Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Our Website Our Editor To Unsubscribe Table of Contents *Featured Articles Communication,
Opportunities and Petitions Commentaries from Our Members Alan Durning: It’s the Worst of Times, Best of Times. Jack Smith: Boldly Support Barack Obama George and Patricia Robertson: Don’t Bailout GM Bob Evans:
Don’t Bailout Incompetent Automakers K.C.
Golden: Auto Bailout Should Set Conditions Liberals and Democrats Links to the Beef ‘Louis
Armstrong’ Tribute to Barack Obama.* Lessons
from Obama’s Campaign* Were Nancy
Pelosi and Harry Reid Right? Make Sure Obama and Democrats Get It Right* State and Local Links to the Beef Make Washington’s Tax System Fair for Everyone* Bailing Out Our Washington State Government* Nation and World Links to the Beef Our Liberal Spirit Our Political Priorities ·
Fair Clean Elections and Open Government ·
Fair Taxes and Competent Spending ·
Investment for Productivity ·
Quality Health, Education, Jobs, Income ·
Environmental Protection and Energy ·
Security and Equal Rights ·
Justice and Peace Everywhere ·
International Cooperation and Leadership Conservatives
oppose all of these Let’s End Our National Nightmare Let’s
Restore Our American Dream More
on Conservative opposition to our American Dream Washington State’s 4 Major Needs ·
Federal Funding for Health and Education ·
Replacing
Republican Legislators Quote of the Week I know nothing grander,
better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the
triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested American
national election. Walt Whitman Nothing
fails like success. Gerald Nachman Each success
only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem. Henry
Kissinger (1923- )
Calendar of
Events
Sign up for or host an End of Bush Party.
Saturday, November
15 at 8:30 at Westin Hotel (
Tuesday, November 18
at 8 PM at Comedy Underground (
Tuesday, December 2
at 8 PM at Comedy Underground (
Communication, Opportunities and Petitions
Communication with Our Members and Feedback
I have compiled all of
my commentaries on our economy into one document which is posted on
our website. I believe one hour
spent reading them will make you better informed than the vast majority of
Americans, including many of our congress members. Without
understanding our economic crises, their causes and needed solutions, you are
unable to act responsibly to correct the situation which affects all of
us. Or to improve your life financially
(and in other ways). Dave Thomas
Take
a crash course (2½ hours) about our American economy (video).
Opportunities
Useful
Websites: contacts, maps, community organizing tools, and more.
Access
to jillions of political cartoons.
Download
Sightline Institute’s climate policy primer ‘Cap and Trade 101’. About
Sightline.
Get
your free commemorative Barack Obama sticker from MoveOn.
Donate
$30 to the Democratic National Committee, receive a Obama-Biden victory
t-shirt.
Petitions and Donations
Tell
Barack Obama your priorities.
Tell Barack
Obama to attend the December UN Climate Change Conference in Poland.
Tell Barack Obama
to close Guantanamo and ban torture on day one.
Tell Barack Obama to
take bold action on climate change.
Tell
Interior Department Secretary to protect Yellowstone wolves.
Tell the
Bush Administration to protect Oregon’s coastal forests.
Tell your
senators to pass the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act.
Tell your
King County Council members to preserve Public Health family planning and STD
services.
Sign
a pledge to support marriage equality.
Commentaries From Our Members
One of my best
friends,
Dick had many
passions: loving his wife for 46 years and his three sons, his work with
liability insurance, driving a school bus, bird hunting, training hunting dogs,
tending to their several acres which included Amelia’s marvelous vegetable and
flower gardens, involvement in the Episcopal church, the Network of Spiritual
Progressives (led by Rabbi Michael Lerner) and the Barack Obama campaign. I visited them this last year and spent three
days canoeing with Dick in the Boundary Waters.
Amelia now faces
the incompatible pulls of remembering their experiences together, of responding
to immediate tasks, and building a life based upon her new life as a
widow. She is resilient and will thrive,
albeit with much pain for awhile. My
love and best wishes are with her. Dave
Thomas
Alan Durning: It’s the Worst of Times. The Best of Times.
Dear David,
The worst of times...
The worst financial crisis since the Depression. Unemployment surging.
Foreclosures mounting. General Motors’ sales down 45 percent. Consumer spending
falling “off a cliff.” Global stock markets down by almost half this year.
The best of times...
The highest-turnout
We're in an extraordinary moment in all of our lives, and I want to
share with you the deep gratitude I feel. Your support enabled Sightline to
contribute to decisive victories. I also want to share with you my profound
optimism: enormous opportunities are now opening.
Sightline's research and communications team helped decisively defeat
two insidious ballot measures--Oregon’s Measure 63 and Washington’s I-985, proving that substance can trump
soundbites. In
Climate, energy, transportation and green-collar jobs won big this
week, too. Across the region and the
Finally (and this is where I place immense personal hope), Cascadia is
witnessing a convergence of what we used to call “green” and “blue” interests.
