's worth repeating. Out of touch Broderites aren't going to like the Democratic Party at its best, but the rest of the country will.

"On Supporting President Obama" by Michael Conrad receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-04-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.progressiveblue.com/diary/3750/on-supporting-president-obama
On Supporting President Obama
by: Michael Conrad
Sun Apr 12, 2009 at 06:35:29 AM EDT

[subscribe]
(the title says it all... - promoted by poligirl)

I'm in the process of streamlining the project I've been working on. In order to make room for other content, I'm posting my general views about what it means to support President Obama now, ahead of the project itself.

Besides being something I can refer to when talking about how progressive populism relates to the Democratic president, I hope this contributes something to the grassroots conversation about values, priorities, goals, and how we reach them. I largely personalized this, as I can only speak for myself, but I'm interested in your feedback.
Michael Conrad :: On Supporting President Obama
The discussion in the netroots about the merits of the president's policies has become increasingly frustrating to many of those involved.

Some thoughts:

- Purposeful criticism is necessary. Part of our job is to hold elected Democrats accountable, whether they're in Congress or the White House.

- Applause and criticism for the Obama Administration are not mutually exclusive.

For example:

The way the president initially went about selling the stimulus was ineffective.
The weekly address he used to rally support for his budget was excellent.

Taking crucial economic advice from the Church of Rubin is bad on numerous levels.
Creating a Middle Class Task Force led by Jared Bernstein was a great move.

- Too much is on the line for this to be about us, or desire for personal vindication.

- President Obama has to deal with a dizzying amount of BS, from right - wing attacks and bizarre protests, to inane chatter from Pundit Land about "doing too much at once" despite the desperate need for action on numerous fronts, to incoherent opposition from members of his own party in the form of the Evan Bayh Vanity Project. Voicing our disagreements with the president isn't going to stop us from aggressively pushing back against the GOP, media hackery, and self - proclaimed "moderate" Democrats.

- If Obama is compared to his immediate predecessors, I think he'll likely clear the bar with ease. With that said, if he is going to get the economy working for everyone, there is a lot that must be done. In this case, very good might not be good enough.

- Merely saying that something is "smart strategy," or that the president is "doing what works" doesn't make it true. Distorting pragmatism is highly counterproductive.

- The notion that acknowledging the president's mistakes will damage him is wildly off the mark. If something he is doing undermines his message, the Democratic base isn't going to be the only entity to notice. This misguided mentality is anathema to improving the Democratic Party. It's also a direct contradiction of President Obama's own words about change coming from the bottom up, his supporters holding him accountable, and his willingness to admit mistakes.

- The influx of new participants presents the netroots with a real opportunity to build on the broad support for a bold Democratic agenda within its ranks. A focused netroots will find itself in a good position to accomplish things it has been working towards for years.

Weak Policy = Bad Politics

It's simplistic, but now more than ever, it's true. Our message machine isn't the feeble shell it used to be, and the GOP has very little credibility left.

Health Care

There is a difference between less than ideal policy and weak policy. Single - payer health care is ideal, but right now it makes sense to focus on passing the best health care legislation possible. This means making sure the public option is included.

Jonathan Cohn, a longtime advocate for Universal Health Care recently wrote about the divide within the administration over the issue. President Obama deserves a tremendous amount of credit for standing his ground, and not being swayed by the faction within his inner - circle that leaned toward delay. Defenders of the Clueless Caucus might say that they "only" wanted to wait, but even that is indefensible. Terrible advice like this shows that prominent Democratic consultants are still capable of scaling Mount Stupid in record time.

It's well - understand how cruel and nonsensical this would be policy wise, but what how can anyone argue it would make for good politics? The concerns mentioned in the article that UHC might not be sufficiently popular with persuadable middle class voters would be laughable if this wasn't such a critical issue. There's a reason why Cons like Bill Kristol and Michelle Bernard positively freak out at the thought of the American people getting the health care system they deserve. If you think the concept of Universal Health Care is popular now, wait until after it's enacted.

While I would bet some kind of polling was behind this concern, there is a ton of public polling showing support for UHC from the country as a whole, and especially from those who either vote for Democrats or are in play. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers what happened when health care came up during one of the presidential debates. Then - Senator Obama followed up John McCain's right - wing idiocy by saying that health care is a right. The response from the much - hyped focus group of Independents was overwhelmingly positive. A national poll taken shortly after the debate showed Senator Obama leading Senator McCain by 39% on health care, and trouncing him in the general election.

Wall Street

We'd all breathe easier if there weren't good reasons to question whether the Obama Administration is sufficiently challenging Wall Street, but there are... Larry Summers guiding policy, an anemic outside economic advisory board, Geithner's nomination of Neal Wolin, Elizabeth Warren's comments about the Treasury Department, etc.

I don't think the claim that personnel is largely irrelevant can pass its own "stress test." It seems to me that advocates of the DLC / Third Way / Hamilton Project approach have drowned out other voices. I'd like to be proven wrong about this, but we should be prepared for the outcome described by Robert Kuttner.

The grave political and economic risk is that Obama continues to let Summers and Geithner lead him down the garden path; the industry-oriented mortgage rescue saves too few homeowners; housing remains in the doldrums and mortgage securities with it; the hedge funds and private equity companies make some money with government guarantees, but the banking system remains comatose; and Republicans increasingly become the instruments of public anger.

Mike Lux on what to do next here and here.

Main Street

And then there is Michigan. The failure to distinguish between the big 3 and the auto workers was a sign of weakness. President Obama could have talked about the changes that need to be made and still done something long overdue; use the bully pulpit to confront the smears about people who have actually contribute to our economy. (I'll admit this wouldn't have won over the DC establishment, which much prefers defending those who devour the economy.)

This Wall Street / Michigan double standard was just the latest example of a problem that goes beyond the White House to the party as a whole. From the UAW to EFCA, we've seen how quickly debates involving unions become fundamentally dishonest if Democrats don't assert themselves.

Falling down on the Rust Belt is politically dangerous, and the mood of the electorate make it even harder to understand. The electorate isn't going to tolerate disingenuous attacks from Republicans and their K Street bosses. If we speak the truth, that they are being lied to again by the same people who got us into this mess, the American people are going to listen. Authenticity, passion, and candor will be admired, not shunned.

Fierce Discontent and Fierce Urgency

The Beltway bubble keep its residents insulated from the consequences of their action, and leads them to embrace cop outs and deeply flawed conventional wisdom. Evan Thomas' acknowledgement of the gap between conventional wisdom and reality received a lot of attention for good reason.

But sometimes, beneath the pleasant murmur and tinkle of cocktails, the old guard cannot hear the sound of ice cracking.

This was evident when talking heads came out in droves to condemn the recent wave of populism. To them, talking about stagnant wages makes you a dangerous populist. If you talk about channeling the outrage over ridiculous bonuses into support for re - regulating Wall Street, then you are an extra - scary double populist, and every pundit should be armed with a tranquilizer gun to protect themself from you.

Note: The "we're all in this together" ethos of progressive economic populism are a direct repudiation of right - wing populism. The role economic anxiety plays in fueling the Glenn Beck version is being overlooked.

The Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats need to focus on the perspective that really matters. I've said this before, but I think it's worth repeating. Out of touch Broderites aren't going to like the Democratic Party at its best, but the rest of the country will.

Has the world become indifferent to human rights atrocities?

2009-04-01T17:24:00.001-07:00

The Tamil People being displaced in Sri Lanka, due to the government of Sri Lankan's actions. Photo from Indy Media

by: Karita Hummer

The world sleeps while ethnic strife and atrocities abound. Yet, another sign of the vacuousness of Mainstream Media. Arundhati Roy warns of another great human rights tragedy unfolding in Sri Lanka by the government against the Tamil people of that country. http://www.commondreams.org/vi... She states that "civilian areas, hospitals, and shelters are being bombed and turned into a war zone", against this population." Arundhati Roy, "The Silence Surrounding Sri Lanka", The Boston Globe, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 http://www.commondreams.org/vi... And what excuse does the government of Sri Lanka give? "The War on Terror", apparently following the lead of the United States, who made the War on Terror the excuse for all manner of human rights abuses, in the Iraq War, and yes, in Afghanistan. Much like Israel did in Gaza.

Ethnic conflicts, and especially, those that involve the atrocities that she has described, should gather journalistic attention from all the corners of the world, so they can more readily be stopped in their tracks. Journalistic review used to be one of the word's bulwarks against the escalation of human rights abuse. In Timor, the attention there probably shortened the conflict there. Even in Bosnia, the steady coverage of the atrocious news there probably led to the Dayton peace accords, imperfect as these accords are.

It is heart sickening to see that our own government has given cover to world governments to abandon international human rights laws. It is time we right this wrong, which gives such a sense of impunity to governments to terrorize in the name of the "War on Terror."

More below...
Let us remember that two wrongs don't make a right, either. Hugo Chavez called for the World Court indictment of George Bush rather than Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for crimes in Darfur. Excuse me, that is not justice. Yes, I believe that the Pre-emptive War in Iraq, and the way it was conducted, does warrant World Court examination, but that would never lead me to want to excuse the atrocities committed in Sudan. Let them all - U.S., Sudan, Israel, and Sri-Lanka be examined by the Press and by the World Court.

While blame is being cast, and deciphered, let us not forget our humanitarian responsibilities as facts are sifted. When does neglect itself rise to atrocious levels? I would say that our neglect of Iraqi refugees is, indeed, atrocious and unforgivable.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has sent out an urgent plea to President Obama to remember the Iraqi refugees that fled their country, because the War there. Go there and sign on to the letter: https://secure2.convio.net/usc...

Here is the sample letter to the President the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants' sent to me:

Dear Karita and Paul,

Millions of Iraqi civilians have had to flee their country to escape religious, ethnic, and political violence and it is not clear when they will be able to return. For now, they languish in countries like Syria and Jordan where they are not allowed to work or otherwise establish a real home for their family.
While we begin to remove our troops from Iraq, we must also take action to help these men, women and children. Please ask President Obama to not forget these innocent refugees and to make provision for them a part of any US withdraw planning.

Specifically, ask him to take two actions:

1. Accept more Iraqi refugees for resettlement in the United States

2. Generously help the countries of the region that are hosting refugees by providing funds for their schools, hospitals, and other service institutions that aid refugees along with locals. This funding would be contingent on these host countries allowing Iraqi refugees to work and establish homes for their families.

Many Iraqi refugees are highly skilled professionals who can make substantial contributions to the communities where they settle.
But all are human beings with inherent dignity and the right to provide for their families by their own efforts. They should not be forced into dependence, poverty, and despair upon the "care and maintenance" of international organizations.
Please contact President Obama today and ask him to help Iraqi refugees.

Sincerely,

Lavinia Limon
President, USCRI

To learn more about the work of this great agency advocating for resources for refugees, visit: http://www.refugees.org/

Karita Hummer

Take Action! Ask President Obama to expedite Iraqi refugees' entry in to our Country.

https://secure2.convio.net/usc...

Citizen Media and Civil Liberties

2009-03-06T23:22:00.000-08:00

Citizen Journalists are our best hope for countering the biases and neglect of news and opinion by Mainstream Media (MSM)

Citizen Media and Civil Liberties
Initially written, October 31, 2008

Introduction

Citizen media, or citizen journalism, as it is alternatively sometimes called, is news or public opinion that is being generated by lay citizens rather than by professional writers and journalists. It has come to be an antidote for the narrowness and seeming bias of Mainstream Media (MSM). Many of us who have been concerned that the values written in to the social contract, as embodied in the Preamble to our Constitution, have been seriously undermined by omissions and commissions of “Mainstream Media”. Because of its very large role as a major influence on our Society, media as a whole has been sometimes dubbed as the Fourth Estate, almost like a fourth branch of government. Esteem for the Fourth Estate in our society has always been quite high. As a people, we have prized our “Free Press”. But far from educating the public in a fair and honest way, Mainstream Media seems to be more at the beck and call of special interests in our country, related to privilege, celebrity, class, ownership, profit and wealth. Conglomerate owned media is at an apex in our country. The consolidation of such media has been accelerated in the last eight years under the Bush Administration. The public awareness that something was amiss in the coverage of news seems to have been heightened by the election of 2000, when grumblings about unrecorded and hanging chads began to be voiced by the Public at Large.

Many simply didn’t buy that the whole story of the 2000 election had been told fully. After the Supreme Court intervention in that election, the Press folded like puppies in a cage, all meek and ready for the January Inauguration (or coronation) to come! All meekly accepting the “results”of an election, as if it had been fought fairly and squarely, hanging chads, be damned! And the puppies pretty much have stayed in their cage ever since.

