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Cross posted at BlueNC and at warren_wilson
It is not everyday that Warren Wilson gets positive treatment in the Asheville Citizens-Times. At times it seems as if there is a real vendetta against the school, a story that can be told some other time.
But I thought that I would post this story, particuarly after I mentioned Yunus and Grameen in the my last post.
Incidently, I am part of the group that is helping to host the event, which will include a feed to the live presentation of the award (so I've been told).
See you there.
CM
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Cross posted at BlueNC
I saw this over at Govexec.com.
So, it seems that Kerry is going to reinvigorate the Small Business Admin. All I can say is great. We all know that small businesses are good for not only the national economy but also the local ones as well. I hope that Kerry will use his role to also look into what we can do to protect small, local business from the big mega-stores and mega-corporations too. With the founder of the Grameen Bank set to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in less than a week now, it should be on the front of all our minds what we can do to help the small person.
Reminds me of what Dad told me when I was small when I asked about the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. He told me that Republicans were for big business and the rich people and that the Democrats were for everyone else. Made sense to me then and makes sense to me now. Current Mood: stressed Current Music: None |
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This is a cross post from Street Prophets. I thought about not cross posting this, but I kinda want to get people's here take on it. Please comment on this. I won't take offenct if you disagree, as long as it is polite.
I shouldn't open my mouth here, as it will more than likely get me in trouble, but I am going to anyway, mainly because I am tired of these wishy-washy arguments, on both sides. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, I have done it again. Started something as a comment and then realized that it deserved its own diary. So here is the original post by pastordan, and what follows below the fold is my reply. I know that it will not be popular, but then neither were the Abolitionists, or the Suffragettes, or the Freedom riders, so here it is.
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The Blogosphere has been blowing up all day about this new Newsweek poll that came out today.
Admittedly, the majority of the write-ups have focused on the Evangelical slant that the poll definitely shows. There are some heartening things in the results, like the fact that while the Republican slide seems to have stalled, on issues like "values" the results are not that much different than two weeks ago in the immediate aftermath of the Foley thing.
The erosion of support is coming on the heels of the Institute for Southern Studies report that support for the war is low all over the country, including the South. In fact, the numbers in the South are not that different than the rest of the country. (There are several post and blog entries over there that cover this. Try here, here, here, and here.)
As the Newsweek article, and myself I might add, state: it is too early for a celebration yet. This is the time that we might begin to think about picking up the keys to possibly head to the store to maybe buy a bottle of (cheap?) champagne. Or in the case of myself, Irish Whisky...but I digress.
I have to be honest with you; the coming Democratic majority does not really surprise me in the least. For 12 years, or longer, depending on how you count, Republicans have held the position of the "Populist" party. They have successfully done this by maintaining a stance of social populism. However, banning abortions does not put food on the table, and while the richest of the rich have done fairly well in the last 12 years, life for the majority of Americans has gotten harder and harder.
Witness that the minimum wage here in NC is still $5.15 (it is going up at the beginning of the year) while here in Buncombe County the living wage is around $15/hour. You know that housing bubble that got a lot of people rich? It also is making it harder for lower income people to find housing. It also has driven up appraised values for the homes which drive up property taxes. This net just keeps getting more and more complex while at the same time tightening more and more around the working class in this country.
When you consider all of this, a break was bound to happen at some point. Unfortunately, I have little faith that the Democratic Party, at least nationally, can maintain this broad based populist support for a long time. That is a job that is going to need to be picked up by the local and state parties the people that actually know and are trusted by people in these rural communities.
There is much talk about how to turn the South "blue" or to regain the "solid" Democratic South. To be honest, I care little for the party. It is the people that I am concerned about. At this particular time (and at most points in the past) the party you could count on to stand up for the people was the Dems: the party of Jefferson, Jackson, and FDR. But if tomorrow a Green party candidate comes along that I think will help take care of the people here, I will vote for her. If she is a Republican I would have to think about it, mainly because I wouldn't trust that she was sincere.
This is a theme that I am going to be coming back to over and over again: Progressive Populism can win in the South if presented to the people in the right way by the right people.
I am going to leave you with this:
I am one of those annoying people that have a song as my ring-tone on my cell phone. Currently it is "Song of the South" by Alabama, the song that could become the anthem of a new Southern Progressive Populist movement. The chorus has this line in it:
Daddy was a veteran, a Southern Democrat, You ought to get a rich man to vote like that
Sing it loud!!
Solidarity!
