A month ago, I received a letter from the DNC asking me to donate money. It had a lot of hype about how important it was that I support them and how much progress they've made in with the help and support of President Barack Obama.
My husband "life partner" [snort!] was the one who actually opened the envelope. I was busy making "Grilled Cheese with Tomato" sandwiches for our lunch. Little Otis was taking a short nap on the edge of the dining room rug.
My "roommate" scanned the flier and abruptly tossed it at my plate and reached for the next envelope that consequently contained dreaded phone bill. (I have a favorite aunt who lives in Calgary.)
While the sandwiches sizzled, I took a peek at what he tossed onto my plate.
Progress?
Success?
Barack Obama?
"Please Donate: $10, $50, $100?!"
What? Why would I give them anything? I grabbed a large black magic marker and scrawled across the mailer:
DOMA DADT EDNA
YOU DON'T SUPPORT US - WE DON'T SUPPORT YOU!
...although, the second line of my graffiti was in a slightly little smaller font.
I stuffed the mailer into the pre-paid postage envelope, added a sprinkle of coffee grounds (just in case) and readied it for the next days outbound US Post.
With all of the activity, I burned the sandwiches and my "communal resident" glared at me over his reading glasses, obviously he was annoyed. Little Otis was thrilled: "Butter" and warm "Cheese" are words Otis loves more than words like "m-a-i-l-m-a-n" and "s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l".
The Israeli flotilla attack: victimhood, aggression and tribalism
By Glenn Greenwald
June 3, 2010
From salon.com
One of the primary reasons the Turkish Government has been so angry in its denunciations of the Israeli attack on the flotilla is because many of the dead were Turkish citizens. That's what governments typically do: object vociferously when their citizens are killed by foreign nations under extremely questionable circumstances. Needless to say, that principle -- as all principles are -- will be completely discarded when it comes to the U.S. protection of Israel:
A U.S. citizen of Turkish origin was among the nine people killed when Israeli commandos attacked a Gaza-bound aid flotilla . . . An official from the Turkish Islamic charity that spearheaded the campaign to bust the blockade on Gaza identified the U.S. citizen as 19-year-old Furkan Dogan . . . . Dogan, who held a U.S. passport, had four bullet wounds to the head and one to the chest . . . .
(We don't promote every diary from organizations, but contests like this one are too much fun not to give a little attention! - promoted by Joe Bodell)
Grassroots Solutions http://www.grassrootssolutions... , a national grassroots consulting firm in Minneapolis, has two open seats at its table for the May 8th Hubert H. Humphrey Day Dinner http://www.dfl.org/hhh . Representative Barney Frank will be the special guest for the evening.
To honor Representative Frank, Grassroots Solutions is asking its Facebook fans to post haikus about the distinguished Congressman on the wall. The author of the best haiku and a guest will be invited to join Grassroots Solutions at the HHH Day Dinner next Saturday.
The contest is open through Wednesday, May 5th. The winner will be announced on Friday, May 7th.
In my opinion, this is the best way to experience downtown Duluth in all its greatness! Stay with the pack, or hit the stops in your own order. Just be sure to enter to win prizes (see bottom of post).
FRIDAY PROGRESSIVE PUB CRAWL ITINERARY
7:30PM Train leaves from the Depot (located right across from the Radisson Hotel; on 5th Ave. W & Michigan St). Don't let the train scare you. This will be a fun leisurely stroll down the tracks. You could easily walk the same distance on the Lake Walk "park trail," but the choo choo ride will be way more fun!
FIRST STOP: Fitger's Complex: @ Rex Fitger's Complex (6th Ave. E & Superior St.)
Fitger's Complex is an old brewery that was flipped into a fun entertainment complex with many shops, restaurants, bars, and a fancy hotel. Rex is just one of the bars in Fitger's Complex (the Rex space used to be called the Tap Room a few years ago). The Rex is in the lowest level of Fitger's Complex, and is a great place to get the party started. It is very comfortable and feels like you're in your friend's basement if it was finished by union carpenters.
SECOND STOP: Fitger's Complex: @ Red Star (Also on, 6th Ave. E & Superior St.)
Progressive leftists will love the Red Star, hence the name Red Star. Enjoy their funky furniture and wide martini selection. It's like walking into Austin Power's basement. Must see. Really Fun!
THIRD STOP: Carmody Irish Pub (3rd Ave. E & Superior St., right across the street from the Sheraton hotel) Just a couple of blocks from Fitger's is Carmody Pub, where local DFLers often gather to watch election night coverage. Enjoy free peanuts and a pint from their great beer selection.