When the run-up to the War in Iraq was being advanced by the Bush Administration, MSM was either primarily silent or supportive - and certainly not asking the Administration the hard questions that needed to be asked.

When detentions, renditions, and wiretapping on citizens were being perpetrated, MSM rarely made them the front page stories they rightly should have been, considering that such actions were so contradictory under our system of government, as we citizens know it from our most basic civics education, pertaining to laws about human and civil rights. But where was the media outcry or basic coverage about such untoward, seemingly unconstitutional, behavior on the part of the Bush Administration. Few questions were asked and few demands for accountability were made from MSM editorial/opinion writers.

The election of 2004 heightened the alarm many of us had already been feeling about the state of press coverage in America, to the detriment of our democracy. The infamous swift-boat attack on the credentials of John Kerry was magnified enormously by MSM. When the final “results” of the election were actually tallied, there appeared to be nothing “free” about the Press any longer. It was clear to many how cautious and biased, the Press had actually become. Once again, the press chose to accept carte blanche, the “official results” of the election, despite stories of voter disenfranchisements, apparent statistical discrepancies and anomalies, unfair access to voting machines, and the radically different exit poll figures, from vote “tallies”. But such stories were never pursued in the Press. What we got was zilch. It was a dead issue, in this land of Democracy, at the height of when we were on an imperial march to establish democracy in Iraq! Confidence in the accuracy and fairness of the press was eroded still further.

There was only one exception to the lack of coverage of those questionable election results, and it was that which derived from the Internet, primarily by citizens fed up with the state of our Press and news coverage. On the internet, the story was available to all to pursue and discuss. We joined Yahoo and Google groups to lament the situation and we exchanged information about the state of our Democracy. We collected the information and shared it all around. The story of electoral process problems was being by told by Citizens and communicated from one citizen to the next. The story was there to tell and tell it we did, and I did! See Passionate Progressive Patriot. Electoral Reform by Karita Hummer http://passionateprogressivepatriot.blogspot.com/2007/11/electoral-reform.html We didn’t think this was an American story that the country could afford to have go untold or to be forgotten.

As our lament about this electoral injustice rose in our writing, it seemed to stimulate all kinds of citizen disgruntlement, and many of us began to write almost non-stop about a number of issues. There were so many injustices we discovered that were going unreported or under- reported. Some of us began to focus on key inequities such as inequality in criminal justice, global warming, homelessness, poverty, unbridled power grabs by the Executive Branch of Government and seemingly, creeping authoritarianism in our government, pre-emptive war, lack of health care for all, special interest and influence in government, and the vacuousness of media, itself, to name just a few of the concerns, being raised and discussed by citizens. Our stories, commentaries and opinion pieces revealed a collective angst about the state of the Nation, and always a sense that we were called to do something about it.

I can recall a time in our country, when the media really was not as vacuous as it is now. In the 1960’s, there was almost daily coverage of poverty conditions and hunger in places like Appalachia, the inner city and other parts of America, which had been left behind. Why did these stories in MSM dry up? Fortunately, like latter day Boston Tea Party goers or Paul Reveres, we refused to be complacent about the really big issues of our time and especially about the sense that our very democracy was eroding beneath our feet. Citizens are coming to the rescue and sounding the alarm – through citizen journalism.

Current State of Citizen Media Today.
There really are numerous examples of Citizen Media today and most of them are concentrated on the Internet, because the computer and Web 2.0 have given ordinary citizens the tools at their disposal to publish their news and opinion in many interactive venues. Penn State University has a glossary up on the topic of Web 2.0, and at that site, which they call Penn State Learning Design Community Hub, Web 2.0 is defined this way: Web 2.0 - A term to generally describe web sites and services where the content is shaped partially or entirely by the users (instead of being read-only and published by a sponsoring company). Authors at Penn State Learning Design Community Hub http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/

But old fashioned newsletters still qualify as examples of Citizen media, as are Letters to the Editor. In fact, interestingly, as Consolidated Corporate Media cuts back on their papers’ editorial pages, as recently seems to have happened under McClatchy Newspapers at the San Jose Mercury News, the Letters to the Editor are becoming more prominent and appear to be being read a lot more than ever before, and cited by the general public. In the last year, for example, I have had the good fortune to have had almost all the letters I have written to the Editor of the local San Jose Mercury News published. I hear from numerous people that my letters have been noticed and read.

On the Internet, itself, social network sites like Facebook and My Space provide an immediate forum for members to communicate and exchange ideas, and opinions, as well as to promote causes. Some Dot.Com companies like Google and Yahoo have enabled people, such as me, to create their own blog sites, as I have done with my own blog, Passionate Progressive Patriots through Google Blogspot service. http://passionateprogressivepatriot.blogspot.com/
Daily Kos, Huffington Post, Digg, my DD, Democrats.com, Democrats Underground, Velvet Revolution, Brad’s Blog are especially popular sites for Progressives, so, admittedly, those are the blogs I know best. Daily Kos and Huffington Post are the gold standard for Progressive blogs. Newer blogs, like Progressive Blue Blog, have been created by a community of users who tired of the unruly company at some of the blogs and found they had more in common and shared interests and purpose with some more than others. In the case of EENR (later named Progressive Blue, most of the community there were supporters of one of the presidential candidates, John Edwards, and had often written about the issues of that campaign on Daily Kos, on such topics as economic justice, energy conservation and alternative energy, manufacturing and fair trade, participatory democracy, party transformation and other topics. When they created their own site, they set up strict rules for civil discourse and fair, respectful dialogue, which they felt they were not being accorded properly at other sites, such as that of Daily KOS.
Parallel with the growth of citizen media has been the exponential growth of alternative media and the outcry for media reform. Many citizen journalists are devoted to alternative media and receive much inspiration from it, such as from republished pieces in Common Dreams, Free Press, Democracy NOW, and Truthout.

Wikipedia has devoted a whole section of their site now to the topic of Citizen Media. In fact, they have two sections, one called Citizen Media and one called, Citizen Journalism.

· Wikipedia defines Citizen Media this way: “The term citizen media refers to forms of content produced by private citizens who are otherwise not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.” “Citizen Media” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_media. in their section on Citizen Media, they cover the following topics: Principles of citizen media and Modes of citizen media , including Radio, Television, Internet and Video
According to Wikipedia, Citizen Media or Citizen journalism is now becoming a subject of literary discourse, with whole books being published on the subject (e.g. We the Media (Dan Gillmor) and The Wealth of Networks (Y. Benkler) Both of these books are said to have focused on the topic of participatory citizenship.

In Wikipedia’s separate section on Citizen Journalism, Citizen journalism is described as the process or the collecting of information by citizens (as I am doing here for this piece.). It is the act of conducting citizen media. Citizen journalism, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism
The phenomenon of Citizen Media is not limited to the US. Wikipedia gives examples of Citizen Media occurring worldwide. For example, one outlet, OhmyNews, in Korea, describes itself as the first one of its kind, an online newspaper with the motto "Every Citizen is a Reporter". It was founded by Oh Yeon Ho on February 22, 2000. Source, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism and, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OhmyNews
Rights and Responsibilities
Rights
There are both rights and responsibilities about which advocates for Citizen Media must be aware. Freedom of speech, Press and Assembly, and even that of petititon, as protected in the first Amendment to the Constitution, is the bedrock on which the Citizen Media movement stands. It stands on the very tradition of colonial citizens in support of our Revolution who took to using pamphlets to express their disgruntlement with the King of England. It is at once a Civil Liberties issue and a Civil Rights issue.

In introducing first Amendment Language in to Congress in 1789, Madison said, (p/1 0f 5, Find Law http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/06.html#1) “The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write or to publish their sentiments”.

Justice Brennan affirmed such sentiment in the Tinker vs. Des Moines School District case when he state the need for a “profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues, should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open” (Peck, Robert S., Constitutional Protection, under Publication, Unfettered Press http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/press/press02.htm
The First amendment with regard to the expression of opinion has been tested and affirmed in the Courts numerous times. These affirmations were an echo of Andrew Hamilton of many years earlier who as an attorney in defense of one John Peter Zenger, a printer, charged with seditious libel, said, “..."The Question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the Jury, is not of small nor private Concern, it is not the Cause of a poor Printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying: No!.... It is the best Cause. It is the Cause of Liberty."! Andrew Hamilton, from Peck, Robert S., Constitutional Protection, under Publication, Unfettered Press http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/press/press02.htm
Andrew Hamilton was ultimately successful in the defense of John Peter Zenger in 1735, and it became the cornerstone of future court cases regarding Freedom of the Press. Peck, Robert S., Constitutional Protection, under Publication, Unfettered Press http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/press/press02.htm

Ethics and Responsibilities
With rights always come responsibilities. With all the criticism we citizen bloggers have leveled at Mainstream Media, it behooves us, as citizen journalists, to establish and adhere to a set of ethics that ensures that we don’t repeat the same old unprincipled behavior we have suffered of late at the hands of greatly consolidated Mainstream Media. In other words, what we expect of MSM, we should demand of ourselves. We have a litany of complaints, so let’s not compound the problem by repeating the mistakes that have so undermined our access to information. Fortunately, there have been citizen media advocates who have put a lot of thought in to guiding would-be citizen bloggers. Dan Gillmor, Founder and Director of the Center for Citizen Media, formerly Technology Writer for the San Jose Mercury News, and one of the most renowned citizen media advocates, clearly advances one set of ethics to guide any kind of media. On his private web-site, Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc., Gilmor discusses ethics quite succinctly, quoting a fellow blogger, Len Witt, with the admonition, "Don't lie. Don't sell out." , adding, himself, this statement, “I tend to bring it down to this even tinier admonition: Be honorable. Period.” Well-said and pretty clear. http://dangillmor.typepad.com/dan_gillmor_on_grassroots/2005/05/journalistic_et.html
The Knight Citizen News Network is another place that encourages, educates and guides citizen journalists in the ethical practice of citizen journalism. This site stresses six basic principles to follow:
1. “Accuracy
2. Thoroughness
3. Fairness
4. Transparency
5. Independence
6. Resources” (as in proper researching)
http://www.kcnn.org/principles/
The site is a great resource to Citizen Bloggers, as they back up each of these principles with information and education in order to help such bloggers become really capable of applying these principles to their writing.. As the Knight Citizens News Network suggests on their page about principles, it is only in the adherence to such principles that Citizen Journalism will achieve “trust and credibility”.

Summary
The fourth Estate, i.e., Mainstream Media, has utterly failed our democracy. There is little free press around these days, as they are so controlled by Corporate conglomerates. The Press serves the Plutocracy today. In recent years, we suffered through a degrading and demoralizing eight years under the Bush Administration, while the Press did precious little in giving the citizenry information on which to go to reign in the worst of the Administration's excesses. The Press gave Bush and his company of Pretenders a free pass, from the "selection" by the Supreme Court, through all the other electoral atrocities and thefts in the last eight years, through Constitutional Law violations. You name it, Press criticism has been muted at best. It especially thrives on providing entertainment as news, perhaps because it sells. Perhaps Citizen Media can finally become enough of a challenge to MSM that the fourth Estate will find their truly serious purpose once again. Until then, if it ever comes, we need Citizen Media to balance the pool of information and persuasion open to citizens.

Dr. Mario Giorgianni posts a letter to President Barack Obama

2009-03-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Healthcare in America is easily one of our nation's thorniest and most pressing problems. Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award+ goes to Mario Giorgianni, M.D. for his creative and generous concept of how health care providers can contribute to addressing this obstacle to the health and well-gbeing of the nation as a whole. Dr. Giorgiaanni's earnest offer of mobilizing fellow doctors and other health care practitioners to weigh in on solving our health crisis is commendable in every way. It is through community partership such as Dr. Giorgianni suggests where our common good can be realized and experienced best.

Dr. Giorgiann, Rehabilitation Physician, has been providing care in the South Bay to patients with the most serious and long term health consequences of very grave health conditions. He has already demonstrated an ability to organize the best kind of quality care for his patients and to assemble topnotch health care teams on their behalf. President Obama, listen to this wise physician, Dr. Giorgianni. He has much to offer your administration and our collective community. His expert voice should be heard. KH

Letter from Mario Giorgianni, M.D. to President Barack Obama
Thu, Feb 26, 2009 6:24 am (Notice the time of Dr. Giorgianni's letter. Impressive, isn't it? KH)

President Obama

I greatly appreciated your speech to Congress. I found it moving and inspirational. Fortunately I DVR'ed it and my wife and 2 of her friends got to watch it (they were similarly inspired). I especially liked your focus on 3 main areas: energy, health care and education. I can't imagine the difficulty of trying to get us out of the current economic mess, navigating in unchartered waters. I honestly do not know if what you plan to do will work out best for the country; I do know, however, that you will evaluate progress and change the plan as needed. That is very comforting to me.