Champions for the environment and champions for economic opportunity have not
always viewed their paths to be the same. But today I feel optimistic about our
ability to play a pivotal role in this fundamental shift from “greens” and
“blues” to a diverse, blue-green movement for widely shared and durable
prosperity.
Right now, we – you and I and the rest of the Sightline’s community –
find ourselves before unprecedented opportunities. As treacherous as is the
economic landscape we’ve entered, this juncture is, in a sense, the place we’ve
been looking for. We’ve found the place where the gates of political
possibility are open. At Sightline,
we’re not pausing to rest; we’re advancing now—and fast. I hope you’ll come too. All the best, Alan Durning, Executive
Director, Sightline Institute
Jack Smith: Boldly Support Barack Obama
I feel the following is a very important Opinion by David Sirota in today's Seattle Times. I have been saying that our work begins on
11/5 which is passed. Yes, Obama must lead us boldly, BUT we must be willing to
act boldly supporting him. In spite of our celebrations, Obama cannot be
expected to do it alone. He needs active supporters. It is not as simple as
doing what he says. Sometimes we will dissent, a condition George Bush would
not allow. I have said that I believed that Obama would listen to our alternative
beliefs. I still believe that is true, but we must put positive frame around
our dissent.
Health Care is an area that almost everyone will agree requires major revision.
Return of our Civil Liberties must be supported by most. Of course, there will
be strong disagreement on the handling of the Middle East Wars. The question in
my mind is will the disagreement be intellectual. rational and helpful or will
it be angry and hateful viewing Obama as a corporate shill. These decisions
belong to all of us. We have sought a president who would work with us for at
least eight years. Now, I believe we have one. Our job is to support him
to encourage and in some cases to show him how to "Govern
Boldly." No one ever said it would be easy. Jack
Smith
George and Patricia Robertson: Don’t Bailout GM
Let General Motors go. Yes, it is a lot of jobs, but someone will make
cars, someone smarter, someone less enthralled with gas-guzzling, someone more
competitive. Perhaps it will be lots of companies we haven't noticed, such as
Incentives that give rise to many more diverse and innovative car
manufacturers would be a lot smarter than a bailout to re-inflate GM. George and Patricia Robertson
We have bankruptcy laws to deal with situations
like General Motors. Going into
bankruptcy doesn’t stop the company from operating. It often creates reorganization and new
management, so the company can operate successfully.
I agree with the Robertsons that we need more
competition in automotive and many other industries. Our government needs to return to opposing
monopolies and supporting appropriate competition. Dave Thomas
Bob Evans: Don’t Bailout Incompetent American Automakers
How depressing it is to watch the decline of the
The "offshore" auto manufacturers didn't take the market from
the Big 3; it was handed to them. It appears the quality is getting better, as
is the "green" technology, but it may be a case of too little too
late. Now that the situation has deteriorated to the point where bankruptcy is
a very real possibility, the automakers are getting in line for a government
bailout along with the mortgage companies, banks and insurance companies.
I am tired of rewarding ignorance and greed with bailouts. Too often the
bailout money will go only to feed the bloated bureaucracy that caused the
problem in the first place. Bob Evans
K.C. Golden: Auto Bailout Should Require
Producing Green Cars
Excerpt of Guest Column
published by
We should not rescue General Motors as we know it. But Congress could use
the proposed bailout as an opportunity to begin building a new prosperity that
can last. As part of any public assistance, GM should be required to help
Also see: Thomas L.
Friedman, “How to Fix a Flat Auto Industry”. As we
return to Earn, Conserve and Invest from Borrow, Consume and
Speculate, we can expect to buy fewer cars less frequently. So some downsizing of the industry must
occur, with the loss of auto-making jobs, some of them American. But we should retain a continuing reduced
American auto industry. As K.C. Golden
expresses, any bailout of American automakers should include requirements that
they produce environmentally friendly cars.
Hopefully, they will also reciprocate by supporting government paid
universal health coverage. Dave Thomas
Liberals and Democrats
You Must See This Wonderful ‘Louis Armstrong’ Tribute
to Barack Obama.
First Family Values
The Obama family’s love and care for each other has been obvious. Wouldn’t it be nice to be their puppy?
Lessons from Obama’s Campaign
Obama's Seven Lessons for Radical
Innovators – Posted
by Umair Haque on November 5, 2008 11:55 AM
It's a momentous day for
Barack Obama is one of the most
radical management innovators in the world today. Obama's team
built something truly world-changing: a new kind of political organization for
the 21st century. It differs from yesterday's political organizations as much
as Google and Threadless differ from yesterday's corporations: all are a tiny
handful of truly new, 21st century institutions in the world today. Obama presidential bid succeeded, in other
words, as our research at the Lab has discussed for the past several years, through the
power of new DNA: new rules for new kinds of institutions. So let's discuss the new DNA Obama brought to
the table, by outlining seven rules for tomorrow's radical innovators.
1. Have a self-organization design. What was
really different about Obama's organization? We're used to thinking about
organizations in 20th century terms: do we design them to be tall, or flat? But tall and flat are concepts built for an
industrial era. They force us to think - spatially and literally - in two
dimensions: tall organizations command unresponsively, and flat organizations
respond uncontrollably.
