Citizens' Daily Lobby

Last week I was asked by CREDO to vote for my favorite of three anti-Lincoln billboards, one of which will ultimately be erected here in Blanche Lincoln country.  The billboards aim to call the Senator out for her stance on the Murkowski amendment that would take the teeth out of the Clean Air Act regarding CO2 emissions.  The billboard contest was created by CREDO Action and Friends of the Earth.    None of the three proposed billboards is exactly what I would call a triumph of political advertising, and, let’s face it, none of them would exactly resonate with Arkansas voters.  I have said it before, and I’ll be happy to say it again:  if you’re going to mess with Arkansas politics, you should probably know Arkansans.

Billboard number 1, “Senator Lincoln:  Don’t Choke Our Razorbacks.  Hands off the Clean Air Act” comes complete with a non-official Hog cartoon.    Even if the hog were a genuine, NCAA-approved, legitimate Razorback, the billboard would still strike me as condescending.  Not only that, but it’s just not an effective message.   What the creators of this particular billboard probably do not know is that a football coach from the Fayetteville area once famously declared during a public hearing that his high school team “bows down” to the smokestack of a local coal plant and thanks God for that plant.  Money talks.

Billboard number 2,  “Arkansans Love Clean Air, Why Doesn’t Senator Lincoln?” is better.  The problem with this one is that the photo of Senator Lincoln is virtually unrecognizable.  Judging by the photo, the text should read something like “B-r-a-i-n-s…B-r-a-i-n-s.”

Candidate number 3 is simply an official-looking photo of the Senator with the phrase “Corporate Polluters, I support you-Blanche Lincoln.”  Too detached.   Arkansas voters are simply not concerned about “corporate polluters.”

I think I may be able to help these people out.  Here are two billboards that are almost certain to resonate in Arkansas:

As the President prepares for the State of the Union Address, Progressives across the country are still waiting for Gobama.  Wake us when he shows up.

In better news, it looks as if Trijicon, marketers of tactlessly evangelical rifle sights to the US Marine Corps will stop putting Bible verse references on its weapons of war.  Score one for human decency.  The company has graciously agreed to provide 100 free kits to remove existing Biblical references.  Of course, there are thousands of these weapons already in action…

A short post today, as I am suffering from Friday Fatigue and What’s the Point-itis.

A friend of mine passed me a great link today that provides some valuable insight into the MA special election, with nice graphics.  It seems that overall voter turnout in the state was down, but Republican turn-out was up.   Maybe this makes sense in light of the fact that most people only vote if they really think their vote will make a difference.  Democrats turned out heavily for Barack Obama in 2008, largely because of the promise of change, the sense that things could be different.  After observing the first year of Obama’s presidency, with a “majority” of Democrats in Congress,  those of us who were “Hope Democrats” are almost completely demoralized.  No wonder so many stayed home.

If you are feeling guilty and bloated after the Christmas season gift-fest, you might want to consider some ways to decrease your carbon footprint and up your socially conscious buying during the coming year.   Here are a couple of suggestions that have worked well for me during the past year.

1.  Buy locally when possible.   Local foods can be purchased through food clubs in the area, at farmers markets during the growing season.  Local farmers are responding to consumer demands by growing an increasing diversity of produce and extending the growing season as much as possible.

2.  Buy organic.  Production of organically grown foods results in  fewer agrochemicals in the environment, our food, our water, and our bodies.

3.  Buy certified fair trade whenever possible.  Fairly traded means that workers are treated ethically and fairly.  Vote with your dollars to help companies that don’t exploit labor,  foreign or domestic.

4.  Buy resale instead of new.  Resale boutiques are among the fastest growing retail categories, and with good reason.  Reuse of items is an even higher priority than recyling, and today’s resale shops often carry barely-used, fashionable and even designer clothing at a fraction of the original price.    Make it your resolution to buy at least one category of your wardrobe (jeans, sweaters, whatever) used.  This applies to automobiles, household items, and furniture, too.

5.  Buy from small, locally owned businesses rather than from big-box retailers, and eat at locally owned restaurants.  You’ll meet some great people, enjoy fantastic ethnic foods of all kinds,  and help your local economy at the same time.  (And, no, chain restaurants and fast foods do not count, even though some franchises are owned locally).