FOURTH STOP: Blackwater (2nd Ave. E & Superior St.)
This private military company serves the best Mercenary Mojitos in town. Haha. J/K. It's not that Blackwater, but their mojitos are amazing, along with their many other cocktails. The ambiance and atmosphere feels fancy, but don't be intimidated. Relax and enjoy. Feel free to rearrange the furniture however you want as you indulge in conversation with other DFLers about the intricacies of obscure platform resolutions :)
FIFTH STOP: Zeitgeist (2nd Ave. E. & Superior St.)
This arts cafe is cooler than a polar bear's toenails. Check the whole place out, very cool! It is the perfect place to get your art on. Conveniently linked to a black-box theater, Teatro Zuccone, and Duluth's only independent movie theater, Zinema 2.
LAST STOP: Pizza Luce ( Lake Ave. & Superior St.)
The final stop will offer complimentary beer and appetizers!
If that's not enough, order yourself a baked potato pizza. It's delicious!
PRIZES If you hit all the bars and get your invitation punched at each location you can be registered to win great Duluth prizes like a 1-night stay at the luxurious and historic Fitger's Inn and others. Hope to see you out and about!
Progressive Radio Programming /
Republican Employee Management Policies and Practices
AM950 ktnf radio promotes itself as "The Voice of Minnesota". The station performs an important service to Minnesota Progressives by providing a counter-voice to right wing conservative political talk radio commentators such as Rush Limbaugh.
AM950 Radio is Minnesota's only independently owned and managed progressive talk radio station. It is not a franchise nor is it associated with recently bankrupt AirAmerica Network. It is owned by husband & wife team Bill Luther and Janet Robert. Both are attorneys and former members of the DFL United States House of Representatives. AM950 radio is managed by Janet Robert.
AM950 radio actively supports Unions, public health care reform, and equal rights. It came to my attention recently that AM950 radio, is guilty of DINO management policies. I find this particularly disturbing when considering that AM950 owner/managers play an active role as leaders of our progressive community.
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DINO MANAGEMENT VIOLATIONS:
1. Advocates equal rights for minorities but has a hiring history of zero minority employees.
2. Advocates affordable public health care, yet AM950 Radio's health care benefit package is expensive and discriminates against older workers and single parents. Coverage costs start at around $250/month for employees in their 20's and rises to $550/month for employees 55 and older. PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE NOT COVERED.
3. AM950 radio supports unions, but AM950 radio has the highest employee turn-over rate of all local radio stations and appeals EVERY application for unemployment.
4. Employees are granted only 1 week a year in vacation, while the manager/owners take 7 or more weeks of vacation time a year.
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These self-serving policies might be partially understood if owner/managers Janet Robert and Bill Luther were on a shoe-string budget, but this couple inherited a net-worth of well over 4 million dollars. I do not believe that the fact that they provide an important service for Minnesota Progressives renders them immune from accountability. In fact, I question how seriously they take their roles if they do not even bother to follow their own progressive voices.
As a progressive, I find this behavior unforgivable. A true progressive business owner follows progressive policies even when it effects their own pocket-book. A true progressive business owner cares enough about their employees to provide for the health-care and basic human needs of their workers. A true progressive business owner follows unemployment laws and policies. A true progressive business owner create benefits that make it possible for minorities, older workers, and single parents to be a part of their business community.
I challenge Janet Robert and Bill Luther to step up to the plate and follow their own progressive voices, to be true progressive leaders in not only voice but in action.
The Tea Party Express sure has been making a lot of noise lately, especially here in Minnesota, and ever since the politically impossible became possible when the Obama Administration-backed and Democratically lead Congress passed Health Care Reform and it recently became law of the land.
So what is the Tea Party Express national bus tour all about, anyway? Well, according to their website, the purpose of the tour is to "highlight some of the worst offenders in Congress who have voted for higher spending, higher taxes, and government intervention in the lives of American families and businesses." Their slogan is, "Just Vote Them Out."
With all the images of Tea Partiers carrying guns, signs of Obama as Stalin/Hitler/pick your favorite socialist or dictator, and shouts of "baby killer", "Armageddon," and "anti-Christ," at the rallies, I could help but wonder, "that's it?". On Wikipedia, their positions and goals are summed up in two sentences "...constitutionally limited government generally,[12][13] and more specifically is anti-stimulus,[14] anti-deficit,[15] anti-bailout[16] and anti-health reform."