Obama's organization blew past these
orthodoxies: it was able to combine the virtues of both tall and flat
organizations. How? By tapping the game-changing power of self-organization.
Obama's organization was less tall or flat than spherical - a tightly
controlled core, surrounded by self-organizing cells of volunteers, donors,
contributors, and other participants at the fuzzy edges. The result? Obama's
organization was able to reverse tremendous asymmetries in finance, marketing,
and distribution - while McCain's organization was left trapped by a stifling
command-and-control paradigm.
2. Seek elasticity of resilience. Obama's
21st century organization was built for a 21st century goal - not to maximize
outputs, or minimize inputs, but to, as Gary Hamel
has discussed, remain resilient to turbulence. What happened when
McCain attacked Obama with negative ads in September? Such attacks would have
depleted the coffers of a 20th century organization, who would have been forced
to retaliate quickly and decisively in kind. Yet, Obama's organization
responded furiously in exactly the opposite way: with record-breaking
fundraising. That's resilience: reflexively bouncing back to an
existential threat by growing, augmenting, or strengthening resources.
3. Minimize
strategy. Obama's campaign dispensed almost entirely with strategy in its
most naïve sense: strategy as gamesmanship or positioning. They didn't waste
resources trying to dominate the news cycle, game the system, strong-arm the
party, or out-triangulate competitors' positions. Rather, Obama's campaign took
a scalpel to strategy - because they realized that strategy, too often, kills a
deeply-lived sense of purpose, destroys credibility, and corrupts meaning.
4. Maximize purpose. Change
the game? That's 20th century thinking at its finest - and narrowest. The 21st
century is about changing the world. What does "yes we can" really
mean? Obama's goal wasn't simply to win an election, garner votes, or run a
great campaign. It was larger and more urgent: to change the world.
Bigness of purpose is what separates
20th century and 21st century organizations: yesterday, we built huge
corporations to do tiny, incremental things - tomorrow, we must build small
organizations that can do tremendously massive things.
And to do that, you must strive to
change the world radically for the better - and always believe that yes, you
can. You must maximize, stretch, and utterly explode your sense of purpose.
5. Broaden unity. What do
marketers traditionally do? Segment and target, slice and dice. We've become
great at dividing markets into tinier and tinier bits. But we're terrible at
unifying them. Yet Obama succeeded not through division, but through
unification: we are, he contended, "not a collection of
Obama intuitively understands a
larger truth of next-generation economics. Unified markets are what a world
driven to collapse by hyperconsumption is desperately going to need. We're
going to need not a hundred different kinds of razors - and their spiraling
costs of complexity and waste - but a single razor that everybody, from the
slums of Rio to the lofts of Tribeca, is overjoyed to use.
6. Thicken power. The
power many corporations wield is thin power: the power to instill fear and
inculcate greed. True power is what Obama has learned wield: the power to
inspire, lead, and engender belief. You can beat people into subjugation - but
you can never command their loyalty, creativity, or passion. Thick power is
true power: it's radically more durable, less costly, and more intense.
7. Remember that there is nothing
more asymmetrical than an ideal. Obama ended his last speech before
the election by saying: "let's go
change the world." Why are those words important? Because the
world needs changing. A world riven by economic meltdown, religious conflict,
resource scarcity, and intractable poverty and violence - such a world demands
fresh ideals. We must mold and shape a better world - or we will surely all
suffer together. As Obama said: "we rise or
fall ... as one people."
In such a world, forget about a
short-lived, often meaningless "competitive advantage". It's a
concept built for the 20th century. In the 21st century, there is nothing
more asymmetrical - more disruptive, more revolutionary, or more innovative --
than the world-changing power of an ideal.
Where are the ideals in your
organization? What ideals are missing - absent, bankrupt, stolen - from your
economy, industry, or market? What ideals will you fight and struggle for - and
live? Because the ultimate problem with industrial-era business was, as Wall
Street has so convincingly demonstrated, this: there weren't any.
That seventh lesson is the starting
point for tomorrow's radical innovators - because it's the thread that knits
the others together. And it's where you should start if you want to use these
seven rules to start building 21st century institutions - whether businesses,
non-profits, social enterprises, or political campaigns. As a young brown American, I couldn't be more
deeply or powerfully inspired by the "defining moment" of an Obama
presidency. Yet, the seeds of a new challenge have been planted by that
victory: for us to harness the lessons of his quiet revolution - our quiet
revolution - to seed many, many more
How Obama Became CEO of the
It's the morning after one of the
most miraculous events in memory, so it seems slightly uninspired to look to
yesterday's election for lessons about leadership, competition, and change. But
what is a presidential election, ultimately, then a nationwide exercise in
leadership, competition, and change? So
this morning, still bleary-eyed from a late night of watching concession
speeches, victory celebrations, and nonstop punditry from all points on the
political spectrum, allow me to offer a few insights about how Barack Obama ran
his campaign to lead our country -- and what it means for how we should think
about how we run our companies and lead our organizations.
