November 25, 2009 archive

A House Divided Cannot Stand

Dissatisfaction in Progressive circles with President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress continues to swell and grow.  Indeed, I myself am deeply disappointed that the same old legislative and partisan stalemates seem to be so firmly entrenched that even a phenomenon promising optimism and significant reform could not break old habits.  Still, rather than resort to the Howard Fineman/Maureen Dowd approach and play a game of “I-told-you-so”, I’d much rather avoid pettiness altogether and attempt to understand why we are faced with politics-as-usual when we are at a point in our nation’s history when we can least afford it.  Answers exist beyond the usual discourse though they are rarely raised when many would rather exchange philosophy for wonkery.  Wonkery has its place, but what we seek now are solutions and ideas, not process and jargon.    

Regarding our current crisis of several reform measures that have bogged down or are in danger of being passed or scuttled depending on the hours, much of the problem arrives when one considers that we are frequently confused by different allegiances to often incompatible schools of information dispersal and guidance.  Either we are in a stage in between two different paradigms or we have tried to blend together two absolutely contradictory styles, wondering why we can’t get any results afterward.  Conservatives frequently use purely linear leadership to achieve their ends and we on the left often use an uneasy mash up between linear leadership and its asymmetric counterpart.    

Linear leadership is the sort that was brought to this country by European colonists.  A small continent in land mass contained an enormous variety of different cultures, different languages, and different ways of looking at life.  With so much variance and so little likelihood of reaching consensus or finding common purpose, a forceful style of conducting affairs developed that quickly grew highly stratified and regimented.  In it, hierarchies, pecking orders, and ranking systems became of paramount importance, as did the underlying assumptions that leaders were few, followers were many, and a passive kind of obedience was to be practiced.  In all areas of Western life, this style dominated.  Speaking from a purely Christian perspective, most Christian denominations, sects, and faith groups even to this day follow this same model, whereby a leader (called by a variety of different names depending on which group one ascribes) frequently instructs fellow believers in the form of a sermon and holds much power to direct church policy.  A linear system is a passive manner of conveying a message.  I talk, you listen.  Placing power in the hands of a structured system frequently disenfranchises people and glosses over distinctions, but it is deliberate, effective, and highly successful in dividing and conquering as well as hammering home a singular message.    

Grassroots groups, however, are run on an asymmetric brand of leadership.  The idea is often not about top-down leadership, but on a more egalitarian approach where each individual voice is as important as anyone else’s.  Frequently, however, this creates problems when it comes down to agreeing on any uniform statement or platform that the entire group endorses as a whole.  What is frequently advanced is a notion that everyone has to find his or her own path towards understanding the challenges and issues the group seeks to influence and reform while simultaneously pressing the notion that no one’s path or interpretation should be ranked as more or less important by the organization as a whole.  The problem with grassroots groups is that they seek to affect policy by using one particular strategy that is not found within politics itself.  Politics is structured from top-to-bottom and rarely are those at the bottom granted the ability to speak with any degree of authority.  They are expected instead to be good foot soldiers, never question party line, with the hopes that they might rise up through the ranks and achieve greater distinction and a greater ability to be taken seriously and to contribute to the group dynamic.    

Many Native American groups were based upon an asymmetric model when it came down to making tribal decisions and stating individual opinions.  Though it was certainly more uniformly fair, its key failing was that it did not foster group unity, unintentionally creating factionalism in the process.  Native Americans never had the same sense of common purpose and common unity that Europeans did, which was why they were so easily defeated in battle and by court action.  Different tribes rarely felt any sense of collective solidarity with each other and there was often dissent and schism within tribes.  Some faith traditions, of which unprogrammed Quakers are one, have their worship services more aligned with this philosophy.  Unprogrammed Quakers have no minister and conduct worship without any element, aside, of course, from the start and the finish, planned out beforehand.  However, they often have difficulty reaching uniformity on a large scale basis and particularly from region to region, yearly meeting to yearly meeting.  As a result, different subsets and regional groups have very different priorities and very different ideas about what ought to be important and advanced.    

The 9/12 and Tea Party groups have faced this same problem and are in danger of breaking apart.  Motivated only by their opposition to what they perceive as a common threat, they have frequently broken apart when unable to achieve anything resembling one coherent message.  We might gloat at their self-destructive behavior, but learning from their mistakes and not repeating them within ourselves might be the best lesson of all.  We will need to ask ourselves, individually and collectively, what school do we want to set forth?  Top-down or spread-around?  Whatever we choose will need to be soberly contemplated, because each method has pros and cons, and so long as our opposition continues to use tactics that can, as we have seen, divide us easily in the hopes of conquering us, we cannot take this matter lightly.  We might have to acknowledge that a House divided against itself cannot stand.  It will become all one thing or all the other.    

Unemployed

PhotobucketIt has been declared that health care must be deficit neutral; and Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements must be cut or they will destroy the country.   Yet, somehow, there is always ample money for bank bailouts, wars, and tax cuts.  

So as Washington pisses away trillions of our dollars, millions of Americans are experiencing a financial crisis unprecedented by anything since the Great Depression.   And just like Katrina, they are being left to fend for themselves.  

 

Afternoon Edition

Afternoon Edition is an Open Thread

Now with World and U.S. News.  56 Story Final.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Obama to head to Copenhagen with climate pledge

by Shaun Tandon, AFP

57 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama will head to next month’s Copenhagen climate summit armed with the first concrete US offer to cut carbon emissions, officials said Wednesday, reviving hopes the closely watched meeting will succeed.