OK then, I get it. No taxes, hence the April 15th rally at the nation's capital, and pretty much against anything else our government is trying to do for the people based on what the majority of folks actually voted for. Wow. I really miss the days of 2008 when a lot of my friends, oh so young and idealistic, were a part of the Ron Paul Revolution, and we had real substantive debates about inflation, the Federal Reserve (they converted me on that one), monetary policy, excise taxes, cuts in spending (including military), tariffs, civil liberties, and even health care. We often found common ground, like breaking up the government-enforced monopolies of HMOs and pharmaceutical companies, over a pint of friendly beer.
So who the heck is Ron Paul, anyway, and where is he? He used to be "America's #1 defender of individual liberty fighting for us in the nation's capitol!" Dr. Paul is a physician and Republican Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas, and made a spirited run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, when I first heard of him. He was sort of like the Dennis Kucinich of the right field. You know, a true maverick.
On the surface, Ron Paul seems like the perfect leader for the Tea Party movement; he's experienced nationally, extremely bright and knowledgeable of the issues, has a great Netroots base and is a surprisingly strong fundraiser. He even one this year's coveted Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) presidential straw poll, eking out Mitt Romney who won the prize the previous three years. Paul seems like a Libertarian's Republican, and is pretty candid in front of the cameras for that red meat 24-hour cable news factor, O'Reilly or otherwise. Well maybe that's the problem.
You see, today's Tea Party "leaders" (speakers) are more about getting air-time then getting results for the country. It's really just a front for Dick Army to raise large sums of money for his PAC to elect even more far-right Republicans of the status quo. If this was a true revolutionary movement (democratic and nonviolent), then why won't Rep. Ron Paul be caught dead near one of their rallies? Or maybe he was never invited?
In a fairly recent interview, Ron Paul noted that, "Neocon issues in public policy are not exactly dead these days," and, "Everybody likes to join what looks like a popular movement, then they want to come in and influence that movement," Paul continued. So don't expect Sarah Palin to be advocating to end to drug war, or to have the Federal Reserve Bank audited any time soon. Never mind a thoughtful discussion on foreign policy, border security, or energy policy. It's all still "drill, baby, drill" from here on out for the Tea Party People, as Sarah Palin spouted today in her key note speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
At least Ron Paul will be on all those serious news shows, like Kucinich still is from time to time, right? Well, Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, etc. seem keep his voice down and the Bachmann's and Palin's of the world at full volume. Just sit back and watch, Republicans and the Tea Party will actually protect the Fed, Wall Street and the Banksters in the next-up national debate on financial services reform, justifying much-needed regulation as a "government takeover." Yawn. We could really use a substantive debate from conservatives and libertarians right now. However, we've been getting pretty much a watered-down version from some centrist and corporate Democrats.
And that's a shame. Not so much for Progressives like myself, who's voice has been pretty coherent and unified as of late, but rather for the thousands who attend these Tea Party rallies who have legitimate concerns about the role of government. It's really too bad they don't have any new ideas to address those concerns, other than "just vote them out," although Ron Paul certainly does. Instead it's just the same old, same old, Tom Delay/George W. Bush ideas of the past. But this time, the difference is lipstick.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and I sat down at a coffee shop near his congressional office in Minneapolis to talk. I wanted to find out his take on healthcare reform, what's coming up in Congress and see "the goatee" for myself.
"I started it over August Recess last year," Keith said. "You know, just didn't shave for a couple of days. Then shaved my cheeks. Nobody said anything about it, nobody said 'it's gotta go' so I've kept it." Including his wife, Kim.
After getting the discussion of facial hair out of the way, we got to the biggest question on everybody's mind regarding Congress: healthcare reform.
"You can't arouse people's imaginations for a year straight and then not do something," Keith explained. "I think we're going to do something. I think we're going to use reconciliation."
"Look, social security and medicare were smaller at first," he continued. "They expanded it after they passed it."
After the fold, there's more about healthcare reform, plus the climate change bill, his views on the progressive movement, stimulus and a mid-flight impromptu birthday party featuring then-President George W. Bush and Karl Rove.
I'm a member of TakeAction Minnesota. This is a grassroots organization that believes in progressive politics. One of our projects is the reNEW Minnesota Campaign. On January 31 we will choose three DFL candidates who we think meet our vision.
See who my choices are after the break.
Here's what we believe.
Our Future Together: A Vision for a reNEWed Minnesota
We have inherited so much good from the people who came before us and we will continue building on that foundation. We also inherit a legacy and ongoing practice of injustice that must be addressed. The decisions we make today will dictate the quality of our lives together and those of generations to come. We create the future for our children's children.