The first lesson is that being
different makes all the difference. It's remarkable, really, how similar so
many of our first 43 presidents have
been to one another. It's not just that they've all been white males, but that
so many of them have been cut from the same personal and political cloth.
Lawyers. Military service. Many years (if not decades) entrenched in the
political scene.
Other than the lawyer part (hey, we
can forgive one shortcoming!), Barack Obama simply does not fit the traditional
mold--and not just because of the color of his skin. Born in
Early on in the campaign, the
pundits warned that Obama's unusual background made him too "exotic"
to win the Presidency. In fact, it is that which made him different that
made him so unstoppable. Obama didn't win despite the fact that he is so
different. He won precisely because he is so different. Americans seemed to sense that the stakes are
too high, the problems too severe, to settle for politics as usual. Much the
same can be said of business today.
Think of all of the best-performing
and most-beloved companies and brands, from Southwest
Airlines and Apple Computer
to Zappos and
the Geek Squad. What do
they all have in common? They are outliers, innovators, weirdoes -- they don't
look, talk, act, compete the same way as everyone else in their industry does.
They are as "exotic" in their field as Barack Obama is in his -- and
they, like Obama, are winning votes that the competition isn't. Seth Godin, everyone's favorite marketing
guru, once wrote a funny line that I take pretty seriously: "Tastes
like chicken," he cracked, "is not a compliment." That's
what's wrong with how so many of us compete today, whether it's in business or
politics. We are comfortable in the middle of
the road, playing the game the way everyone else does. We all
"taste like chicken"--and then we wonder why so few people get excited
about what we have to offer.
There's a second lesson we can
learn. Just because you're different doesn't mean you can't be disciplined.
What struck me so strongly about the Obama campaign was, from the very first
day, how ruthlessly "on message" it stayed, no matter the twists,
turns, and psychodramas from the other candidates or the media gasbags. Bill
and Hillary Clinton took some tough shots at Obama during the Democratic
primary, and he never took the bait. John McCain and Sarah Palin unleashed some
truly unkind and unhealthy assaults on Obama's character and patriotism, and he
never got down in the gutter with them -- even when
Obama didn't take the bait because,
again, unlike the political establishment, he didn't spend
most of his time thinking about the competition. He spent most of
his time thinking about how to connect with his core constituencies. He was
less concerned about what other candidates were saying about him than what he
was saying to voters -- and he didn't let the "noise" on the
campaign trail interfere with the "signals" he was sending to his
supporters.
What a contrast with John McCain, a
noble leader who seemed to change personalities, let alone campaign tactics, on
a weekly basis. Again I am reminded of some wisdom from a management guru, this
time Jim Collins. "The signature of mediocrity," he likes to say,
"is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is chronic
inconsistency."
It was "chronic
inconsistency" that took a difficult challenge for McCain and made it
impossible. The same goes for so many companies. They lurch from one
strategy to the next, one consulting fad to another, because, deep down, their
leaders don't really understand what makes them different, better, special.
When you do understand that, it gives you the confidence to stick to your
message and strategy -- no matter what your rivals say and do. Don't trust me, or Seth Godin, or Jim Collins
on that score. Henry Ford put it best many decades ago: "The competitor
to be feared is the one who doesn't bother about you at all, but goes about
making his own business better all the time."
Sure, it's more complicated than
that. But these simple principles seem pretty darn powerful to me. Embrace
what makes you different, don't apologize for it. Develop a message that
sticks, and stick with it regardless of what your rivals say and do. Above all,
stay focused on your constituents rather than your competition.
It's a formula that helped Barack
Obama become CEO of the
How Better Marketing Elected Barack
Obama – Posted by John Quelch on November 5, 2008 11:40 AM
When the book is written on this
election, it should not be titled "The Making of a President," but
"The Marketing of a President." Barack Obama's campaign is a case
study in marketing excellence. True, it
was always going to be a Democratic year. An unpopular war, an incumbent
Republican president with rock bottom approval ratings, and many Republican
incumbents retiring from Congress as a result all meant that change was in the
air. Add to that the economic meltdown that decimated millions of 401K
retirement plans and undercut any Republican claim to be the better steward of
the economy.
But, even so, for an inexperienced single term African-American senator tagged
with the most liberal voting record to defeat the heir apparent in his own
party and then go on to hold off the much-vaunted Republican machine is a truly
remarkable achievement. Much of it has to do with Obama's instinct for
marketing.
First, Obama's personal charisma, his listening and public speaking
skills, his consistently positive and unruffled demeanor and his compelling
biography attracted the attention and empathy of voters.
Second, Obama converted this empathy into tangible support. More
citizens volunteered time and money to help the Obama campaign than any
previous presidential candidate. Indeed, he attracted more donors than the
entire Democratic or Republican party nationwide. Almost half of Obama's
unprecedented $639 million in funds raised from individuals came from small
donors giving $300 or less.