6.  Eat meat less frequently this year, and give up fast food for good.  Livestock production uses vast quantities of water and creates much pollution.  When you do eat meat, make it locally grown.  Know your producer, and you can be sure that your meat comes from animals that were well cared for and ethically produced.

7.  Buy items in bulk and avoid single-use containers.  Bottled water is out.

Fairly traded and organic foods can be more expensive than the other stuff.  Americans pay an artificially low price for most foods due to government subsidies.  Small, organic farmers do not get subsidized, and prices for their products actually reflect the real value of the food.   The pay-off is that your food will be fresh and delicious, and you will know you aren’t supporting any sweatshops with your purchases.

Good choices for shopping in the Little Rock area:

Fair trade: Ten Thousand Villages (gifts, coffee, tea).  Many grocery stores now carry fairly traded coffee, tea, sugar, and spices.

Resale Boutiques:  Poor Little Rich Girl, Elaine’s Closet, Kaleidoscope (review here).

Restaurants: Use your imagination and the internet.  Next time you go out, look for a new place that isn’t a national chain.

Local Foods:  Certified Arkansas On-line Market, Arkansas Sustainability Network.  Local foods year-round.

Repurposed items, pet supplies, and local crafts: The Green Corner Store

Local Artists: The gallery at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.

I respect the work that Jane Hamsher’s organization (Firedoglake.com) is doing to promote and defend Progressive causes.    I cannot respect some of the tactics she employs.   Today I received a message from Ms. Hamsher entitled “Mrs. Lieberman.”  It seems that Joe’s wife, Hadassah Lieberman, is a former insurance lobbyist.  Today, she is employed in some capacity at Komen for the Cure (Global Ambassador).  Ms. Hamsher is petitioning Komen to fire Hadassah, calling her employment there an “inherent conflict of interest.”

I don’t know anything about Hadassah Lieberman’s position on health care reform.  I think she should be given the right to speak for herself and to remain independent from her more famous spouse.  After all, Wendell Potter was also employed by the health care industry, but today he is a strong voice for reform.  Women in this country continue to fight every day for the right to be seen as an entire person, even when they are married.   For many, and I am among them, even the use of “Mrs.” is offensive.

This is sexism at a not-so-subtle level.  It is also a thinly-veiled attack on a respected charity that does wonderful work for women, and Ms. Hamsher is sinking to the level of the GOP with this action.  Perhaps that’s what it will take to win the battle for health care reform.   Perhaps this is a sign of how desperate the battle has become for Progressives.

Thom Hartmann takes what should be very, very discouraging news (that the Tea Party is more popular than the Republican Party) and draws a preposterous conclusion:  that populists on the left and right have a lot in common and should just play nicely.   After all, the Tea Party Populists are sick and tired of bankers and dirty politicians, too, right?  It might be true that populists on left and right could work together, except for the bit about “left” and “right”.    Then, there’s the fact that the Tea Party has been extremely cozy with Big Insurance and Big Pharma this year.  Oh, and the trend for populists on the Left to be more cerebral (as demonstrated by the tendency for Leftists to show up at protests with correctly spelled signage while the Tea Party…you know).    Progressives and Tea Baggage wouldn’t make it past a discussion (firefight) over the 2nd amendment and gun rights.  When you throw Barack Obama and Sarah Palin into the mix, you do not have a recipe for peaceful collaboration.

I thought Tom was smarter than this.

Some say the “purity test” recently proposed by some in the Republican party for potential candidates is just a publicity stunt aimed at smearing chairman Michael Steele.  I’m not so sure.

(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill

(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;

(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check

(5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat

(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership

Full story here.

Number 9 is really 3 separate principles, but we’ll concede this one.  I’m amazed that the “right to life”  was mentioned only in passing and didn’t get it’s own number.   The truly astonishing thing about this list is that it would have excluded both its namesake and the GOP-sanctified George W. Bush.  Reagan would have failed due to expansion of the national deficit, passage of a gasoline tax, and bailout of social security.  Bush would have failed because he was notoriously soft on immigrants.  He did some major damage to the national deficit, too.  Republicans are the masters of revisionist history.

I have been away for the past few days due to problems with my home internet connection.  It’s good to be back and to see what my fans at PA are saying.

On the environmental front,  Entergy is seeking to charge consumers more than $1 billion to retrofit the White Bluff plant with scrubbers.   Why should we oppose putting scrubbers on an existing plant?  I am not an energy expert, but I know one, and he has explained the situation.  (You can check out the full story at GreenArbytheDay).