As a physician I feel that we can do more to help lessen the burden of the cost of health care. I would like to see you encourage physicians and nurses to donate a day per month for free service to those in need, who cannot afford insurance, or who do not have the means to pay for care. This could be done in a physician's office or in a clinic setting (space also donated by a hospital or other health care facility). Patients going to the clinic would receive basic health care services with dignity, compassion and a minimum of hassle (it would not be a burdensome waiting game). Much attention would be focused on preventative care, as it might be difficult to provide more comprehensive services in this setting. As an incentive to have physicians and nurses participate, some tax credit might be offered to them. I think it would be an honor for physicians and nurses to contribute to the health and well being those in this country in need of good
quality health care. It's good for all of us.

Please note that I would love to be a part of those physicians who have an ear with you in helping shape a health care policy that is effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of our citizens.

Respectfully,

Mario G. Giorgianni, M.D.
Campbell, CA

* Sunday, September 16, 2007
What is Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award?

http://passionateprogressivepatriot.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-is-karita-hummers-silver-pen-award.html

Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award is my own personal accolade for good writing that advances the progressive vision for America.

I had a fellow blogger ask, what is the meaning of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award and this is what I answered.

I share it here, reprinted from the John Edwards blog.

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2007/9/16/201/09966

"Just my own way of spreading the good word." (none / 0)

When I get excited about a piece I see, I think it deserves a silver pen award, as we have seen in our local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News. (I first got the idea when I liked some of the writings I found on the John Edwards' Campaign web-site blog. I always thought it might be a good thing for the blog to have such an award, but, then I thought it would not really have been good for the Campaign to do such choosing.)

So, I invented my own, when I felt especially moved or impressed. It's just a personal accolade I like to give to our great citizen journalists in this blog community. When people accept the award, I repost their piece in my own blog site at Blogspot, http://passionateprogressivepatriot.blog spot.com/.

I hope it doesn't seem too presumptuous or that I am taking myself too seriously. It's poking a little fun at myself, but I do mean my praise very sincerely.

I will not limit my Silver Pen Award to blogs only found on the JRE blog, but will inlcude blogs and writings from other sites, as appropriate to the mission of my blogspot site which is to advance progressive thought.

Karita Hummer
San Jose, CA

OKlahoma Voter receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for "For want of truth in the media"

2009-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

Oklahoma Voter receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for her incisive piece on the lack of truth in current day mainstream media. Hers is an exemplary piece of citizen journalism which I think is our best hope for journalistic truth today. Media wasn't always so lacking in truth and investigation as it is today. What a loss for our country! KH, Passionate Progressive Patriot

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3559

For want of truth in the media

by: OklahomaVoter

Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 14:15:45 PM EST

(so true - promoted by edgery)

For want of truth in the media, grass roots will was lost.
For want of grassroots will, political will was lost.
For want of political will, a stronger alternative energy package was lost.
For want of a stronger energy package, alternative sources of energy were lost.
For want of alternative sources, tools for limiting carbon dioxide production were lost.
For want of carbon dioxide limits, forest fires flared and mountaintops melted.
For want of stopping fires and melts, lands overheated and farmlands were lost.
For want of farmlands, most of an inhabitable planet was lost.
And all for the want of truth in the corporate-owned media.

Harvey Wasserman blows the whistle on a stealth attack by the Nuclear industry on night of Jan 27

2009-01-31T23:52:00.001-08:00

Tell the Senate and President Obama, "No, thank you, to the Nuclear Industry and Coal Industry. We want safe, alternative energy and soon - not later! We want a Stimulus Bill that produces truly green jobs now!"

Harvey Wasserman blows the whistle on a stealth attack by the Nuclear industry on night of Jan 27

by: Karita Hummer

Sat Jan 31, 2009 at 23:39:08 PM EST

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3469

According to Harvey Wassserman, the Nuclear and supposed "Clean Coal" industries are to be awarded a provision of $50 billion for building such things as nuclear reactors that wouldn't be able to be licensed before two years from now. Aside from how dangerous the nuclear and supposed "clean coal" alternatives are, the earmarked billions for these industries wouldn't even help the job situation or our economy generally, in the short run as so many suggest we need. Harvey Wasserman gives real pause for thought and urges us to mobilize to fight this nuclear industry incursion and yet another attempt to take from the public purse, with the real possibility of hurting the public, not only financially, but physically, as well.

Follow Wasserman's advice and mobilize boldly!

Here is Harvey Wasserman's very important piece, re-posted from Common Dreams: http://www.commondreams.org/pr...

A $50 Billion Nuke Power Bomb Is Dropping Toward Obama's Stimulus Package

by Harvey Wasserman

Published on Saturday, January 31, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
A $50 Billion Nuke Power Bomb Is Dropping Toward Obama's Stimulus Package
by Harvey Wasserman
The desperate, dangerous nuclear power industry has dropped a $50 billion stealth bomb meant to irradiate the Obama Stimulus Package.
It comes in the form of a mega-loan guarantee package that would build new reactors Wall Street wouldn't finance even when it had cash. It will take a healthy dose of citizen action to stop it, so start calling your Senators now.
The vaguely worded bailout-in-advance provision was snuck through the Senate Appropriations Committee in the deep night of January 27. It would provide $50 billion in loan guarantees for "eligible technologies" that would technically include renewable sources and electric transmission. But the handout is clearly directed at nukes and "clean coal."
The Stimulus Package is explicitly meant to create jobs within the next two years. But according to sources at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, no new reactors could be licensed for construction within that time. Nor could any new coal plants. And thus the funds in this rider are to "remain available until committed." That means their "stimulus" might not go into effect for many years.
But the nuclear industry does have the ability to spend large sums of money on "site preparation" and other busy work prior to being licensed. Though the guarantees could technically be used for truly green sources such as wind and solar, the provision's backers, including Senators Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Thomas Carper (D-DE), have made it clear that this money is meant to go for new reactor construction.
In late 2007, nuclear power's Congressional Godfather, then-Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), stuck a similar $50 billion loan guarantee package into that year's energy bill. A grassroots uprising, joined by virtually all national environmental organizations, helped defeat the package. Among other things, the fight inspired a music video from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Keb Mo and Ben Harper (www.nukefree.org [1]).
In late 2008 the industry came back again with a blank check package that went down in flames along with the stock market.
Still unable to get private financing, the industry is back yet again. In the interim, the projected cost of building new reactors has soared to more than $10 billion each, and continues to climb steadily. Many of the previous generation of reactors came in hugely over budget. According to the Nuclear Information & Resource Service, one DOE study places the overall average overruns at 207%. But reactor projects such as Seabrook, in New Hampshire, New York's Shoreham, Pennsylvania's Beaver Valley, California's Diablo Canyon, and many others, far exceeded that.
The Congressional Budget Office now predicts that half the nuclear utilities using such a loan program will go into default. Some $18.5 billion in loan guarantees has already been approved, apparently for such use. But its legality is being hotly disputed, and the money has not been distributed by the Department of Energy.
Washington insiders believe this latest attempt at a pre-arranged bailout has again come from Domenici, who has stayed in Washington to lobby for his radioactive benefactors after apparently retiring from the Senate in January.
This guarantee package was not part of the Stimulus Package that passed the House. Its secretive, late night inclusion on the Senate side is reminiscent of how former Vice President Dick Cheney did business for the fossil/nuclear corporations that funded much of the Bush Administration. The reappearance of this kind of back door dealing has not been well received, especially in the House.
Numerous national groups, including the Nuclear Information & Resource Service (www.nirs.org [2]) are providing sign-ins for sending e-mails to the Senate. They also urge that you call your Senator at 202-224-3121.
Time is fast slipping by for the nuke power industry. As the popularity of renewables and efficiency escalates, the most obvious source of new jobs and prosperity has become truly green technologies. Atomic power has long since been priced out of the market. Only massive federal and ratepayer subsidies could bring it back, to the direct detriment of the revolution in renewables.
Defeating this latest money grab will help drive another nail in the coffin of the 20th century's most expensive failed technology. It is an essential step toward a truly green-powered future.
Harvey Wasserman's SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth, is at www.harveywasserman.com [3]. He edits the NukeFree.org [4] web site, and is senior editor of www.freepress.org [5], where this article first appeared.

Thanks to Harvey Wasserman and Common Dreams for their efforts to keep us safe and healthy in every way possible. Heads up!, Everyone. fight back. Stay safe and healthy. Contact your Senator.

Karita Hummer

Close Window

Eddie C's Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots wins him Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

Eddie C is awarded Karita Hummer's Silver Pen award for his excellent work in explaining the banking mess for which now we all must pay, and pay dearly, in blood, sweat and tears, and in some cases, ruin. His essay helps explain the banking meltdown in a remarkably clear way that makes it ever so more understandable, in a way for a citizen activist to know what they must demand from his or her government. Thank you, Eddie C KH

Here, in my opinion, is the heart of the problem that Eddie C describes so well.

Greed, greed and more greed, at our expense! KH

A Quote from: Eddie C,
Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots (+)

by: Eddie C

"It is not that our elected officials are bad people but the history of lobbyist influence is the root of this nation's financial crisis. And because of the fact that our representatives fell over themselves to bailout the banks with taxpayer dollars our own money is now increasing banker influence in Washington. Just like another financial crises issue Fanny May and Freddie Mac, taxpayer dollars have found another way to influence decision making on Capital Hill.
There is no doubt that the banks have been winning and the people have been losing for decades and it has served no one but the banking big wigs and the representatives cashing their campaign donations. The shareholders have gotten screwed, the taxpayers are getting the shaft and regulatory improvements are uncertain. Our elected officials won't admit it but their own deregulation has caused pain and suffering throughout the entire world and now it should be the people's turn." Eddie C

This makes me recall the statement that Hillary Clinton had so singularly fatuously made on the campaign trail during the primary, that lobbyists were just people. Yes, indeed, people - greedy people. KH
And the answer to such greed is "Change Congress". Join Change Congress in going on strike, as in quit donating to people who take lobbyist money, as recommended by Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi, founders of Change Congress.

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3458
Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots (+)

by: Eddie C

Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 01:52:06 AM EST

[subscribe ]

(on banking, sunshine, and regulation... - promoted by poligirl)

I'm sure most people here know who Paul Volcker is but have you heard of the Group of Thirty and the 18 Recommendations released prior to the inauguration called Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability?
I know that economics is a boring topic. I keep nodding off over the keyboard myself. But restoring confidence in the U.S. market is all about our being able to pay our bills again. Those recommendations are vital to the continuity of an economy in our nation. Guidelines that will have an enormous impact on the future of this nation and how we live.
Below the fold is a diary that first explains some of the challenges these reforms face, followed by an explanation of Mr. Volcker's guidelines. Then there is a look at the government that protected Americans compared with the one that did not. There is also an objective look at the present government and Mr. Volcker followed by the forces that stand against real banking reform.
Please read it and please recommend this diary because if we don't have Paul Volcker's back then perhaps nobody does and business as usual will continue.

Eddie C :: Banking Sunshine and Regulations: Desperately Seeking Netroots

The Questions
The American banking crisis may not have a singular cause nor can one action fix the mess this nation faces but the extremely positive effects of regulating the banking industry once again are undeniable.
There is a big problem with Ben Bernanke's sly metaphor.
"I think it's very important for us to try to put out the fire. I think it's good advice in general, that if there's a fire burning, you try to put it out first, and then you think about the fire code."

And that problem is the history of our government. If they do manage to throw enough of our taxpayer dollars to make it appear that the formerly free market banks are functioning again the political will to restore those fire codes will be gone. Since the maturation of lobbyist influence there is no history of our government attempting to fix a big campaign donation sector unless that sector is on fire.
It is not that our elected officials are bad people but the history of lobbyist influence is the root of this nation's financial crisis. And because of the fact that our representatives fell over themselves to bailout the banks with taxpayer dollars our own money is now increasing banker influence in Washington. Just like another financial crises issue Fanny May and Freddie Mac, taxpayer dollars have found another way to influence decision making on Capital Hill.
There is no doubt that the banks have been winning and the people have been losing for decades and it has served no one but the banking big wigs and the representatives cashing their campaign donations. The shareholders have gotten screwed, the taxpayers are getting the shaft and regulatory improvements are uncertain. Our elected officials won't admit it but their own deregulation has caused pain and suffering throughout the entire world and now it should be the people's turn.
Foreign investors upon whom this "too big to fail" nation has grown so dependent are watching in utter disgust. When shareholders see that the bailed out financial industry still paid $18.4 billion in bonuses after a disastrous 2008 they know their money can't be trusted there. With those bankers transforming our tax dollars into bonuses now Democratic representatives including our new president are discussing "fixing" Social Security while offering a stern word or two to the bankers. Can you find any sort of representation in that?
Just like the Great Depression this is a crisis of confidence and much of that lost confidence is in our government's ability to fix that which they broke. There is no Franklin D. Roosevelt this time. Unfortunately Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are not on top of this, our media that generates a great deal of income from banks won't present this and not repairing the damages caused by deregulation represents the path of least resistance.
The Answers
On January 15 an economists' forum named the Group of Thirty released a report called Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability.
The report addresses flaws in the global financial system and provides 18 specific recommendations to: improve supervisory systems by redefining the scope, boundaries, and structure of prudential regulation; enhance the role of the central banks; improve governance practices and risk management; address pro-cyclicality via capital and liquidity standards; enhance accounting practices; strengthen the financial infrastructure; and increase coordination internationally.