Third, his fundraising prowess was aided by his appreciation and use of
all communications media , notably the Internet, to engage voters. Obama picked
up where Howard Dean left off. He leveraged his website, the blogosphere, and
even user-generated content (remember Obama Girl) and video games to engage not just
donors and volunteers but all citizens. From the imaginative campaign logo to
the thirty minute infomercial, Obama's communications were professional without
being slick, attention-getting without being in-your-face.
Fourth, Obama reached out to all citizens. He targeted his message
beyond previous or likely voters. He built a coalition that energized young,
first-time voters and registered thousands of previous non-voters. His
organization encouraged early voting by Democrats to build well-publicized poll
leads and to reduce the chances of supporters being discouraged from voting by
long lines at polling places on election day. This policy of inclusion meant
that voting records were set in the general election and the primaries.
Fifth, his advertising messages and his tone and demeanor throughout the
campaign consistently communicated his upbeat themes of hope and "change
you can believe in." The emotional appeal was buttressed with solid and
specific policy details. The ability to combine emotional with functional
benefits and the discipline to be consistent in positioning and message delivery
are core to all successful branding campaigns. Ads that dealt with specific
policy issues, even ads criticizing McCain, all continued to communicate the
core themes.
Sixth, he anticipated and outsmarted the competition. Throughout, he
showed respect for Clinton and then McCain, even as he successfully tagged a
McCain administration as Bush's third term. But he and his advisers managed the
political chess board brilliantly. Early on, he anticipated and defused
negative criticisms by admitting to past indiscretions his autobiography. His
campaign rebutted the criticisms in a hostile biography point-by-point before
they gained traction. Negative advertising by his opponents was countered
quickly, not only in ads but on the internet as well.
Seventh, he fought the ground war as brilliantly as the air war.
Building on Howard Dean's 50
state strategy, he built his primary delegate count by investing
time in Democratic caucuses in red states; the organizations he built for the
primaries in these states set him up to win several of them in the general. In
the closing weeks, he put McCain on defense in multiple red states, making it
tough for the Republican to focus his efforts. Having relied on public funding,
McCain ended up having to make some tough trade-offs regarding where to go and
where to spend his money. Obama did not.
Finally, Obama chose an excellent marketing and campaign team, and
managed them well. From start to finish, there was no public dissension. He
chose a non-controversial, experienced Senator as his running mate who
complemented his lack of foreign policy skills. McCain only assembled a
smooth-running campaign team late in the day. And the maverick made a surprise
choice of an unknown running mate that, in the final analysis, undercut his
ability to tag Obama as inexperienced and called his judgment into question.
Like any great brand, Obama has built up a bond of trust with the American
people. His election has also given the
How Obama and Clinton Stack Up as
Managers – Posted by Barbara Kellerman on March 4, 2008 9:22 AM
The conventional wisdom on
leadership and management is clear: the first matters more than the second. Warren Bennis’s
classic On Becoming a
Leader is typical. In a lengthy comparison between leaders and
managers, he describes leaders as luminaries and managers as mere mortals. For
example:
• “The manager
administers; the leader innovates.”
• “The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.”
• “The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.”
My own Center for Public Leadership
(at Harvard’s Kennedy School) testifies that the now countless courses,
seminars, workshops, institutes and centers devoted to this general area prefer
to boast of teaching “leadership” – for leadership is hot and management is
not. Yet we have just been reminded of
how important, indispensable, is the role of the manager, even in contrast to
that of the leader. For while the stunning success up to now of Barack Obama’s
presidential campaign is a tribute to his promise as a leader, it provides
evidence of his capacity as a manager.
Managing Money
Obama not only raised money the smart way (large numbers of relatively small
contributions via the Internet), he spent it the smart way. While Hillary
Clinton threw as much as $25 million at the early
Managing People
If Obama’s choice of campaign manager is any indication, he can pick a good
team. David Axelrod has proven to be a master political strategist and
tactician, putting together a string of primary and caucus victories on behalf
of a candidate who seemed at the start to come out of nowhere. As New York Times
columnist Frank Rich put it, “The Obama campaign is not a vaporous
cult; it’s a lean and mean political machine that gets the job done.” Meanwhile
in February, after a series of stunning defeats,
Managing Expectations
Was it
The point is that of the three
leading candidates for president right now, that is, McCain included, it is
Obama who has proved much the best manager. Whether he would prove the best
leader necessarily remains an open question. But of his managerial skills –
which have been and still are of paramount importance - there can be scant
doubt.
Also see
Nelson Mandela’s 8 principles of leadership.
Were Nancy
Pelosi and Harry Reid Right?
We were upset about the 2000
presidential election results, devastated when President Bush won a second term
in 2004, and chagrinned when after taking control of congress in 2006,
Democrats didn’t successfully establish time tables for withdrawing from
Now we have won big in 2008. We can’t be sure what would have happened if
our congress has been refused to pass a budget without timetables for leaving
We can still be unhappy with our congress if they refuse to cooperate with Barack Obama’s reforms. Or be even happier if they steer him to quicker more comprehensive reforms. Let’s let our congress members, no we support the latter.