We make these decisions at a crossroads. Minnesota has a proud tradition of community, of helping one another, and of understanding that "we all do better when we all do better." But in the last 20 years, a damaging ideology has gained increasing power in Minnesota government. It has strained our families, divided our neighborhoods, and created needless suffering throughout our state. The future on this path promises further isolation, deprivation and pain.
The ideology we reject:
We reject the ideology of "you're on your own" - the idea that we are better off when competing against each other for our individual lot in life.
We reject the ideology that says markets can solve all problems and that our government can solve none.
We reject the ideology that denies the ongoing impacts of racism in our society.
We reject the politics of "except" - a politics that says some people are not deserving of full participation in our society.
We reject the idea that people should get as much as they can for themselves with no thought to their neighbor.
These Are The Beliefs We Are United On.
This is the Minnesota We Want To Live In.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Are All In This Together.
We recognize that we do not live in isolation. We are an interconnected and interdependent people. From our family farms and rural towns to our suburbs and cities, we rise together or fall together as a state, not as individuals. We believe community is vital to rebuilding and revitalizing our state. Our problems are experienced together. Our solutions must be created together.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Make Decisions Now to Improve the Lives of Our Children's Children.
We believe our land, natural resources and social values were passed on to us and are the legacy we leave for future Minnesotans. We must leave a better world for those who come after us.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person Is Recognized Without Exception.
We all benefit when every person has the opportunity to fully participate in every part of our society: from marrying the person they love in a civil ceremony, to participating in our democratic decision making structures. We believe we all have a responsibility to contribute our love, talents, energy and creativity with our family, friends and community without exception.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where We Embrace a Politics of Inclusion and Justice for All.
Racism is experienced every day in Minnesota through unequal access to material and social resources. We believe every child born and every newly arrived resident should benefit equally from our quality of life and have the power to make our state better. We believe in a Minnesota where the values, traditions and contributions of Native Americans, Hmong, African Americans, Somalis, Latinos and all immigrants and people of color are valued and respected. We commit to eradicate racism in our society today and to undo the continued impacts of past racism.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN a Minnesota Where There Is A Fair, Equitable Economy That Benefits Everyone.
Minnesota is a wealthy state financially and in our material, social, and natural capital. We believe that workers should be able to meet their basic needs through the wages they earn. We are also responsible for those unable to work, for we are truly free only when economic insecurity and social anxiety are alleviated for all of us and each of us can live our lives to our fullest potential. Alone, each of us is vulnerable. Together we bring boundless creativity and passion. And, if we use them well, we have abundant material resources to tackle the challenges we face as a society.
The Role of Our Elected Leaders in reNEWing Minnesota
We believe that the point of winning elections is to enact positive change in the lives of Minnesotans. We need bold visionary leaders whose mission is to advance our shared values.
We need a governor who will not govern alone. We need a governor who will work with a powerful economic, social, racial justice movement to implement our shared vision. We need a governor who will strengthen our collective democratic institutions - our government institutions as well as our labor and community organizations. We must also change how we act in our relationships with elected officials and among ourselves. Our next governor must cogovern with us, the people of Minnesota.
Conclusion:
The path toward a more just society and a more inclusive and vibrant Minnesota is ahead of us. One hundred years from now, our children's children will live their lives based on the decisions we make as a state now. We commit ourselves to reNEWing Minnesota so that we will all rise together. The choice is ours. We have the power.
A couple of years, I caused a room of indrawn breaths when I said that the commitment to being a peacemaker was a lifelong commitment. People hoped that a year or two of activism would bring peace then life would get back to normal. After the news of permanent climate change, we have no "back" to go back to. After the extraordinary debt caused by banks and derivatives, we have no "back" to go back to. When the economy recovers, we will find demand for fossil fuels is outstripping supply and again, we have no "back" to go back to.
Never before has the future looked so uncertain. The trials are the most difficult that this country and even the most difficult this world has faced. Yet we have best tools that we have ever had. Ordinary people like the people writing on this blog have found their voice and found each other. It is the time of ordinary people becoming the greatest of heroes.
Sure, we encounter people who walk in self delusion no matter what we say and no matter what happens. The self delusion of "pro life" that condones innocent people killed by the death penalty, that condones millions of innocent civilians killed by the collateral damage of war. The self delusion of "free market" that allows a few giant corporations to charge any price for goods that market will bear, while the deluded wonder why Canada has the same drugs at half the price. The self delusion of the "evils of socialism" where the same people who love their medicare would deny government managed health care for all. The self delusion is so compete that I wonder how the deluded do not actually walk into walls.