Paul Volcker, the head of President-elect Barack Obama's special economic recovery advisory board was the lead author.
"The issue posed by the present crisis is crystal clear," said Volcker. "We [must] restore strong, competitive, innovative financial markets to support global economic growth without once again risking a breakdown in market functioning so severe as to put the world economies at risk."

Mr. Jacob Frenkel, another Chairman of the Group of Thirty and a Vice Chairman of of one of the largest corporations that received a government bailout, pointed out that we can't get out of this U.S. government induced mess until investors can believe again.
"Financial markets today are fragile and highly vulnerable. These conditions require that policy initiatives must focus on restoring stability and rebuilding confidence in the system as a whole. For confidence to be fully restored, markets must be reassured that there is a coherent agreement on a comprehensive reform of the regulatory and supervisory system. We believe that policymakers must adopt changes that improve prudential regulation and supervision. We must also improve risk management, enhance transparency, strengthen the market infrastructure, and assure a greater degree of international consistency and coordination among regulators and supervisors."

Talk about Change We Can Believe in. Reading through the pdf. presentation the recommendations are almost all about government regulation and banking enforcement but the sweeping new regulations cover almost everything. Unlike our politicians the report acknowledged charges that flaws in the U.S. financial system are to blame for starting the current global economic crisis and emphasizes the fact that banks, having become too big to fail, have become a threat to our own national security.
The Group of Thirty calls for simplification of banks and restoring the division between banks and brokerage houses just like we had ten years ago. There is a call for higher standards of transparency in both banks and brokerage houses. It calls for something most Americans once thought we had, strict regulation of money market mutual funds.
A call for one government agency scrutinizing all capital including money market accounts, mutual funds, even private hedge funds that rely on borrowed capital, financial derivatives, over the counter trades and all of those credit default swaps that are still ticking like a $47 billion time bomb.
Close regulation and supervision by one government body of all investments may sound a bit Homeland Securityish but a central agency looking out for systemic risk would put an end to regulators pointing their fingers at other government bodies. This nation regulatory agencies have descended from concrete regulations to a mix between "supervisory guidances" and "sound asleep." The Securities and Exchange Commission has proven to be totally worthless and Barack Obama's choice to clean it up must be a joke.
Confidence through subjecting private pools of capital to public scrutiny, paying greater attention to liquidity and risk management practices with executives being forced to produce reliable financial stability reports regularly or "new parameters for a firm's risk tolerance." There is a call for the government to be given a place in the board rooms and they ask for responsible and balanced board membership including an accounting background presence in board rooms.
Although there is already a clash in the Obama administration there is a call for common international standards of accounting, a single set of global accounting standards to be administered by the International Accounting Standards Board. Restoration of confidence in rating agencies is also stressed, so companies that declare bankruptcy with an AAA rating will be a thing of the past. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be transformed entirely into government agencies or regulated as independent mortgage brokers to remove government conflicts of interest.
Even the two issues that our television news media and many of our elected officials seem to think this crisis of confidence are all about are addressed. The recommendations call for setting guidelines on executive pay and separating hedge funds from clearing houses so there won't be another Bernie Madoff scandal.
This may all seem so radical after decades of propaganda from supply side pundits and our our elected officials becoming paid advertisements for the banking industry but it is not. Not too long ago rules for banks watched out for the people.
Good Government
On June 16, 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Glass-Steagall Act it ended the banking insanity that was judged to be the primary cause of the Great Depression.
It was enacted as an emergency response to the failure of nearly 5,000 banks during the Great Depression. The act was originally part of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT's NEW DEAL program and became a permanent measure in 1945. It gave tighter regulation of national banks to the Federal Reserve System; prohibited bank sales of SECURITIES; and created the FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC), which insures bank deposits with a pool of money appropriated from banks.

On that day in 1933 consumer banks were transformed into unexciting dependable institutions that oversaw the flow of capital for six decades of American growth. Separated from the investment banks that would ride the economic roller coaster through those decades the consumer banks were a rock of solid footing.
Strict banking regulations saw this nation emerge from the Great Depression, World War II and the Baby Boom that followed. The nation grew through the Korean conflict, Cold War and the War in Viet Nam with the restricted banks financing the people's needs through it all with hardly a problem. Compared to today these were very good times as far as personal finance was concerned.
Enhanced by the solid performance of the banks the politicians continued to show good judgment and solidified the two Glass-Steagall Acts as late as 1956 when the Bank Holding Company Act was passed.
The debate that government regulations went too far was not an unsound argument. Banks were judged as a hindrance to American savings. Interest rates were artificially low and the dependable dividends to shareholders were often twice as high as banks highest saving rates. Investors saw no reason that banks should not be allowed to become to big to fail and because of the regulations restricting growth banks also traded at artificially low price to earnings ratios. But while the voice of conventional bankers that wanted the growth (and paychecks) of the investment bankers grew louder,claiming those regulations were "outdated, unfair, and unworkable regulations" our financial system was the envy of the entire world.
Bad Government
The American financial system is no longer the envy of the entire world. Now the American banking system deserves credit for the global financial meltdown. There is plenty of blame to go around but the history of the Great Depression was repeated by our elected officials in a deregulation orgy.
A PBS FrontLine chronology called the long demise of Glass-Steagall describes the unraveling of our once trustworthy banking system.
Beginning in the 1960s, banks lobby Congress to allow them to enter the municipal bond market, and a lobbying subculture springs up around Glass-Steagall. Some lobbyists even brag about how the bill put their kids through college.

Through the 1970's as investment banks encroached on commercial banks, still more lobbyist put many more kids through college the bankers began chipping away at regulations. The 1980's began with a good president signing the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act but there was bad on the horizon. The Regan administration set the stage for totally undermining the the safety net signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
In December 1986, the Federal Reserve Board, which has regulatory jurisdiction over banking, reinterprets Section 20 of the Glass-Steagall Act, which bars commercial banks from being "engaged principally" in securities business, deciding that banks can have up to 5 percent of gross revenues from investment banking business. The Fed Board then permits Bankers Trust, a commercial bank, to engage in certain commercial paper (unsecured, short-term credit) transactions. In the Bankers Trust decision, the Board concludes that the phrase "engaged principally" in Section 20 allows banks to do a small amount of underwriting, so long as it does not become a large portion of revenue. This is the first time the Fed reinterprets Section 20 to allow some previously prohibited activities.

Even in 1987 Paul Volcker got it and everything he suspected proved true.
In the spring of 1987, the Federal Reserve Board votes 3-2 in favor of easing regulations under Glass-Steagall Act, overriding the opposition of Chairman Paul Volcker. The vote comes after the Fed Board hears proposals from Citicorp, J.P. Morgan and Bankers Trust advocating the loosening of Glass-Steagall restrictions to allow banks to handle several underwriting businesses, including commercial paper, municipal revenue bonds, and mortgage-backed securities. Thomas Theobald, then vice chairman of Citicorp, argues that three "outside checks" on corporate misbehavior had emerged since 1933: "a very effective" SEC; knowledgeable investors, and "very sophisticated" rating agencies. Volcker is unconvinced, and expresses his fear that lenders will recklessly lower loan standards in pursuit of lucrative securities offerings and market bad loans to the public. For many critics, it boiled down to the issue of two different cultures - a culture of risk which was the securities business, and a culture of protection of deposits which was the culture of banking.

1987 was the same year that a former director of J.P. Morgan Alan Greenspan became the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board but his lust for banking deregulation had only just begun and the Savings and Loan disaster did not have such a disastrous effect on the commercial banks. Consider the last housing crisis that started off in 1987 and in the early 90's did leave the recently deregulated Savings and Loan associations insolvent creating quite a mess in this nation's financial industry. That was not seen as a signpost by our elected officials?
1990 should have been another signpost of disaster but the indications were ignored. Even though commercial banks were only allowed to have ten percent of assets in unsafe waters the junk bond crisis of 1990 did threaten the nation's banking industry, causing insolvency and liquidity problems.
It wasn't like there were no signposts yet our elected officials continued down the road to deregulation. On November 12, 1999 banking lobbyist did more than just put their kids through college as our elected officials cashed all of those campaign finance checks from Sanford I. Weill and his kind while guaranteeing the present financial melt down.
A lot of blame has sloshed around for the sub-prime meltdown, from greedy borrowers to greedy mortgage brokers to Alan Greenspan, but if you want the real culprit, it was the repeal of the Glass-Stegall Act. On November 12, 1999, the champagne must have been shooting from the walls at Citigroup, which had worked behind the scenes for over 30 years to get the act overturned. After recovering from their hangover, they and their banking buddies went on a sub-prime lending orgy.

It was a ten year downside that helped create Bush's false economy and prevented the necessary market correction that should have come after the end of the tech bubble. The banks were free to create a housing bubble. Since turnover in Congress is very slow America are depending on many of the same people to fix this problem of their own creation.
An even larger number of these so called representatives are still in office from the days when they were telling Americans that the only problems the banks had was deadbeat consumers. Then the Credit Card Congress offered a "law that was literally written by the credit-card industry" called The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 but they forgot the consumer protection part.
It is hard to believe in people who have so few qualms about the corporate kickbacks known as campaign finance in this nation. Those same people who for years have been getting letters from the working poor for years about $45 late fees and $45 over limit fees added to their 30% A.P.R. credit cards but felt no urge to do anything about it.
The Present Government
Everyone wants to believe that the 111th Congress will be above all that but as the Senate proved last week with foreclosures up 81% for 2008 and actually increasing in December, they still had more TARP money for the supply side and so little for the ailing demand side.
There is certainly confidence that Barack Obama will put this TARP money to better use but with everyone asking "What happened to the first $350 billion?" Democrats are saying "We were in a hurry." This time Barney Frank was not in such a big hurry but the Senate crushed oversight of the next infusion of TARP and even thought we have a good president virtual cart blanche is another bad sign.
It is good and there is much hope in the fact that Barack Obama has surrounded himself with people like Warren Buffet and Paul Volcker but these Group of Thirty recommendations have to go through the same government that put this nation here in the first place.
Back in November when Barack Obama selected one of the most experienced men in the financial world as the Chairman of this new Economic Recovery Advisory Board that will be staffed by people from outside of government the nation and the world was reassured. Now these recommendations are being taken by some as another sign of a promising future.
Obama has pledged to present a package of reforms to prevent another round of the financial crisis that began in the United States, ahead of a summit of world leaders in London this April. Observers saw in Thursday's report potential building blocks of Obama's plan. Observers saw in Thursday's report potential building blocks of Obama's plan. Although issued by the Group of 30 -- an organization of international economists and financial policymakers -- its lead author is Paul Volcker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve during the Carter and Reagan administrations who will serve as a special adviser to the Obama White House. Part of Volcker's role is to help mastermind what could become the biggest overhaul of the U.S. financial system in decades.
"I think this is a clear sign that the new administration is going to push for a major overhaul, for major structural reforms of the regulatory system," said Steven Schrage, the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Having this highly esteemed group backing that proposal is going to put pressure to present those changes before [the] April summit."

But and it is a very big but in this campaign finance focused nation.
The report's recommendations may find support among those in the United States and Europe who have called for tighter regulation over the financial system in the wake of the current economic crisis. But elements of the plan were already opposed Thursday by some in the financial industry, where some worry that the push for tighter government regulation may go too far.

Most newspapers make this framework that seems to be an answer to the gross mismanagement of this nation and the stresses placed on the entire world by the previous leadership sound like a done deal. Bloomberg which explains this regulatory crackdown quite well offered;
"The worst Wall Street financial crisis has gone global, and not a regulator worth his salt will back down from tightening up the regulatory regime," Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report was released. "Volcker has Obama's ear and there is no doubt that the U.S. will be on the same page as most of these G-30 recommendations for greater financial- services regulation."