Make Sure Barack Obama and Democrats Get It Right.
Enhancing Our Earnings
They should quickly pass increases in our minimum wage; earned income tax credit; Employee Free Choice Act; appropriations for increased teacher salaries particularly ones working in schools with culturally deprived students, and increased training and salaries for caretakers.
Job Creation
Well paying JOBS.
JOBS which increase our productivity and solve other problems:
·
Maintaining and improving our physical and social infrastructure.
·
Conserving
energy and other resources, which we presently waste. For
more. For more.
·
Creating
alternative energies, which uses sustainable resources and doesn’t produce pollution. It should not produce greenhouse gases which
produce global warming pollution. For more.
·
Creating and implementing new technologies relevant to our health,
education, housing and other needs.
·
Preserving and improving our social safety net and improving our human
resources. Universal access to
quality health care. Universal access to
quality education. For
more.
·
Create
concentrated housing, especially affordable housing near jobs. To reduce the damage to our environment. To reduce the cost of providing
utilities. To reduce the amount of
commuting, fuel consumption, congestion and pollution. To increase the time that people have to
spend with their families, civic activities and other interests.
Right Sizing Our Credit and Consumption
They should avoid making it too easy for Americans to continue to borrow and consume cars, houses and other products, especially luxury items. We need enough credit, but not too much which allows people to go deeply in debt and fuels an oversized financial sector of our economy.
Universal Health Care and Prescription Medicines
They should confront private insurers to provide government provided universal health coverage (including prescription medicines) paid directly to providers (single payer/Medicare). They should bargain with pharmaceuticals and other health care providers. With lots of people’s movement contributions, they should be able to counter Harold and Louise type advertisements. They should obtain increased support from people and businesses paying high private insurance costs and providers who suffer from insurance paperwork and interference in their decisions. If necessary, they should begin by forcing unsubsidized private insurers to compete with public insurance such that the latter prevails. For more.
Reforming Our Military-Industrial Complex
Recognizing that no foreign country can invade our country. they should greatly reduce our military industrial complex. We should cooperate internationally to prevent and capture terrorists. We may need to punish countries which harbor terrorists; but we don’t need to invade and occupy them. Arms sales should be curtailed. Nuclear weapons should be reduced and made more secure.
Global Governance
They should seek to enhance our global governance, making it more democratic with more resources, to protect people and our environment from abusive governments and businesses. Even if this results in decreasing our power to control global governance decisions.
Israeli Occupation
They should promote secure
states for both the
Restoring and Enhancing Our Civil Liberties
They should restore habeas corpus, ability to confront witnesses and evidence, protection from unfocused wiretapping and other civil liberties, gravely transgressed by the so-called war on terrorism.
Other Reforms
There are other reforms which may be delayed, such as better regulation of currently illicit drugs (and better prevention and treatment of addiction). And maintaining separation of church and state through requiring civil unions for heterosexual or homosexual couples to obtain tax and other legal benefits. Churches can also provide marriages, which have no legal status.
Some of these measures may be adopted quickly, others adopted progressively, and others delayed to pass higher priority measures. But we should push Barack Obama and our congress to go in the right direction as fast and far as possible. They should also provide necessary educational leadership to prepare our public and gain their support concerning these issues. For more. For more. For more. For more.
In the aftermath of defeat,
Republicans are debating what direction they should go to turn their fortunes
around. Some are arguing that they
should return to President Reagan’s and Newt Gingrich’s Conservative principles
of smaller government with less deficit spending. They should eliminate their corrupt alliance
with
Others argue they must adopt a Liberal Lite agenda, protecting our environment and showing compassion through supporting our safety net and social infrastructure. This approach is supported by some Republican governors, such as Mike Huckabee. For more. But many Republicans still don’t understand the need for competent government leadership. But due to support by the Conservative Political Infrastructure and the elimination of blue state Republicans, the Traditional Republicans will win over the Liberal Lite Republicans.
Presenting himself as non-partisan,
Here’s the Beef
You Must See This Wonderful ‘Louis Armstrong’ Tribute to
Barack Obama.
America has had a non-violent revolution.
Virginia trends blue with both national and state races.
High income Americans voted for Obama, in spite of his intention to raise their taxes.
Get to know John Podesta, leader of Center for American Progress and Obama’s transition team.
Who’s who in Obamaland? Thirty prospects.
Obama restricts lobbyists on transition team. What about the administration and congress afterwards?
Barack Obama’s team is identifying Bush’s executive decisions to be quickly reversed.
Barack Obama’s radio address focuses upon improving our economy now and long term.
Obama will quickly push tax cuts and tax increases.
Some global warming legislation will come quickly and other will come slower.
Can Barack Obama do what Franklin Roosevelt did?
‘The most Liberal’ Barack Obama elected. Is the term ‘Liberal’ redeemed? Must we still do something?
Finally we can struggle to realize our values, instead of struggling to oppose Conservative actions.