The White House said Obama would offer to cut US emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 — less than calls by the European Union, Japan and UN scientists but the first numbers on the table by the world’s largest economy.

“The president going to Copenhagen will give positive momentum to the negotiations and we think will enhance the prospects for success,” Carol Browner, Obama’s top aide on climate policy, told reporters.

Happy UnThanksgiving

  40 years ago the first UnThanksgiving Day happened.

Oh, it wasn’t called that then. Nor was it called that the following year. You see, it wasn’t about Thanksgiving at all. It was about the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and federal policy for native Americans.

Green Strike Force…Gettin Crazy

Al says it is time to get craaaaaazy!

Instead I am thinking of getting a few folks into a Green Strike Force to mobilize phone calls to the Pres and the Senators. Dkos kinda sucks these days, being more obsessed over loyalty oaths etc than activism, but it is still the best place to mobilize folks, so here is da plan.

maybe…?

Make a list of the most influential Senators on Climate Crisis and pick one a day to flood with phone calls and emails. Post a GSF (the aforementioned Green Strike Force) diary to mobilize and Save the Planet!

We need a couple of folks to publish diaries (which will soon become a hit on the reclist, if you long for stardom!) and folks to pitch in on research etc. And the we also need fact based diaries for educational purposes.

That is the germ of the idea, do you guys think we can turn it into a virus?

Congressman Obey, tax phone bills to pay for the war.

House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-WI) recently suggested putting the Afghan misadventure on a pay as you go basis, as this would make the public aware of the costs. He hinted, and others have more explicitly suggested, that this tax hit the wealthy. I differ.

While I’m all for a progressive tax structure in general, the Afghan War Tax Surcharge, to create maximum pressure to end this ‘dumb war,’ should be in the face of every American. An excise tax on telephone service (30%?) like President Johnson imposed to help pay for his big mistake in Asia, is especially useful, as the bill comes due every month. Label the line on the phone bills clearly AFGHANISTAN WAR TAX SURCHARGE, and we’ll see a monthly wave of irate calls to the White House and Congress demanding we get the fuck out.

Meanwhile, use any boost in income tax on the highrollers to pay for needed domestic programs.

(also at kos’ place)

OBAMA REFUSES TO SIGN TREATY BANNING LAND MINES!

Some things just totally defy any possible logic, rhymn, or reason.  

More than 150 Countries, all around the globe, have agreed to the Treaty to end the production, stockpiling, trade, and usage of civilian-killing Land Mines. Under the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration, The United States had been a hold out.

According to the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL), efforts undertaken in 1999 to recover mines “have saved millions of lives through the removal of more than 2.2 million emplaced antipersonnel mines, 250,000 antivehicle mines, and 17 million” explosive remnants of war.

According to the Associated Press, last year land mines killed at least 1,266 people and wounded 3,891.

But hey, we have a new President with that hope-y, change-y thing going on…right?


Statement from Obama Adminstration:

“This administration undertook a policy review and we decided that our landmine policy remains in effect. We made our policy review and we determined that we would not be able to meet our national defense needs [ -?- ], nor our security commitments to our friends and allies if we sign this convention.”

In contravention of the treaty, the United States stockpiles some 10 million antipersonnel mines and retains the option to use them.

             –Rueters

Two
Two peas in a pod

And we’re supposed to be inspired by this shallow little puppet of a man…..

Links:

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/ob…

http://www.reuters.com/article…

Open Field

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Those unemployment numbers

  The weekly unemployment claims were very positive today.

 (Bloomberg) — The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since September 2008 as the economic recovery encourages companies to fire fewer workers.

  Initial jobless claims declined to 466,000 in the week ended Nov. 21 from 501,000 a week earlier, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped in the prior week, while those getting extended payments also declined.

Great news all around, right? Wrong.

 The non-seasonally adjusted numbers tell a far different story.

On Giving Thanks The European Way, Or, Freedom: It’s The New Black!

I have a Thanksgiving story for your consumption that has nothing to do with turkeys or pumpkin pie or crazy uncles.

Instead, in an effort to remind you what this holiday can really stand for, we’ll meet some people who are thankful today for simply being free.

It’s a short story today, but an especially touching one, so follow along and we’ll take a little hop across the Atlantic for a trip you should not miss.

The Perfect Storm

Start with a land-bound low moving east, run it into a strong nor’easter ridge pushing back and add the remnants of a hurricane; it has been called The Perfect Storm.



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You don’t need to be a weatherman to see which way the wind blows, said Bob; you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to draw the political parallels, say I.

Lowered expectations, economic collapse and divisive civil unrest; the perfect storm of our own, in which we shall equally be tossed, helpless, and presumably perish as those upon the Andrea Gail did.

Unless we can kick one of the legs out from this unholy triumvirate in time.  

Military Debt Protection

Military Debt Protection Could Hold Lessons for Congress, Consumers

A special collaboration between the NewsHour and Frontline looks at how a military program aims to protect consumers from amassing too much debt.

JIM LEHRER: Next tonight: a special Frontline/NewsHour collaboration on how to protect consumers from too much debt. Advocates say the military could teach Congress some lessons on that subject.

Frontline correspondent Lowell Bergman reports…>>>>>Full Transcript

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