But this is a complicated maze and would encounter so much resistance that unless everyone is talking about it the turf battles between different parts of the federal regulatory structures and the herd of cats that represent our interest not to mention the concerted efforts of the banking industry will do exactly what has been done so far. Regulation goes on the back burner and money gets handed out.
And of course this is an independent study that is not necessary the opinion of Barack Obama. As pointed out in the report it "does not reflect the official views of those in policymaking positions or in leadership roles in the private sector" and Paul Volcker's own words.
Volcker said he would press the new administration to consider the measures, "but it's up to the administration to decide what they want to do."

And there are signpost in the Obama administration too. Paul Volcker is not the only man who has Obama's ear.
The president-elect's choices for his top economic advisers - Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers as senior White House economics adviser and Peter Orszag as budget director - are past protégés of Rubin, who held two of those jobs under President Bill Clinton. Even the headhunters for Obama have Rubin ties: Michael Froman, Rubin's chief of staff in the Treasury Department who followed him to Citigroup, and James Rubin, Rubin's son.

Remember when Clinton ran on Robert Reich economics but gave the nation Robert Rubin instead?
Rubin helped precipitate the Asian financial crisis which has inflicted untold suffering on tens of millions, orchestrated the bailout of foreign bankers and investors in connection with the Mexican and Asian financial disasters, and crafted or helped implement domestic policies that ensured the overwhelming portion of benefits from economic growth would go to the rich -- but none of this managed to sully the reputation of the Secretary Rubin.

Rubin never met a deregulation he didn't love and not only did he pave the road to ruin, he still has a high place in Democratic economics even though he brokered himself a deal with the main benefactor of banking deregulation as he pushed it through.
Dubbed by Clinton the "greatest secretary of the Treasury since Alexander Hamilton," Rubin left the administration and joined Citigroup, the nation's largest financial conglomerate, whose very existence was made legal by the deregulation measures he had convinced Clinton to accept. According to The Wall Street Journal, Citigroup has so far paid Rubin more than $100 million to serve as chairman of its executive committee, and leaves him free to serve as a key economic adviser to Barack Obama.

If Barack Obama does intend to enforce the the advise of Paul Volcker he will face another challenge. These recommendations would be a tough decision for a new president that may cost political capital. The economy of the two banking frontier states, South Dakota and Delaware, would be devastated if national regulations are enforced. Many of these banking and finance schemes created many jobs. With a nation bleeding jobs, a regulated financial industry would be a smaller employer.
For instance Paul Volcker's study calls for oversight of those modified derivatives called credit default swaps. These unregulated insurance policies that are the same as taking out insurance on your neighbors house would not be made illegal. But the Group of thirty calls for underwriters to have adequate funds to cover these credit default swaps just like conventional insurance policies. Since the founders of these schemes don't have approximately $47 trillion laying around that market would dry up and all those jobs would be lost.
The fact that those credit default swaps can only be estimated to be $47 trillion is testament to how bad our government has become. The government doesn't know what is outstanding and doesn't want to know. What is known is that when Leahman Brothers went from investment grade bonds to bankruptcy overnight ten time the value of Leahman Brothers bonds were outstanding in CDS's. At the time American corporations had about $6 trillion in outstanding debt and there was $58 trillion of Credit Default Swaps being wagered on that debt.
It was an insane asylum of legalized gambling and our government still does not care to put a stop to it. with that as an example, the 18 recommendations that would virtually restore the Glass-Stegall Act and address the banking schemes invented since Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed that bill is a very tall order.
On Paul Volcker
With only a few newspaper stories floating around the supply side economist didn't even have to come out against Paul Volcker but since just about ever newspaper story stresses that Volcker has Obama's ear, they may. At least they will if any of his recommendations are taken seriously. Since there have already been stories about how FDR extended the Great Depression I'm sure the economist on the banking payroll will be claiming the Paul Volcker extended the recession of the 1970's and 80's.
Paul Volcker is old school. So old that he spent more of his life in the real banking regulation era as oppose to the bubble era that most of us know. At eighty-one he's been around since before many of today's media economist were born and in his long history where he held far more important jobs than his present one Mr. Volcker earned many decades of praise.
About the best assessment I can find of this market icon are his own words in an old speech he made before Bush's eight years of insanity. An excerpt of this speech that was made on January 27, 2000 in Bangkok, Thailand, a country that now seems to have a more stable economy than the United States, points to great strength of character.
As one concerned with banking supervision and the structure of financial markets for many years in my own country, I welcome that emphasis. The often expressed concerns about the importance of open and fair business practices, of respect for the rule of law and open competition are at least as relevant.
In that connection, I can't refrain from expressing a point that seems to me crucially important for any market-oriented economy. It is a particularly critical point for nations without a long and strong tradition of financial stability.
A strong central bank, well insulated from partisan politics, professional in its staffing and fiercely protective of its integrity, is an invaluable national resource. With nationally and internationally recognized leadership and an established record of continuity, a strong central bank will command respect for its policies and enhance confidence in a nation's currency, invaluable assets at a time of crisis.
That may seem a rather parochial point by an old central banker. But it is a lesson that has been taken to heart in recent years by most countries, large and small, right around the world. A world of convertible paper currencies, a world that has long since abandoned the discipline of gold, and a world in which money can move so freely, necessarily requires high confidence in its basic monetary institutions.

Some feel that a dose of Volcker style sanity may have dashed Jimmy Carter's hopes of reelection but he is a tough minded disciplinarian who has always worked for "responsible budgetary and monetary policies," always worked for financial system based on a stable foundation, stood up against the shadow banking system and commands the respect of both Democrats and Republicans.
"Without Paul Volcker's toughness and guts, we may never have broken the grip of rising inflation and declining productivity that plagued the United States during the 1970s," former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt wrote in the foreword of Joseph Treaster's 2004 biography "Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend."

Another glowing review points out;
Volcker is the larger-than-life former Federal Reserve chairman who held the post from 1979 to 1987. He crushed inflation in the early 1980s and ushered in two decades of economic prosperity.

The Resistance
Since the inauguration Mr. Volcker has not seemed larger-than-life. Ever since those 18 serious methods of fixing the financial crisis he has gone pretty unnoticed. No surprise there since the work of this man is the sort of thing our present media and government would have an allergic reaction to.
Cynics may refer to it as a case of regulating the barn door after the horse has died but Mr. Volcker's voice of reason should be very reassuring. The only problem is that most cynics did not hear about these recommendations. With almost nobody talking about Paul Volcker there is little hope.
The timing of these 18 recommendations could not have been worse. With The Obama Express, the outgoing prez patting himself on the back and the Miracle on the Hudson not even PBS got around to this story in a television dependent nation. CNN and MSNBC doesn't have a clue what news is and even Keith has been busy with other stories.
CNBC with all of their banking and brokerage commercials plus their endless line economist that haven't been right yet waiting to offer "We need to be careful about overacting" ignored the story all day. Because it was only seen in a few newspapers Fox News didn't even need to spin the information to protect bankers.
Had the recommendations from the Group of 30 made headlines in the financial newspapers and been features on finance channels it would have had the same result as back in November when Barack Obama selected one of the most experienced men in the financial world as the Chairman of the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a market rally. The Economic Recovery Advisory Board that will be staffed by people from outside of government reassured the nation and the world.
In a capitalist nation where the capital is so messed up this news should have more impact.
"But I like to think the crisis is an opportunity," Volcker added. "It's an opportunity to do some things that in ordinary circumstances, in quieter circumstances, would not begin to be possible."

Now two weeks have passed and there is still so little information about those 18 recommendations. This week on the Sunday morning news cycle almost ever discussion was about the failing economy. There was some talk of nationalization of banks because of what is going on in Great Britain. There was much talk about federal aid money and how it is being spent. Did you see any serious talk about banking regulation?
The Fed is calling for "all available tools" but not that one. A stimulus plan passes the house but when will there be time for reassurance? When regulations do make the news all we hear is nonsense. If these recommendations don't see a great deal of sunshine from the progressive blogs, they may just be dead on arrival.
Besides the fact that Helicopter Ben sat before Senate Banking Committee on September 23 to tell Senators that they need to be very respectful of the banks when giving taxpayers money away or the banks might not accept the cash, he should have erased all confidence anybody gave him when he claimed that the Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Reserve was "very effective."
A month later Robert Auerbach, a former banking committee investigator pointed out the need for oversight.
The billions of dollars taxpayers are paying to bail out banks, especially the trillion-dollar superbank financial holding companies, should not obscure the need to fix underlying and continuing causes of the financial crisis. Under Alan Greenspan's leadership of the Federal Reserve Bank, the nation's central bank, it had a defective bank examination process. ...One root cause of poor regulation of banks by the Federal Reserve is the underlying conflicts of interest at the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Two-thirds of the board of directors in each of these Fed banks are voted onto the boards by the banks in the district. So the bankers are charged with regulating themselves.

After all of this banks are still regulating themselves and with elected officials making suggestions about how the banks should regulate themselves better things don't look good. When the best our new president can do is offer a tongue lashing to those bankers who wrote themselves $18.4 billion in bonuses for 2008 things are looking really bad.
But the biggest problem these rules face is lobbyist talking down our representatives so they will say the same thing as people like Scott Talbott and those always wrong economic pundits. Campaign finance is the reason we pay for half the military in the world, the reason we have 49 million Americans without health insurance and the reason many baby boomers who have been saving for a rainy day no longer have a retirement pot to pee in.
There will most certainly be some action taken at some point but the service of the American people is doubtful. Making our representatives in both the House and the Senate aware that Americans know about and want these regulations is a worthy effort. A few opinions about the Group of 30's recommendations at Change.gov won't hurt neither. And these regulations getting a whole lot of sunshine here in the blogosphere would be helpful too.
The notion that the U.S. government cannot do two things at the same time is false. As they smother this fire in taxpayer money they should be restoring that fire code. For the most part they are not even discussing restoring regulating the hand that feeds them and what seems to be going on is our leadership desperately seeking a new bubble, a new false economy with even less air than that housing bubble we are trying to recover from.
"The pervasive and deep-rooted financial crisis has amply demonstrated that our financial system is broken and it requires thorough-going repair."
-Paul Volcker

Transport Stimulus: Doing It Right by: BruceMcF receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-01-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

Bruce McF receives another Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for yet another outstanding piece that connects the dots on green jobs and rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure (e.g. New Orleans!). Bruce McF is erudite and thorough, through and through, and has put much research and thought in to this marvelous piece, as he always does in his writing. He inform us all, so we can push for how to rebuild America, by doing it in a way that is for the common good. What could be more important than publicly investing in something that helps our economy, builds jobs, attacks global warming, rehabilitates crumbling cities, and gives us all a better quality of life, enabling access for us all to places of national beauty and pride. Well done article. KH

Transport Stimulus: Doing It Right

by: BruceMcF

reposted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3441

Mon Jan 26, 2009 at 11:27:34 AM EST

(the Midnight Oil for you... - promoted by poligirl)

Adapted from an entry at Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence

OK, so, to make an egregiously long story merely excessively long, a very strange thing happened on the road to the Stimulus Package. As Rep. Oberstar told the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

That is why we set forth this $85-billion initiative from our committee. It's been reduced in the final going. We expect that it'll come out somewhere around $63 billion, but $30 billion for highways.
The reason for the reduction in overall funding ... was the tax cut initiative that had to be paid for in some way by keeping the entire package in the range of $850 billion.

As I described in Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong, actual effective stimulus spending was shortchanged -- and in particular spending with substantial long term economic and strategic benefits -- to "pay for" tax cuts.

In reality, if we want to be able to "afford" tax cuts, what we need first and foremost is growth, and economic growth requires effective government investment in the infrastructure of a New Energy Economy.

Energy Independent Transport has a strategic defense imperative, and a long term economic development imperative, on top of the substantial transport benefits and, in the Stimulus Bill as it stands, a substantial and primarily untapped potential for short-term stimulus.

And "not enough shovel ready projects" was reportedly the word from the last days of the Bush Transportation Department.

Now, it is quite true that some "sexy" rail transport projects really aren't shovel ready. It will take six years to electrify our main freight rail lines and provide 110mph Rapid Passenger Rail to most of the country. Bullet trains in California and the Northeast Corridor (NEC) will take fifteen to twenty years. These require medium to long term plans and funding.

But the bulk of the previous post was digging into the details, and finding out that we know for sure that there are untapped, shovel ready projects out there.

The question here is, how could this be done right?