Unlike President Clinton, Barack Obama must maintain our people’s movement to support Change.
Barack must act to transform America, not to make Bill Clinton like incremental changes.
Barack Obama must use civic activism to work toward our common good.
Liberals must support Obama’s efforts to realize our vision for America.
Eight immediate major changes Obama can make.
Rahm Emanuel’s address to our 2008 Democratic Convention.
What Rahm Emanuel brings to Obama’s administration.
Peace organizations are ready to stimulate Obama to act for peace.
Union of Concerned Scientists tells Obama to restore scientific integrity to government.
Economists tell Obama to borrow if necessary to invest in restoring our economy.
What changes do business want from Obama and what changes will the resist?
Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection tells Obama to upgrade our electric transmission grid.
Some questions Barack Obama should ask at his intelligence briefings.
Liberal groups recognize that action on social issues may be delayed. But must occur.
Supporters of marriage equality react against Mormon role in passing California proposition 8.
Our Democratic Party still will have to earn the allegiance of Mainstream America.
Lots of possible replacements for Obama’s Senate seat.
State and Local
Make Washington’s Tax System
Fair for EveryoneTo my knowledge, only two advocacy organizations have publicly
argued that we need to substitute a progressive income tax for some of our
regressive sales, excise and property taxes
Washington Community Action Network (Washington CAN) and the Economic
Opportunity Institute. The following
appears on Washington CAN’s website:
We are demanding that our elected
officials commit to tax reform to create a system that is:
FAIR— Taxes are based on one’s ability to pay. People and
businesses with higher incomes are asked to pay their fair share.
SUFFICIENT— We need enough revenue raised to promote
a healthy economy and meet the public needs of our citizens, including
education, health, and human services.
STABLE— There must be a stable stream of revenue during times of
economic growth and economic recession.
ACCOUNTABLE— Government is accountable to the people.
All spending, taxes and tax exemptions should be publicly disclosed, and reviewed
and evaluated to ensure they provide public benefits.
To reach these goals we support a tax
reform package that includes:
·
Disclosing and
evaluating all tax exemptions so the
public can determine whether they meet public goals.
·
Eliminating some
tax exemptions to bring in needed revenue
and ensure that everyone is paying their fair share.
·
Lowering the sales
tax rate to reduce taxes on middle- and
low-income families.
· Establishing a personal income tax, so taxes are related to how much people make and wealthier people pay their fair share.
·
Reforming business
taxes to reduce taxes on small and new
businesses.
·
Extending the sales
tax to some professional and consumer services so our taxes keep up with the changing economy.
Tell your elected officials that you want
them to be courageous and do the right thing. Tell them you want them to stand
up for tax reform in
Did you know that
See all of our Washington Tax Reform Commentaries in one document.
Bailing Out Our
Let’s hope that President Obama will quickly provide state and local governments with money for infrastructure projects, including Washington State with $½ to 1 billion for each of the next two years. Then provide universal medical coverage. Then provide additional support for education, including higher pay for teachers, especially those working in culturally deprived neighborhoods.
These measures would greatly ease Governor Christine
Gregoire’s and our legislature’s task of balancing our budget without
decimating our public services. These
would also hasten the redevelopment of our
Unfortunately, some of our supposedly
Liberal organizations supported Republicans, including Attorney General Rob McKenna,
positioning him to run for Governor.
Let’s hope our Democratic Governor and Legislature earn a reputation for
fiscal responsibility, which makes it easy to defeat Republican contenders for
governor or other offices.
I am chagrinned that our Washington State
Democrats did so little to help
What are the Washington State Democrats’
priorities for electing Democrats? Assistance
should be given to Democratic candidates who oppose incumbent Republicans (even
before the primaries if only one candidate exists) and incumbent Democratic
Candidates facing strong challenges.
I do not blindly support Democrats. I would like
Here’s the Beef
Read the draft Puget Sound Cleanup Plan. For more.
New irrigation system will help fish and farmers.
Governor Gregoire proposes $300 million for economic relief. Let’s get the Feds to pay for this.
Local agency which assists defaulting homeowners is losing it’s funding.
More money is needed for cleaning up Hanford.
PSE is struggling against increased pressure to convert to public power.
Legislature should ban BIAW from using Retrospective Rating Fund for political purposes.
Pollster Stuart Elway says Gregoire – Rossi race was never close.
Encourage Jason Osgood to run for King County Elections Superviser.
Nation and World
Bretton Woods II
During July 1944, delegates from
all 44 allied nations met in Bretton Woods,
Since 1975, the heads of major industrialized
countries have been meeting as the G6 Forum, then the G8 Forum. The G8 is intended to be an informal forum. It lacks an administrative structure and a
permanent secretariat, or offices for its members like those for international
organizations, such as the United Nations or the World Bank.
The presidency of the group rotates
annually among the member countries, with each new term beginning on 1 January
of the year. The country holding the presidency is responsible for planning and
hosting a series of ministerial-level meetings, leading up to a mid-year summit
attended by the heads of government.