What we really want is a careful look at the longterm cost-effectiveness of the alternatives to sinking $1 billion (current estimate by the company) into extending the life of a 30-year-old coal plant.

So far, three different owners of modern, efficient natural gas plants have suggested that they will make proposals to supply the energy more cheaply. Natural gas has its problems, but it pollutes far less than coal (for instance, no mercury fallout & dramatically lower CO2 cost and financial risk).

This is not merely an environmental issue. The Bush Administration issued flawed rules governing mercury and interstate smog and acid rain emissions. Those rules were thrown out by (largely Republican) judges. They will be rewritten soon within the life of the coal plant. Furthermore, the first carbon dioxide rules will be issued next March. All of those air rules, plus new water waste disposal rules might require further very expensive upgrades to the coal plant (indeed, Entergy modeling already allocates $176 million for future mercury controls). So, one of our concerns is that this $1 billion project, even without likely cost overruns, could be just the beginning; but AFTER the first big expenditure is made, it is “water under the bridge.” Similar upgrade costs might not pertain for natural gas, or for a combination of natural gas and wind power (a coalition of wind power developers also has asked to be heard). By comparison, these alternatives might be less expensive and might even return investment into in-state industries rather than coal shipments from out-of-state.

It takes very sophisticated analysis to compare these alternatives, and there are further economic and power issues not addressed here. Entergy and the plant co-owners are predisposed to want to keep its coal plant operating because that is part of how rates and revenues are justified. Clearly, any answer would need to address those issues. However, we are asking that other parties be allowed to investigate alternatives to see if a cheaper, less polluting alternative makes economic and environmental sense for the co-owners, ratepayers and the state.

You may speak out about the issue by submitting a written comment to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (airpermits@adeq.state.ar.us)  by close of business tomorrow.  Entergy must obtain an air permit to proceed with this work. 

Those of you who are following the health care debate will be familiar with Wendell Potter.   A former CIGNA executive, he has acted as something of a whistleblower on the private health insurance industry.  He’s now a Senior Fellow on Healthcare at the Center for Media and Democracy.

Mr. Potter is coming to Philander Smith College on November 23rd at 6:30 pm.  The lecture is free, open to the public, and will be held in the Kendall Center.   The talk is part of a Community Forum on Health Care Reform and the Health Insurance Industry.  For more information, please call Candis Collins at 501-944-1603 or Neil Sealy at 501-346-9617 (Health Care for America Now).

Update, 1-21-09:  Mr. Potter is getting good press in the EU, where people really can’t understand why Americans are making such a fuss over a basic human right like access to health care.  For my Francophile  readers, here’s a link to an excellent article in Le Monde.  If you check out the comments (only 2…either the French don’t care, or they aren’t as comment-happy as Americans) you will find this wonderful quote: ” L’Amérique ne mérite pas Obama.”  I think that message is pretty clear, even without a translation.

Today I received word that my daughter’s high school band would not be attending the first round of the state football playoffs due to the location in Helena-West Helena.   The reason was given as parental fears for their children’s safety based on “past events in the area.”  I will readily admit that I do not know what the “past events” were, when they occurred, and if they warrant so strong a response.   I do know that Helena-West Helena has played football at PA, and I’m pretty sure they brought their band.  I will also admit that I have felt far more threatened by the Greenwood fans than by the Helena fans.  Those people were scary, and they left their beer cans all over the school when they left.

I voted for the band to attend the game. Not going  sends what I deeply believe is the wrong message to the people of Helena.  The message is that the privileged white people (mostly) of Little Rock do not want their children to attend a football game in a largely black school district.    I admit to sending my child to PA.   My family chose the school because of its academic record,  class sizes, and lack of religious affililiation.  The last qualification turned out to be only loosely accurate, because PA clearly endorses a Christian outlook and occasionally even Christian dogma.  I did not choose PA because of the demographics.  Frankly, most  PA parents annoy me rather intensely.   I am disappointed in this decision by the band parents to keep their children home this Friday.

It bothers me that the school can’t shake the social elitism and just stick to academic elitism.  What I want for my kid is a good education, not the Cotillion.  My child might get a car at 16, but I definitely won’t be hosting a debutante ball.

If any of my readers has any information about the “past events” that precipitated this, I would love to hear about them.  Otherwise, I will have to believe that PA band parents are mostly a bunch of weenies.