Here's an idea. Suppose we set up accounts for the responsible local authority for transit to be spent on any qualifying project from a list of Energy Independent Transport projects. Fund it at the level of $100 per person -- roughly $30b total. And funds that have not been spent in a year get re-allocated to authorities that funded qualifying projects.

Some of those local transit authorities will be "Transit Authorities" (which do exists in quite a lot of places). Where there is no local transit authority, that will be the incorporated municipality or county. In Native American treaty reservations, it seems like it will be a First Nation council of some form.

If Congress sets its mind to it, it can work out a way to specify the local transit authority. And no bailing out and saying some localities cannot be trusted, and the money goes to the State Department of Transportation on their behalf ... we have just seen that the majority of State Departments of Transportation either do not understand the importance of putting forward shovel-ready Energy Independence Transport projects ... or do not really understand the needs out where the wheel hits the rail.

And if Congress sets its mind to it, it can work out a list of Energy Independence Transport projects. One thing that makes it easier is that it doesn't have to prioritize them, or decide relative levels of funding. The local authorities will do that. Just list projects that won't be a waste of the stimulus dollars on the obsolete transport systems of the 20th century, and we will be fine.

Some ideas to get the list started:

Operating subsidies to reduce public transport fares below 2008 levels to the end of 2010
Operating subsidies to increase public transport services beyond 2008 levels to the end of 2010
Purchase of Electric and Pluggable Hybrid Electric public transport vehicles
Capital backlog on rail transport and transit
Investment in Rail/Bus interchanges
Equal Access to Bus Stops
Building Sidewalks
Building Pedestrian and Cycle bridges over State Routes, US Routes, and Interstates
Bike parking and Bike Lockers at public facilities and public transport stops
Fully paved and physically grade separated cycleways
Electrification of rail corridors
Electrification of trolleybus routes

... add to the list yourself.

But whatever is on the list ... make the funds "use it in a year or lose it" ... and you will see the bulk of the funds spent in the first year. And if you don't ... well, obviously the second year the funds will get to the transit authorities who have a demonstrated ability to find shovel-ready projects.

I expect that we would quickly learn how many "shovel ready" Energy Independence Transport projects there really are out there.

Read About It (1983)

Close Window

jamess's Union Busting 101: Pay no attention to that Man behind the Curtain. receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

2009-01-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

jamess, wins Karita Hummer's silver pen award for a topic of utmost importance to workers at the height of economic angst in the country, and telling this story as it needs to be broadcast around the country. What better place to do it than here on the internet, where deomocracy is being best preserved. jamess is an perfect example of a citizen journalist who is careful, thorough, informative, fair who writes with great conviction. KH

Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3435

Union Busting 101: Pay no attention to that Man behind the Curtain.

by: jamess

Sat Jan 24, 2009 at 14:46:02 PM EST

(EFCA must pass... - promoted by poligirl)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Randy Johnson explains their "Organization's" concerns about the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA):

The Card Check Reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Randy Johnson is Chamber of Commerce's vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits.

Randy Johnson:

"The Employee Free Choice Act ... would take away the Right to a 'Secret Ballot' Election in the Workplace. It is True, as the Unions are saying, that 'technically' it doesn't eliminate it. Why is that? Well, a Union could still choose to have a 'Secret Ballot' Election, technically. Mr Miller we agree with you on that -- ah But, When would a Union do that, if they get a Card Check Majority? So it effectively takes away the right to a 'Secret Ballot' Election, and substitutes for that a 'Card Check' process. ..."

Huh? "Technically True" -- which really means it's NOT really True? AND THAT means you just can't trust Unions, because they really want to take away Workers Rights? Wait minute, go over that again spin-meister ... Unions just are Bad, period, Trust you!?

Excuse Me?

Here's a news flash for you Randy Johnson, Unions are subject to the same Labor Laws to Protect Worker Rights that Employers are!

If only the Chamber of Commerce, and its members, were ACTUALLY SO Concerned about protecting Worker's Rights, as your "Secret Ballot" Outrage pretends to be ...

Well, according to that Lobbying front group, for well-financed (and secretive) Big Business interests ...

The State of American Business 2009
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce stands ready to join with our new leaders and all Americans to revitalize the greatest engine of growth and opportunity the world has ever known--American free enterprise.
Nevertheless, when necessary, the Chamber will challenge proposals advocated in Congress or by the new administration that would damage the economy's capacity to recover, grow, and globally compete. For example, we will strongly oppose the elimination of secret ballots and forced arbitration in union organizing drives, new workplace regulations that would destroy jobs, unworkable environmental and health care mandates, and isolationist policies that shut off trade.

(emphasis added)
http://www.uschamber.com/sab/d...

Hardly sounds like "the Chamber" cares about the issues that Labor stands up for, like UHC, Fair Trade, and Environmental Standards, now does it?

Now here's a Union Organizer perspective on EFCA (with the video edited to rally those flag-waving, anti-EFCA sentiments)

Behind the scenes of labor's EFCA agenda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Why We Need EFCA
Despite its paltry membership, the U.S. labor movement remains the nation's most potent force for progressive change and the most effective vehicle for electing Democrats.
Peter Dreier and Kelly Candaele -- Dec 2, 2008

If unions are good for workers and good for the economy, why are so few employees union members? Business leaders argue that employees' anti-union attitudes account for the decline in membership, which peaked at 35 percent in the 1950s. In fact, a recent poll found that 58 percent of non-managerial workers would join a union if they could. But they won't vote for a union, much less participate openly in a union-organizing drive, if they fear losing their jobs for doing so.
And there's the rub. Americans have far fewer rights at work than employees in other democratic societies. Current federal laws are an impediment to union organizing rather than a protector of workers' rights. ... Under current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulations, any employer with a clever attorney can stall union elections, giving management time to scare the living daylights out of potential recruits.
According to Cornell University's Kate Bronfenbrenner, one-quarter of all employers illegally fire at least one employee during union-organizing campaigns. In 2005, over 31,000 workers were illegally disciplined or fired for union activity.
...
Big business spends hundreds of millions a year to hire anti-union consultants to intimidate workers from participating in or showing support for union campaigns. Employers can require workers to attend meetings on work time during which company managers give anti-union speeches, show anti-union films, and distribute anti-union literature. Unions have no equivalent rights of access to employees. To reach them, organizers must visit their homes or hold secret meetings. This is hardly workplace democracy.

(emphasis added)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/art...

Chamber of Commerce: Big-Business Umbrella Group's Anti-Union Agenda

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Chamber has an annual budget of $150 million[2] and 300 staff members.[3] With President Thomas J. Donohue at the helm, annual contributions to the Chamber from its largest corporate members rose from $600K to $90 Million in less than a decade.[4]
...
Although an increasing number of its member organizations pursue cooperative and socially-responsible labor relations, the Chamber continues to advocate against unions, and appears to be ramping up its attack.
In 2004, the Chamber spent $24.5 million lobbying the federal government.[8]
...
The Chamber recently filed amicus briefs in two significant cases before the National Labor Relations Board to argue for rulings that limit the ability of workers to form unions. One case could define millions of workers as supervisors, revoking their right to organize, and the other could effectively quash the card check method of organizing.[15]

(emphasis added)
http://www.americanrightsatwor...

While the Chamber of Commerce Ads may claim to protect Worker's Rights, their actions behind the scenes point to an altogether "different agenda" ... Busting up Unions, is usually something best done "in the Shadows", and behind closed doors ... under the "guise of concern" ...

Union Busting 101 - "Who Are They?" - Episode 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Union Busters like to hide behind the all-purpose "umbrella specialty" otherwise known as "Labor Relations Consultants".

And they know how to prey on a Worker's worst fears ...

Union Busting 101 - Episode 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Here's the main page, from the Union Busters Playbook:

Techniques Used by Companies to Deny You Your Choice for Union Representation

Companies use Supervisors as Frontline Soldiers: Supervisors, who themselves have no legally protected right to be represented by a union, are used by the Company to deliver anti-union letters, speeches, and informal chats prepared by anti-union consultants. Supervisors are essentially used to do the dirty work for management.
One-on-One Meetings: During organizing drives, 78 percent of workers are forced to attend closed-door or isolated meetings with supervisors. These aren't friendly impromptu chats, but well-planned meetings to decipher employees' feelings about the union and persuade them against the union.

Captive Audience Meetings: So-called 'captive audience' meetings are held for employees during work hours to disseminate propaganda against union representation and to attempt to discredit the union. Employees are almost always required to attend, but those employees considered to be union organizers may be intentionally uninvited to the meeting. Often, the meetings are rigged so that workers who are already against the union are assigned to ask questions to sow misinformation.
Delay: Anti-union consultants often attempt to delay union representation elections by legal maneuvers so they have more time to implement other tactics needed to increase tension, dissension and the employer's chance of winning the election.
Divide & Conquer: Anti-union consultants create opportunities and craft persuasive messages to make employees feel that there is a tense division among staff concerning the union election. They may go so far as to pit one group of employees against each other.
Letters, letters, letters: The specialty of the anti-union consultant is hammering out materials-cartoons, leaflets or management correspondence-to build a case against the union. 92 percent of companies involved in organizing drives mail anti-union materials to employees' homes.
Love offerings: In order to convince employees that they don't need a union, anti-union consultants may advise clients to provide indirect bribes, like unexpected increases in wages or benefits or 'feel good' measures like free food and lottery tickets.

(emphasis added)
http://www.buwcouncil.org/tech...

There are even high-priced Seminars to train Management in the shady "Techniques of Union Busting" (assuming you have the "credentials" to attend, as Art Levine found out:)

Unionbusting Confidential
To keep out organized labor, you need the union-busting law firm Jackson Lewis
By Art Levine -- Sep 24, 2007

... As it turned out, the two men who had purged Richard would be our seminar leaders. The older man in pink was Michael J. Lotito, a 30-year veteran of anti-union legal wars. The younger was Michael Stief, III, a protégé and fast learner. I soon saw they knew their turf well. "We're not moralists," explained Lotito. "We're lawyers."
Once the seminar got underway, I learned that all of us were doing the right thing in resisting unions. "We believe that the union is irrelevant for the 21st century," declared Lotito. Unfortunately, "unions have new weapons." To make his point, he waved a clipping from the New York Times describing some recent public relations woes of Wal-Mart.
...
One of the first things I learned from Lotito and Stief was to try to come across as respectful of labor's concerns. "The goal is not to be union-free," explained Stief. "It's to be issue-free." We were advised to institute an open-door policy with employees, encouraging them to air any grievances or concerns fully. Not only would this keep them happy, it would help us to sniff out whether there was unionization afoot.
Lotito informed us that his father had been a New York dockworker. "Back then, in 1935, [unions] made perfect sense," Lotito said. "Did they have legitimate issues about how they were treated in the workplace? Yes! There was no safety, no security, no benefits." But they, he explained, were a lot different from today's whiners. "We didn't have employees say: It's my God-given right to have health insurance."
...
What if we simply wanted to fire union organizers? That was possible to do, said Stief, as long as you were careful to do so for other reasons. "Union sympathizers aren't entitled to any more protection than other workers," he explained. But the firing could not be linked to their union activity.
...
Lotito introduced a segment called "You Can Say It." Could we tell our workers, for instance, that a union had held strike at a nearby facility only to find that all the strikers had been replaced -- and that the same could happen to the employees here? Sure, said Lotito. "It's lawful." He added, "What happens if this statement is a lie? They didn't have another strike, there were no replacements? It's still lawful: The labor board doesn't really care if people are lying."

(emphasis added)
http://www.inthesetimes.com/ar...

So what tools do pro-Labor organizers have?

How about Common Sense? How about the Truth?
(sometimes "plain talk" can go a long ways ...)

Al Franken on the Employee Free Choice Act

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Al Franken:

"I support the Employee Free Choice Act because it will give more workers the opportunity to join a Union, without Intimidation. ...
The National Labor Relations Board is responsible for preventing the intimidation of workers, whether it be by Unions OR by Employers. Since President Bush started packing the NLRB with anti-union nominees, the NLRB has gotten real good at the former, and real bad at the latter.
Unions absolutely have the responsibility to organize without intimidation, and when this Bill passes, they will have the same responsibility. BUT, the balance between Labor and Management has been heavily tilted in Management's favor, and the Employee Free Choice Act will help even the playing field. Thank you."

(emphasis added)

Thanks Al! Progressives can't wait til you finally make it to the Senate Floor, and shake things up there, with more "plain talk"!

What tools do pro-Labor organizers have on our side?

How about the Law? (Existing Laws, which already "hold Unions in check"!)

If only the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could be "instructed" to Protect Worker's interests plainly, and not thwart them? (Maybe the new Administration, can provide "a Revised Playbook" here too, eh?)