Carter McNeese
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| » GOTV, Field Work, Polls, and the Election Haze: How to look at it |
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Cross-posted from kos and BlueNC
We need to talk about the atmosphere that is hanging around to many blogs these days. We seem to be dealing with a mixture of hope, fear, desperation and at least in some cases dread. This seems to be all swirling around at once and I know that all those emotions are YOU HAswirling around in me as well. I don't see this as either a good thing or a bad thing, but wee need to recognize it for what it is and also that to some degree it is the result of 24 hour new cycle. Here are the facts as I see them. It is simply a bad year to be a Republican no matter where you are. However, if you are an incumbent Republican you still have the natural advantage that comes with being the incumbent, or maybe not. The way that I see it, turn out at midterms is always dismal. Common sense tells me that people don't come out to vote for a status quo that they are less than enthusiastic about and I think that this is particularly the case this year. Large segments of the Republican base are disillusioned and unenthusiastic about the current agenda of the party that they think represents them. So if you are a Republican strategist the question is how do you fight this? The answer is quite simple, you get on national television and lament about how many seats you are going to loose and how well the Democrats are going to be. Combine this strategy with your superior ground campaign and GOTV infrastructure, and you have the needed ingredients to beat the current situation. This is the bad thing for the Dems. If they get to cocky and don't run a good campaign in the next 17 days, we could see everything that we have worked toward slip away. We need to get our "pundits" up on the TV saying: "this is not a sure thing. The republicans have a natural advantage right now and we have to fight like crazy to beat it." We can not let our base get complacent about the election. Something that my coaches, youth leaders, scout masters, and parents taught me when I was a kid was that if you really want something YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR IT. The Dems are not entitled to win this campaign; we have to work for it. And on November 8 we need to talk about what grass-roots based GOTV infrastructure we need on the ground in every county in the country to make sure that we are facing this in '08. A note of example: I went out and canvassed today with Working Families Win today, talking to voters about economic issues that are facing the county, district, state, and nation and doing voter education on these issues and the candidates stand on them. What did I see when I was out? Taylor lit everywhere, but no Shuler. Now I don't know, maybe they are going to cover the area later, but it seems to me that since we have exactly TWO more Saturdays until the election that Shuler canvassers should have been crawling all over the working class neighborhoods where I was, particularly in this district (NC-11) this cycle. So what is the upshot of this? Get out there. Make calls, knock on doors, drop lit, talk to your neighbors and most importantly vote early so you can participate in GOTV efforts on Nov 7. You know the drill and it needs to be full bore until the election. (And before you say anything, I know that I am not perfect and that I could have done more) But start thinking about Nov 8 as well. Start thinking about what you can do to organize your precinct, you neighborhood, your union hall, where ever, so that in '08 we can have the best damn grass-roots based GOTV effort the party has seen in years. Build social capital with people so you have credibility with the people on your street to talk to them about the election, the issues etc. Not only will it be good for us politically, but you might meet some new friends too. Stay the course, keep the faith. Solidarity! CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 11:48 pm
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| » Does any one know |
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How to include the little Technorati window into a livejournal page?
edit: also does anyone (Jason?) know how I can syndicate my friends page into Thunderbird?
Thanks.
CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 08:15 pm
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| » The New "Religious" Left |
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Cross posted from Street Prophets
Yesterday I posted about Edwards's use of religion at a rally here in Asheville. I also think that we remember this gem from the Ford campaign in Tenn. Well today I was poking around on You Tube and found this response to the Ford one and it got me thinking I really don't like the use of religion for politics. OK, OK, I know that I am about to be pulled forward and bullwhipped for this (after all I am at the "Faith and Politics" blog) but bear with me. I am not talking about speaking and acting on your actions, I am talking about pointing out that you area Christian over and over or filming an ad in your childhood church. That is why the new found "religion" of many of the Democrats running this cycle is fake (yep I said it). Now I am not saying that Sen. Edwards is not a Christian, or that Mr. Ford didn't learn a lot of good lessons in that church, but the religion that they are flaunting is not the religion that I read about. Last time I checked, Jesus suggested (commanded?) that we go into a room and pray, or quietly slip our money into the plate with out making a show if it. I was going to say something here about using the Lord's name in vain, but when I went to look it up the actual wording is simply too good to pass up:
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who uses his name. --Exodus 20:7 NRSV Now of course here I am putting all people that misuse God into the same boat, whether they are Democrat of Republican. I think that it is dangerous to anyone that does it, not just for the eternal condemnation of God (if that is your thing), but it is also bad politically, as the Kuo book has demonstrated. Also, coming from the mouth of Dems, it comes across as supper fake, even to me. I guess we just aren't conditioned to Dems saying things like that yet. So if we are not to use God the way that Republicans have for years (man how I despise Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell) and the way that Dems are doing now (at least some), then how should we integrate our religious life and our political life? I would make the argument that we should simply life our faith and our values. I think that that is what both God's Politics and Left Hand of God were all about: how to live our faith, morals, and values in a way that is authentic, honest, and up front. The upshot of this is if people see what we are really about and People of Faith on the Left, then they will swing our way, not because of our religion, but because they see the sincerity and authenticity of our actions, plus the fact that the majority of people share our values anyway, at least according to some polls. So Sen. Edwards and Mr. Ford don't tell me what a good Christian you are, show it to me. Leave me and the voters with so little doubt that the light that will be shining from you will draw all to it (wait I am not sure if I like the fact that I just compared myself to a moth flying toward the flame...). CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 06:38 pm
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| » You seen this? |
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This seems like a pretty good way to use NAFTA.