The ministerial meetings bring together ministers
responsible for various portfolios to discuss issues of mutual or global
concern. The range of topics include health, law enforcement, labor, economic
and social development, energy, environment, foreign affairs, justice and
interior, terrorism and trade. There are also a separate set of meetings known
as the "G8+5",
created during the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland summit, that is attended by finance and energy
ministers from all eight member countries in addition to the five
"Outreach Countries": Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South
Africa.
At the invitation of U.S. President Bush, leaders
of 20 countries will meet on November 15 to consider a coordinated response to
our international financial crisis. President
Elect Obama will not attend, but has designated two representatives to meet
with the leaders. Although little may be accomplished, this may be the beginning of the establishment of new regulations and
institutions for our international monetary and financial order – a Bretton Woods
II. More Democratic regulations and
institutions relevant to our present international economy are much needed.
Chinese Stimulus Package
For 30 years, the Chinese
economy has grown by 10% per year or more.
Such growth is necessary to provide jobs for the many farmers who are
seeking other employment. Due to the
global slowdown,
In response, the government
has adopted a stimulus package costing $586 billion, which equals 9% of
How different from our
stimulus package, which gave much money to middle income people to enhance
their consumption. While
we have been encouraging China to increase its people’s consumption, China’s
government focuses upon investing to increase productivity.
Here’s the Beef
Goodbye to
our borrow, consume and speculate mindset.
Even
if credit was more easily available, many people are too indebted to borrow
more.
Will
we regulate $684 trillion (yes, trillion) derivatives casino market? Let’s virtually eliminate them.
Companies are ceasing to
contribute to speculative 401(k)s. Good let’s enable social security add-ons.
A
recovery program, including stimulus, investment and discipline.
Fiscal
discipline in the long run, but Keynesian fiscal stimulus is now needed.
Henry
Paulson argued for urgent acceptance of his bailout. Now he changes it.
Contrary
to conventional wisdom, higher taxes correlate with increased economic growth.
Our government is not
revealing enough about it bailout: to whom with what conditions? For more.
Job
Losses are adding to mortgage defaults and foreclosures.
At least
half of our states can produce their own energy without transmission from
elsewhere.
Regardless of whether
oil production has peaked, we need alternative fuels to avoid global warming.
What
will happen to oil and gasoline prices?
Due
to declining oil prices, our negative trade imbalance has decreased.
What
Al Gore proposes to obtain independence from fossil fuel.
Supreme
Court accepts fallacious argument that harming whales is necessary to protect
security.
What’s happening in various states concerning equal marriage and other rights?
Why markets don’t produce competition to lower health care costs.
Five thousand physicians advocate single payer public health coverage.
Senator Max Baucus (chair of finance committee) is pushing toward health coverage reform.
There are two Americas, one smart and the other dumb. Brains are back.
Newt Gingrich suggests we abolish irresponsible adolescence.
Our Liberal Spirit
Recovering from Success
So now, finally, we have won. Now we can begin to Reclaim Our American Dream. We can begin changing from a Borrow, Consume and Speculate lifestyle to an Earn, Conserve and Invest lifestyle. We reflect upon how we won and celebrate our journey together. We are filled with joy about our improved expectations for the future.
Like the football player after a gain on the field or imposing a loss on the other team, we must immediately focus on the next play. Like the football player who wins a game, we cannot focus upon winning the super bowl. We must focus upon the challenge of winning the next game. Celebration is both an end and a beginning. It is a milestone on our journey.
Our task now is to understand our new situation. Our Obama Administration. Our Democratically Dominated Congress. The mindset of our public. The intentions, resources and strategies of our opposition. We must decide what we can achieve (even at some risk). We must decide how we can best work with others to overcome the obstacles and achieve our visions. We must dedicate ourselves to the necessary struggle.
The best recovery from a success (or failure) is to prepare ourselves and work toward another success.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for
liberals
Rahm
Emanuel and Bruce Reed, 2006, The
Plan, Big Ideas for
Have no doubt that Rahm Emanuel is a Liberal. Some Republican leaders are whining that he is too Liberal and partisan. Hopefully, they will open their eyes, see the light and join with the Obama administration to restore our economy and American Dream.
Free Member Advertising
Hire Our Lake Hills Neighbors
· Auto Repair, price varies depending on job (but always fair), Jaime Speicher (AAS Auto Repair Technician) (425-746-2353)
·
Babysitting for infants (occasional
evenings and weekends) - $5 per hour-
·
Data Entry- $10 per 12 font, double
spaced page-
· Debt Elimination Counseling, Seminars and Workshops – price negotiable – Sherry Brandt (206-356-8034, somerev2@comcast.net)
·
Home Repair- prices vary, depending
on job-
·
Home
Repair and Remodeling,
·
Housekeeper,
price negotiable –
·
Life
Support Therapies,
· Private Piano Lessons (students must have a piano), afternoons - Anna Khosrowian (378-7938), price negotiable
·
Psychotherapist,
accepts insurance - Sandy Mathews
(462-7889, www.sandramathews.com)