NLRB: How Do I File A Petition or Remove A Union?

NLRB: How Do I File a Charge Against An Employer or a Union?

NLRB: Employee Rights

The National Labor Relations Act extends rights to many private-sector employees including the right to organize and bargain with their employer collectively.
...
Examples of Your Rights As An Employee Under the NLRA Are:
* Forming, or attempting to form, a union among the employees of your employer.
* Joining a union whether the union is recognized by your employer or not.
* Assisting a union in organizing your fellow employees.
* Refusing to do any or all of these things.
The NLRA forbids employers from interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, or engaging in protected concerted activities, or refraining from any such activity. Similarly, labor organizations may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of these rights.

(emphasis added)
http://www.nlrb.gov/Workplace_...

So tell me again Randy Johnson, from the Chamber of Commerce, just HOW IS IT that the so-called "loss of the 'Secret Ballot' is going to infringe on my Worker Rights", again? (Seems we already have Laws on the book to deal with your faux "worker harassment concerns".)

Unions are subject to the same "non-coercion" Laws, as Employers are suppose to be. SO, "Exactly WHO, is zooming who, here"?

And Answer me Readers, a few Questions: Who is looking out for you, and your family? Those millionaire CEO's, or the Union, of your fellow workers?

And WHO is it, that looks at the "pink slip" as a perfectly legit way to "cut costs", in hard times? (To avoid cutting a few of those CEO "Golden Parachutes" strings, instead?)

It seems that the Workplace, is too often the last place where "Human Rights", and Common Sense, and Fairness get applied, for the benefit of all, instead of just the select few? And sometimes disastrously so, as the Sago Mine incident, painfully demonstrated ... the consequences of ignoring "Worker Rights" -- rights which the GOP is often all too eager to ignore as well.

Could it be that All-Mighty "Greed" has had the upper hand for far too long in this Country?

And look what all that "Greed" has finally wrought ...

A safe and secure Future for all?
-- NOT, hardly! ... anything but!

Close Window

Pax Christi asks "What should Obama do first?"

2009-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

cross-posted from: Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3428

Pax Christi asks "What should Obama do first?"

by: Karita Hummer

Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 02:01:52 AM EST

(Now, let's get down to business... - promoted by poligirl)

Mr. President, we ask you!

Pax Christi has asked its members on Facebook: "What should Obama do first?"

Never shy at response, I offered my wishes, hopes and prayers there for Obama's first acts. This was my reply:

1. Obama should close Guantanamo and commit to International Law. He should end the War in Iraq. He should set up an international conference to deal with the Palestine/Israel conflict.*1
2. He should review the abuses of the (Bush) Administration and consider if crimes were committed regarding torture, wiretapping and civilian injuries in Iraq. *2
3. He needs to address Darfur. He needs to address the refugee crisis the Bush Administration inflicted on Iraq, and provide American remedies for the crisis we caused.
4. He also should investigate past election abuses and determine if crimes were committed in the execution of electoral processes. Old crime should not be swept under the rug.
5. He should commit to the Global Marshall Plan*4.. He should establish a Poverty Cabinet position and a department to address poverty in the world and here toward the end of eradicating poverty here and in the world. 4
6. He needs to strongly support unions right to organize and worker right to choose to join a union.
7. He should consider a Dept. of Peace.
8. He needs to set up a Watchdog Oversight mechanism for Lobbyists.

Now that I think of it further, I would suggest that President Obama:

9. act boldly to initiate big infrastructure(as in building and digging and services, like Universal Health Care projects that resolve unemployment and global warming reduction at the same time - as among the biggest imperatives he has before him. *9

What would be on your wish list?

More below...

That's all for now, Mr. President! So glad we have an ear in the White House.

Karita Hummer

For an abundance of information on solutions and remedies, and for ideas on how to advance and collaborate on such solutions, here are references for my wish list above:

*1. On Gaza: http://www.spiritualprogressiv...
*2. On Imperial Presidency and High Crimes: Elizabeth Holtzman, Holding Bush Accountable, The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
and John Dean, John Dean: Will Obama Investigate Bush War Crimes? , the Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
*3 on Refugee Crises (of our making or that of others: International Rescue Committee http://www.theirc.org/, Catholic Relief Services, http://crs.org/ and Amnesty International, http://www.amnesty.org/
*4 On Election Theft and Electoral Reform and not letting high crimes of election theft go untried and unpunished and uncorrected, Velvet Revolution, http://www.velvetrevolution.us... Harvey Wasserman, A "Ten-Point Solartopian Starter Agenda for the Age of Obama", sub-section,"Universal Hand-Counted Paper Ballots", http://www.commondreams.org/vi... {{Harvey's total list with some surprises is great.}}
Wikipedia has an enormous list of election reform groups and th national ones include:

http://activism.wikia.com/wiki...

[edit] United States
[edit] National Election Activist Groups

* 51 Capital March
* Alliance for Democracy
* Americans Coming Together
* Answers.com
* Audit the Vote
* Backbone Campaign
* Ban The Machine
* Baker-Carter Commission
* BlackBoxVoting.com
* Black Box Voting.org
* BradBlog.com
* Bush Cheated '04
* Citizens Act
* Citizens for Ethics
* Citizens for a Fair Vote Count
* Coalition Against Election Fraud
* Coalition for Visible Ballots
* David Cobb for President
* Code Pink
* Common Cause
* Computer Scientist for Social Responsibility
* Constitution Project
* Count Every Vote
* Dean People
* Democracy for America
o Election Reform Discussion Group
* Demos
* Election Assessment
* Election Line
* Election Science Institute (formerly VoteWatch)

* Electoral Integrity
* Electronic Frontier Foundation
* Electronic Privacy Information Center
* Electronic Vote and Democracy
* ExitPollz
* Fair Elections
* Fair Vote
* Help America Recount
* Hunger for Democracy
* Instant Runoff National List - Working to implement IRV everywhere in the United States
* Investigate the Vote
* Juice for Justice
* Just a Fly on the Wall
* League of Women Voters
* Left.org
* Lynn Landes - Voters Newswire
* Mercury Coalition for Honest Elections
* MoveOn
* National Ballot Integrity Project
* National Committee for Voting Integrity
* National Network for Election Reform
* National Voters Rights Coalition
* National Voting Rights Institute
* No Confidence Resolution
* No Mandate
* Nov2Truth.org
* Nov3.us
* Open Voting Consortium
* Perfect Voting System
* People For the American Way
* Project Vote Smart
* SAVE Democracy
* Solar Bus
* Stolen Election 2004
* This Time We're Watching
* True Majority
* Truth in Voting
* US Counts Votes
* US Voting Integrity Project
* Vote America
* Velvet Revolution
* Verified Voting
* Voice 4 Change
* Vote Scam
* Vote Trust USA
* Voters For Open & Transparent Elections
* VOTERGATE Resource Center
* Voters Unite!
* We Do Not Concede Coalition
* Where's the Paper?
* Working Assets: Work for Change
* Email National Coalition for Verified Voting

With that many groups(above)working on the problem of election reform (there is a recognition of the enormity of the problem and many solutions among them, to be sure.KH
*5. On Poverty and Global Marshall Plan:
Half in Ten: http://halfinten.org/ and
http://www.spiritualprogressiv...
*6 On Unions, Organizing and Joining Working America
http://www.workingamerica.org/ and for a total potpourri of Union information, go to: http://www.aflcio.org/
Esther Kaplan, Can Labor Revive the American Dream?, The Nation, http://www.thenation.com/doc/2...
*8 On Lobbyist Reform and oversight Obama should run (and we all should) to Change Congress and join with Lawrence Lessig and Joe Trippi in their efforts for lobbyist reform: http://change-congress.org/
*9. Environmentally Sound Jobs Creation: Bruce McF, "Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong" with commentss, Progressive Blue Blog, http://www.eenrblog.com/showDi...

PLUS

Green Jobs, Half in Ten, http://halfinten.org/category/...
Green for All: http://www.greenforall.org/?gf...

OK, enough of the problems and solutions, let's get to work on them in the Obama Administration and in Congress! Let's hear it for Progressive Law and Order. K.H.

Close Window

BruceMcF receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award for Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong

2009-01-19T22:24:00.000-08:00

Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong (+)

by: BruceMcF, Repeat Recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

Kudos to BruceMcF for this article of such great import at this juncture in our land, when we need jobs, fair commerce, and environmental value in all things economic! Bruce, as always is thorough with his guidance and advice on infrastructure. Thank you, Bruce!

cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3406

Sat Jan 17, 2009 at 20:53:58 PM EST

[subscribe]

(on transportation and the economy... - promoted by poligirl)

Burning the Midnight Oil for Energy Independence (crosspost links at the blog)

There is this big emphasis on "shovel ready projects" in the Stimulus Bill ... but now that the details are coming out, we can see that in transport, its just a load of horseshit used as an excuse for supporting business as usual.

The headline numbers are $30b highway spending, $10b for public transport and rail:

Transit Capital Assistance, $15.9b in shovel ready projects, $6b in funding
Amtrak, more than $10b in capital backlog, $0.8b in funding
Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment, $50b capital backlog, $2b in funding
Capital Investment Grants, $2.4b in already approved projects, $1b in funding

I got a "shovel-ready" project for you ... shoveling out the bullshit from the Bush Administration Department of Transport and replacing the pandering to the oil companies with a concern for America's Economic Future.

BruceMcF :: Transport Stimulus: You're Doing It Wrong

The Details, Wherein The Devil Lies

Take the following details, wherein the devil always lies. Under the summary description, "$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption" ... which is fishy right there, since everybody knows there are more than $10b in deferred maintenance to get passenger and freight rail in this country, and more than $10b in freight bottlenecks, many of which have been "studied" to death (since Yet Another Study is much cheaper than funding capital works) ... and we see the following specifics (emphases added):

Capital Assistance to States-Intercity Passenger Rail Service Recovery Funding: $300 million
The Capital Assistance to States-Intercity Passenger Rail Service program provides grants on a discretionary basis to states to fund necessary capital improvements to improve intercity passenger rail service. Over the last 10 years, ridership on intercity routes that benefit from state support has grown by 73 percent. Grants under this program are awarded to the most meritorious projects as measured against statutory criteria. The FY 2008 grants demonstrated the demand of this program. Applications were greatly oversubscribed even though applications were required within 90 days of the start of this new program. AASHTO has estimated intercity passenger rail corridor investment needs during the 2007-2012 timeframe as totaling $18.502 billion.

No detail on the number of "shovel ready" projects, but AASHTO annual investment needs estimated at roughly $3b annually, allocation of 10% of that.

Amtrak Capital Grants Recovery Funding: $800 million
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) provides intercity passenger rail service over a system of approximately 20,000 miles in 46 states. It also owns and maintains the most intensively used segment of railroad in the U.S., the Washington, D.C. - New York City - Boston, Northeast Corridor (NEC), which is an integral part of the intercity passenger transportation system in the most densely populated section of the U.S. The NEC carries a majority of air/ rail trips between Washington and NYC. The NEC also hosts commuter and freight rail systems serving the major cities of the Northeast. Amtrak has been consistently undercapitalized during its 37 year existence, and its infrastructure is aging. Recent estimates by the Department of Transportation's Inspector General of Amtrak's capital backlog, just on the NEC, exceeded $10 billion. As a result of aging infrastructure both the speed and capacity of NEC rail passenger operations are limited.

A backlog in excess of $10b, funding of under 8% of that.

Transit Capital Assistance Recovery Funding: $6.000 billion
These funds will be used to purchase buses and equipment needed to provide additional public transportation service and to make improvements to intermodal and transit facilities. The Department of Transportation's 2006 Conditions and Performance Report indicated there is an annual investment gap of $3.2 billion to maintain our transit systems and an annual gap of $9.2 billion to begin to improve our transit systems. In addition, a January 2009 survey of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) identified 787 ready-to-go transit projects totaling $15.9 billion. Funds will be distributed through the existing urban and rural transit formulas. $5.4 billion will be distributed to urban communities and $600 million will be distributed to transit agencies that serve rural communities. It is estimated that over 165,000 jobs will be created by this investment.

$15.9b ready to go projects, funding at 38% of that.

Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment Recovery Funding: $2.000 billion
These funds will be used for capital projects to modernize or improve existing fixed guideway systems, including purchase and rehabilitation of rolling stock, track, line equipment, structures, signals and communications, power equipment and substations, passenger stations and terminals, security equipment and systems, maintenance facilities and equipment, operational support equipment including computer hardware and software, system extensions, and preventive maintenance. Funds will be distributed through the existing fixed guideway formula. It is estimated that the state-of-good-repair capital backlog for existing fixed guideway systems is nearly $50 billion.