Now this is what I am talking about...trans-national Solidarity. If the Corporations can move across borders at will...so should Workers' Solidarity....
CM
Oct. 21st, 2006 @ 12:11 am
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| » Shuler, Edwards, and the promise of a "Better America" |
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So I just posted this over at DailyKos. Please go and rec it up!!! Lets get the word out about what is going on here in the South.
“America is better than this!”
That was John Edwards refrain today at a rally for Heath Shuler that he attended in Asheville, NC (NC-11).
While Shuler was supposed to be the main player today (after all he is the one running for office right?), John Edwards stole the show. It was quickly obvious to this veteran from NH primary season that what we were hearing was a very early form of a stump speech from Edwards. But before I get there, let’s talk about what Shuler had to say first.
The essence of Shuler speech was changing the course. He spoke of bringing high paying jobs back into the district (we have been hard hit by the textile mills leaving the area for points south). This was spoken in conjunction with renewable energy and energy independence. One of Shuler lines that got the greatest response was: “We must change the course in Iraq because it’s not acceptable.” Keep in mind that this is from a Dem running in a “conservative” Southern district. I guess he got the memo that the war just wasn’t playing well. To be fair, he did not say what the course change would consist of, but it hardly seemed to matter to the crowd. The fact that both Shuler and Edwards have young children was brought up several times in the “Let’s do it for them” kind of way, particularly in relation to Healthcare. After a very brief introduction, Edwards came up and stole the show.
Edwards was supposedly talking about “what is at stake” and therefore why people should vote for Shuler. Surprisingly, for Edwards, he seemed to focus on the image of America overseas. This from the man who seemed to run in 2004 by not talking about International Relations almost at all. Everyone remember “One America?” But today was all about the need for American leadership in the world. However, Edwards was not tying this just to the way that we handle situations overseas, but also, how things are handled here. One of his truly great lines (IMHO) was “Power alone does not make you a leader; you actually have to have the moral authority to lead.” He pointed out that “it is not just us. It is not just Western North Carolina, it is not just North Carolina, and it is not just America. The World suffers as a result.” In dealing with the need for US leadership in the world Edwards focused on Africa and the poverty, genocide, and AIDS crisis there. While poverty is still big for Edwards, it is not just American poverty anymore, but world wide poverty as well. Edwards then made the BIG claim that “the future of the world is at steak in this election. It is. This one and the next one.”
Then Edwards moved into domestic policy. He pointed out that we need to lead by example. He pointed to Abu Ghrab and Gitmo. He pointed to Healthcare, single mothers worrying about healthcare for their children. “If they wake up with a sick 4 year old at three o’clock in the morning, this is what they know: They are going to have to go to the emergency room and beg for Healthcare. We are better than that. America is better than that and you know it.” The entirerty of the Edwards domestic policy were things that you would expect from him, but it is know through the lens that we have to clean up our act to gain the moral authority to lead in the world. He also suggested putting all the politicians that vote against a minimum wage increase on minimum wage for a year. After listing a litany of “Bush and gang” domestic policy travesties, come this “How dare these people claim the moral high ground. They give money to Exxon at the same time they are taking away money for healthcare for poor children. It is immoral. We need morality.”
I am going to end with Edwards’s own words:
I have been all over this country in the last few years, and I am not sure about some things, but there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of: There is a huge hunger in America. A hunger to be inspired again. People want to be inspired. They want to be engaged. They want to feel good about their country. They want to think that they still live in an America where everything is possible. They want to live in an America where the son of a mill worker, remember (crowd laughter), can go on to do great things for their country. They want to live in an America where everyone has a chance to do great things. They want to live in an America where we are once again the envy and model to the rest of the world. They want to live in a country they are proud of. Well I am here to tell you that it is not too much to say that not only the future of America, but the future of the world is at stake, and what I would say to every single one of you in this audience, in the next two plus weeks…when you are asked to do the hard, hard work…just remember every minute you are doing it what is at stake. Because when I talk about what our responsibility is I am not talking about me, I’m talking about us. Because we can not wait for some one else to do this. We can’t. There is too much at stake and the time is now and literally the world is depending on you and me.
All in all I was pretty impressed. What really stood out to me at the time was how he framed in the language of values and morality. I am not sure that it came across here, but it was definitely there. After the rally today there is little doubt in my mind that Edwards is very seriously thinking about running again. If he does I will have to think hard about supporting him. Up to know I was keeping myself completely open as to whom I would support, and more than likely work for, in the 08 cycle. What I heard from Edwards today was what I have been asking for in a lot of ways: a leader to stand up and say that the future of the world is really at stake here. Also, I think that Edwards gets it with the fact that people want to be inspired again. That has been my experience in the last few days here on campus as we have really been pushing the envelope with ideas as to what direction the school needs to be moving in. If Edwards can effectively tap into that energy that is out there, and if he will run as what I believe he actually is, a true progressive, I will have no problem trudging through NH up to my butt in snow for him. Jeez, I think I need to find my snow boots…..
Oct. 2nd, 2006 @ 08:04 pm
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