The Bush administration is preparing to roll back the New Deal and everything that came with it, like Social Security. We, as responsible citizens, cannot allow this to happen. There’s probably a lot more that I could say, but others have already said it better… If you have time, read the analysis of the Bush plan that ran in the Sunday New York Times. Then, do me a favor and bookmark two sites. The first is Joshua Micah Marshall’s Talking Points Memo, and the second it the new blog, There is No Crisis. Between the two, you should be able to stay on top of the issue pretty well… even if I run off on other tangents, as I’m known to do.
Before I go, I just have one more thing to say – the Social Security fight is one that we can win, and we can’t afford to lose it. I’ve been giving a lot of thought these last few days to the fights that we can win, and I have a short list. I’m thinking of making these my priorities for the next year. If you have others, let me know.
Replace Rumsfeld
Protect Social Security
Protect the Artic Wildlife Refuge
Institute Election Reform
Protect Reproductive Choice
Pursue Energy Independence
Respect the Geneva Convention
The ones at the bottom, I think, would be more difficult. Unfortunatley, most of these are more reactive that proactive, but I’m afraid that’s just the situation we’re in. Like it or not, these next few years are going to be more about protecting the rights that we have than pushing for visionary changes. (As for Rumsfeld, even the aloof John Kerry smells blood in the water. I say it’s time to jump on the pile.)
13 Comments
This is why I love John Kerry.
The more time that goes by, the less I think of the man. We really should have gone with Dean.
There is noting AT ALL on your list about Monkey Power Trio projects. I am shocked and disappointed in your priorities.
The only Democratic cannidate that had a snowball’s chance in hell of beating W was Wes Clark.
The democrats are going to need to find another southern baptist or military leader if they ever want to win the presidency.
Otherwise: president Jeb.
Democrats have to quit looking in the Northeast. It may as well be communist-pinko-russia.
I voted for Clark in the primaries for that very reason, Steve, because I thought that he could beat Bush. I’m tired of thinking like that though. I’d rather just have a candidate that I could really believe in. If the Democrats could deliver a candidate like that, I’d move to Alabama and get to work… In other words, I don’t think we need to pander to the red states. We’d bust our asses in the red states, if they just gave us someone who inspired us. That’s why people are all over Obama. He’s the only guy out there on the horizon that inspires. (I like Dean, and I want for him to be head of the DNC, but he never inspired me.) We need someone with vision.
As for my band, the Monkey Power Trio, you’re right, I haven’t mentioned them recently. If I get a chance, I’ll write something this weekend. The bottom line is that we recorded our ’04 session almost a year ago now, but we still haven’t picked the songs that we want to have on the record (which will be our 10th). We’re all just too busy… As for our next record, it’ll probably be recorded this summer in Portland. Stay tuned.
Obama will NEVER be elected president. Don’t forget that people in the south still refer to MLK day as “James Earl Ray Day”.
It doesn’t matter what you or I believe in, it’s the united sheep of america that has to vote for them.
I cannot think to organize in any convincing way. Ha! and I even hving a fucking Master’s degree in community organizing. Here’s an idea, how could we make it work? No more shopping. Excepting food and services, no more clothes, no more unnecessary electronics. How on a mass scale can we do no shopping one day a month?
Also, I have a poster (a crappy xerox) that has two pictures: the first of flag covered coffins in the bearth of a cargo plane, the caption, “YOUR KIDS”. The second a picture of one of the Bush twins looking out the window of a limo with her tongue sticking out, the caption, “HIS KIDS”. It is borrowed and I have to return it and I want a better copy of it, the pictures whould be google image available, any graphic designers out there with suggestions. I want to put it in my front window.
We need ideas people and then action. I did not shop on inaugaration day at all.
I don’t know that I like using the image of the flag-draped coffin, but I certainly share the sentiment, Chris. More Americans need to realize that the people with the most to gain from this war aren’t the ones sending their kids over to risk their lives… As for actions that we can take, I wasn’t that crazy about the “Not One Red Dime” thing (which was asking all Dems to abstain from spending anything on inauguration day). I think the benefits of such an action are probably small. Even if we had millions of people participating, I suspect that they would have just done their purchasing the day before or the day after. What would be more effective, I think, is if everyone took the day to write to their representatives in Congress, or to talk with their neighbors about the Bush plan to gut Social Security. (Plus, I have lots of friends who own businesses and I wouldn’t want to see them penalized just because we dislike our president and are looking for ways to act on that.) I would, however, suggest that wherever possible, people switch stores to patronize ones that are more in-line with progressive causes.
I concur wholeheartedly. I have been changing my shopping patterns. I am proud to say that I have never shopped at WalMart, but living in Brooklyn, this no big deal. I buy food from the Coop, and would like to do all clothes shopping at consignment shops, small shops. I do own an iPod but made my Republican father buy it for me. I have let my Costco membership lapse as my last experience there was tantamount to watching a snuff film. The question then is, “Can my nether regions handle ecologically correct toilet paper? (the only kind available at the coop)”. As for writing my congressperson (the Hillary and Chuck show), I feel that is useless, as I am still pissed that they managed to lose this election and BOHICA in response to election fraud.
As for your flu/cold, be careful I had it and it developed into pneumonia, which i hear is happening to a lot of folk. When the doc told me I asked if I could still go see the Pixies that night and he replied, “YOU have Pixies tickets?!”. So if you have a wheeze and chest rattle get thee to a physician.
I still shop at Costco. They seem like a good company from what I’ve read, but that’s just in relation to WalMart/SAM’s Club. (They treat employees better, offer higher wages, have less employee turnover etc.)
One thing I think that Linette and I are going to try to do this spring is buy a share in a local farm. (You can find out about Community Supported Agriculture here.) Doing so, I think, would not only give us better produce, but it would help create local jobs, and cut down on the highway travel required to bring produce to our stores from other states. Sure, we may want some citrus fruit when our legs begin to bow with scurvy, but I think for the most part it would be better if we ate more of what grows naturally here in our region… I also want to cut meat out alltogether, or at least transition over to the organic, free range variety. (I don’t know that I want to go vegan again, but I’d like to do a better job of approaching it.)
You might be interested in Project Grow though by the web page it’s hard to tell exactly how it works.
Do take care of that cold. Mine also turned into pnuemonia and it took two rounds of antibiotics + prednisone to squelch it. Yuk stuff.
CSA’s are fantastic and for those in the Broolyn area there is Urban Organics (which can carry you through the non-growing season). Esp. if you can’t handle the fascism of the coop. Mark, I can handle the politics of Costco, just can’t handle the mass consumption. (A 10 lb. bag of drumettes?!)