Capital backlog of $50b, funding at 4% of that.

Capital Investment Grants Recovery Funding: $1.000 billion
These funds will be used for light rail lines, rapid rail (heavy rail), commuter rail, automated fixed guideway system, or bus-way/high occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilities. These projects help relieve congestion in major metropolitan areas and reduce the carbon footprint caused by automobile travel. Funds will be distributed on a discretionary basis and will assist the advancement of full funding grant agreement projects that are already in construction as well as final design projects that are nearly ready to begin construction. The Federal Transit Administration has documented more than $2.4 billion in pre-approved funding that could be advanced to 19 projects across the country to construct New Starts and Small Starts projects. It is estimated that this investment will create nearly 35,000 new jobs.

$2.4b in pre-approved projects (but, it would seem, not yet funded), funding at 42% of that ... and that's just what the Bush Dept. of Transport has identified.

"More Asphalt" Sure Is The Change Someone Can Believe In

Now, for comparison, what is the ratio of funding to "shovel ready" projects for highways?

Highway Infrastructure Investment Recovery Funding: $30 billion
The Department of Transportation's 2006 Conditions and Performance Report indicated there is an annual investment gap of $8.5 billion to maintain our current systems and an annual gap of $61.4 billion to improve highway and bridges.
... Twice last year, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) surveyed State transportation departments and reported on the number and dollar value of additional highway projects that each State could undertake quickly if supplemental Federal funds were made available. The results of AASHTO's December 2008 survey showed that all 50 States combined had over 5,100 projects totaling more than $64 billion that could be under contract within 180 days after enactment of Federal economic recovery legislation. These projects would include resurfacing and pavement preservation projects, traffic signal system upgrades, bridge projects, and intelligent transportation systems.

In other words, roughly 42% of the annual funding gap and roughly 50% of identified shovel ready projects.

(Appropriations Committee Report on Recovery Bill (pdf), pp. 69-71)

The Appropriations Committee can natter on all it wants about the glories of roadworks, but this country passed our peak oil production about forty years ago and is now addicted to petroleum imports for more than half of our petroleum needs, while a much larger part of the operating costs of the rail and bus transport system are the wages of the people working on the system. Those non-highway appropriations have a strategic defense imperative, and a long term economic development imperative, in addition to transport benefits that outweigh the benefits of yet another roadwork project, and yet are underfunded compared to highway construction.

We are spending $2.4b on the chimera of "clean coal", just to buy protective cover for the real sustainable energy spending ... and there is just $1.1b on regional rail transport.

Even worse, there is $0.0b on improvements in regional freight rail transport.

And the 100% federal funding allowed under the stimulus plan would allow us to make short term investments with long-term benefits all across the country ... this is not just a matter of the Northeast Corridor and California. For example, there is a massive freight logjam in Chicago. As the Metropolitan Planning Council notes:

A new state capital plan would mean new investments in metropolitan Chicago 's freight rail system. Trains currently crawl through the region at average speeds of 12 mph and frequently block traffic at hundreds of intersections in the south and southwest suburbs alone. Modernizing our freight rail network not only would reduce delays for train commuters, drivers and transporters but also would accommodate commuter rail and spur economic opportunities in adjacent communities. The entire region would benefit from much-needed freight capital expenditures.

Investing in freight rail throughways in Chicago is an investment in the productivity of our national economy. And there are "shovel ready" projects. And Stimulus Funding? $0.0b, because we rely on State Departments of Transport with their heavy highway bias to come up with projects, so urgent national transport priorities are set on the back burner to pander to entrenched constituencies to entrenched state bureaucracies.

What in the Hell Happened to Changed We Can Believe In?

I want to stress that this is not a general whinge about the stimulus. The Energy Infrastructure part of the stimulus is excellent and the sustainable energy production part of the stimulus is OK ... far too much to the chimeras of clean coal and liquid biofuels, but on the balance, from what little I can tell, OK.

But for the Transport part of the stimulus ... WTF?

Well, its no surprise ... this is one last "surprise in the punchbowl" from the Bush Department of Transportation. From the California HSR blog:

Rep. Jim Oberstar, chair of the House Transportation Committee and passionate rail advocate, has been rather outspoken in his anger about the underfunding of transit in the proposal. He explains what may have happened to make the stimulus plan so weak:
Basically CBO got numbers from the Bush administration DOT that said it was not possible to spend money on these projects within 90 days, meaning they're not "shovel ready". Oberstar explains that's BS and it's ridiculous to be taking numbers from the Bush folks at DOT that are getting ready to high-tail it out of town. He's really mad about this and I know he's going to fight to get more spending on infrastructure.

Take this fight to your Congressperson ... phone, mail ... you known the drill. We can't afford let the Bush Department of Transport get away with one last act of sabotage against our nation's Energy Independence and, of course, the global climate as a whole.

Obama sings out, "Free at Last", rejoicing in Atlanta

2009-01-19T16:03:00.000-08:00

A confluence of events, forces and streams; a confluence in my lifetime! KH

In his speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, on MLK Commemoration Day, President-Elect Barack Obama virtually sings, "Free at Last". How joyful, a sound, it is on this anniversary of the birthdate of Martin Luther King. How fresh the speech! What a wonderful confluence it is to have MLK Day and Obama's inauguration tomorrow be side by side! God bless us all!

Karita Hummer

As reprinted from Progressive Blue,

http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3413

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

http://www.usconstitution.net/...

Progressive Economics 101: A Living Wage by jamess receives KH Silver Pen Award

2009-01-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

Progressive Economics 101: A Living Wage

jamess is a recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award
for this very informative and helpful piece.

cross-posted from Progressive Blue Blog
http://www.eenrblog.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3403

by: jamess

Sat Jan 17, 2009 at 00:10:14 AM EST

"We stand for a living wage.
Wages are subnormal if they fail to provide a living for those who devote their time and energy to industrial occupations.
The monetary equivalent of a living wage varies according to local conditions, but must include:
enough to secure the elements of a normal standard of living--
a standard high enough to make morality possible,
to provide for education and recreation,
to care for immature members of the family,
to maintain the family during periods of sickness,
and to permit of reasonable saving for old age."

(emphasis added)

Source: Theodore Roosevelt Nomination Acceptance Speech, 1912 -- Social and Industrial Justice to the Wage-Workers

Teddy Roosevelt was one heck of a Progressive Republican!

(Progressives today maybe, should revisit his "Square Deal", eh?)

Where There is a Will... There Will be a Living Wage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

from voiceless workers (barely surviving on minimum wages):

"We're sitting there thinking, 'you appreciate us' but all you're doing is giving us more work, more work -- NO Money; Where's the Appreciation? We want to SEE the Appreciation -- not just hear about it.
... is like [were] the 'Invisible People': 'Come on, Do your job, Disappear'. That's what I think they want from us: DO your Job, Disappear -- We don't want to see you. We don't want to hear you. We don't want to know you exist. Just do what we want you to do, and disappear "

Thom Hartmann - Wal-Mart And The Living Wage - Jan 16, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Wal-mart Worker Sarah, just explained how she had to go to a Food Bank this year -- just to be able to "afford a Christmas" for her kids. Even though she works Full-time, she still can not "afford" to buy the Health Insurance "Benefit" that Wal-mart "offers" to sell to its employees.

Sarah has had to rely on other forms of public assistance too, like food stamps, just to make ends meet ...

Thom Hartmann: You know what this means, that the tax-payers of the United States are subsidizing Wal-mart, basically. They're providing Wal-mart with a cheap labor pool, by providing these subsidies.
And yet on the other hand if we were to say 'OK were going do away with all these social safety net programs' -- which is what the conservatives want -- then you would really be in desperate straits, not to say you're not already.

(emphasis added)

Thom continues with the Hartmann "Living Wage" rant:

It's just like Republican President Teddy Roosevelt argued for:

"if somebody going to work a 40 hours a week
they should be able to, Put their kids through school,
they should be able to have and keep their home,
they should be able to take a vacation,
they should be able to cover 100% of their medical expenses, without any problems,
and they should be able to set aside enough, that they will be able to retire with grace and dignity.

THAT is the American Dream ...
The American Dream IS having a Living Wage.
(and I'm telling ya, 28 years of Republican have stolen it from us!)"

(emphasis added)

A Living Wage, besides bringing great benefits to those of us who might get one someday, a Living Wage is very likely to be the key to the kick-starting that "Demand-Side" Economic Engine too!

Happy Workers ... spend money ...

CNBC Clip: Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich making a great argument for Demand Side solutions. (Sorry for the neocon Norquist's counterpoints -- when will those Supply-siders just "disappear" themselves?)

That link goes to the CNBC segment:
Markets, Economy & Taxes - Thurs. Jan. 15, 2009
Discussing the markets, the economy and taxes with Robert Reich, former labor secretary and UC Berkeley professor, and Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform

Here is the take-away point from Robert Reich segment (at least the one I walked away with)

[Time Mark: 4:40]:

Kudlow: "... Robert Reich, what do you think of the stimulus package?"
Robert Reich: "Well I think its the only option we have. Tax cuts did not work. Supply-side Economics has proven itself to be absolutely fallacious. The Fed has tried to do everything it can possibly do, to increase the Money Supply, reduce Interest Rates, that hasn't work.
I think were going back to Richard Nixon in a way when he said: 'Were all Keynesian now', and we are going to have to spend our way out of this. But seriously Larry, and Mr Norquist ...
I think that the issue here, really is the GAP between the Productive Capacity of the Economy, which is quite high, relative to what the DEMAND for the Goods and Services in the Economy is, and that's pretty, pretty low.

Now that Gap, unless it is overcome, that shortcoming, is going to lead to more job losses, and a negative, vicious cycle.

SO the Govt has GOT to spend in order to get us back to us back NEAR our Production Capacity."

(emphasis added)

Soooo ... unless "we raise Demand to meet what were capable of producing as a Nation", we will stay mired in that "downward spiral" of dwindling sales, more job layoffs, and even less Demand for products -- the Economic Demand that is needed, to ultimately turn things around ... someday.

What is the quickest way to "Raise Demand" in an Economy? How about giving Workers a "Living Wage", and a boost in their sense of confidence and security, too! (BTW this method of "boosting Demand" lasts much longer than the short term boosts, gained by momentary Tax Cuts. ... Just ask Teddy R.)

Or just ask Secretary Reich for his estimates on the the dire straits of ignoring of the Demand-Side of the Equation:

Robert Reich gave his estimates in a recent blog-entry "Stimulus Plan: The Need and Size":
"In my judgment, this will require a stimulus of about 6 and a half percent of gross domestic product, or a total of some $900 billion, spread over two years. That's my estimate for the shortfall in private demand. But the federal government should stand ready to spend larger sums if necessary to get the economy back on track toward full capacity. The danger is not that the government will do too much; the danger is that it will do too little, too late.
Without such action, I estimate that another 3 million jobs will be lost in 2009, unemployment will rise to 10 percent of the workforce by the end of this year, and under-employment - including people working part-time who would rather be working full time, and those too discouraged even to look for work - will reach 15 percent. Without federal action, next year could be even worse."

(emphasis added)
http://www.counterpunch.org/wh...

If People, like Sarah, and all the other full time Wal-mart workers, don't have enough money to pay their bills, and support their families, EXACTLY WHO is going to buy all those Goods and Services, that Corporate America is SO keen on Cranking out, year after year?

Without a "Living Wage" for ALL Workers, how can an Economy ever reach that optimal goal of "running on All Cylinders"?

SO How do we siphon some of that "Productive Capacity", anyways,
so that Companies can "afford" to pay a "Living Wage"?

How about tapping some of those "renewal resources," which have the Productive Potential, of never running out?

(Click for Larger Image)

Yet the Earth's capacity to grow food and forests, and to produce energy from sources such as switch grass and algae, is far greater than our total supply of nonrenewable resources. Enough sunlight strikes the Earth's surface in one day to power civilization for a year. And virtually every material we need - from plastic composites that are stronger and lighter than steel to filaments that conduct light pulses - can be derived from plants.
It's all ours for the growing if we are willing to make the needed cultural adjustments, such as voluntary population reduction and investments in sustainable systems.

(emphasis added)
Source: SFGate -- Go green: Earth's future depends on it, Philip S. Wenz -- Jan 16, 2009

Afterall, All that Future potential is STILL just waiting to be Built!
(and designed, and invented, and marketed)

Hopefully those building it this time, will get paid, the true value of what their work is worth!

Corporate CEO's need to realize:
"Without Workers there IS No Bottom Line!"

Without a strong Demand for all those Goods and Services,
there is "No Rising Tide, to lift all Boats" ...

Close Window