The real pain of progressives and peacemakers everywhere is when all of hard fought efforts seem to result in the same decisions yet again. When our President Obama is adding 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, thinking that somehow the applying the same solution this time will have a different result? Across the universe of progressives and peacemakers, I heard the lament of how can we go on!
The answer is that we go on because that is who we are! Whether I parade in success or whether I am the last voice speaking, I will remain true to who I am. I will not give up. Indeed I will celebrate each setback as just one more hill to climb before we succeed in our dream and in our vision of who we are and what our world should look like. All of you walking beside me is my greatest support. The strength of humans is our ability to bond and create new visions. So I am proudly holding the banner up once again. Together, we can make a difference. We are changing the world. Let's go!
Although I'm not a Catholic, I understand how, in the context of Catholic practices, their funeral procedures help mourners through a difficult time, toward a new state of normalcy which does not include the deceased.
On a separate but tangentially related note, I think it's ridiculous to view a funeral for such a storied public figure as Edward Moore Kennedy with no connection whatsoever to his massive influence on American political discourse over the past half-century. The funerals of political figures are political themselves. Reagan's was, Wellstone's was, and Kennedy's was too. Kennedy's funeral this weekend was a quiet and somber affair, but there was still an air of politics -- and that was a good thing.
Especially when it came to the intercessions offered by Kennedy's closest family members. Those intercessions, in the form of prayers for the principles and ideals for which Kennedy spent his entire adult life fighting, offer us a way forward, reminding us of what we really need to seek in our politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For my grandfather's commitment and persistence, not to out worn values but to old values that will never wear out. That the poor may be out of political fashion, but they are never without human needs, that circumstances may change but the work of compassion must continue. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
GRACE ALLEN, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDDAUGHTER: For my grandpa that we will not in our nation measure human beings by what they cannot do but instead value them for what they can do. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
MAX ALLEN, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDSON: For what my grandpa calls the cause of his life, as he said so often, in every part of this land, that every American will have decent quality health care, as a fundamental right, and not a privilege. We pray to the lord. CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
JACK SCHLOSSBERG, SEN. KENNEDY'S GREAT-NEPHEW: For a new season of hope that my uncle Teddy envisioned, where we rise to our best ideals, close the book on the old politics of race and gender, group against group and straight against gay. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
ROBIN LAWFORD, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For my uncle Teddy's call to keep the promise that all men and women who live here, even strangers and newcomers can rise no matter what their color, no matter what their place of birth, for workers out of work, students without tuition for college and families without the chance to own a home. For all Americans seeking a better life and a better land, for all of those left out or left behind, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
KYM SMITH, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For my uncle's stand against violence, hate and war, and his belief that peace can be kept through the triumph of justice and the truth justice can come only to the works of peace, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
ANTHONY SHRIVER, SEN. KENNEDY'S NEPHEW: As my uncle Teddy once told thousands and millions, may be said of us in dark passages and bright day, and the words of Tennyson, that my brothers quoted in love that have a special meaning for us now. I am part of all that I have met though much is taken, much abides. That which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
RORY KENNEDY, SEN. KENNEDY'S NIECE: For the joy of my uncle Teddy's laugher, the light of his presence, his rare and noble contributions to the human spirit, for his face that in heaven, his father, and mother, his brothers and sisters and all who went before him will welcome him home. And for all the times to come when the rest of us will think of him, cuddling affectionately on the boat, surrounded by family as we sailed in the Nantucket Sound. We pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
TEDDY KENNEDY III, SEN. KENNEDY'S GRANDSON: For my grandfather's brave promise last summer that the work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on, we pray to the lord.
CONGREGATION: Lord, hear our prayer.
Compassion for the poor. Health care as a right. Civil rights for all. Welcoming immigrants to our shores. Quality public education. For those things, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
These are not difficult ideas to grasp, only to achieve. We would do well to remember Ted Kennedy's lifelong struggles for them, and to keep that struggle alive as long as it takes to achieve them.
Wikopedia defines progressivism as a political movement as: Progressivism is a political and social term that refers to ideologies and movements favoring or advocating changes or reform, usually in a statist or egalitarian direction for economic policies (government management) and liberal direction for social policies (personal choice). Progressivism is often viewed in opposition to conservative ideologies.
The link to egalitarian take you to this: Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power, wealth, and contribution. It is a founding principle of various forms of socialism.
Since liberal has become a four letter word, the new fashionable word is progressive. Oh, I'm not a liberal or a Democrat, I'm a progressive. Why not just say you are a socialist then. Just say what you and what you believe and be honest about it. If socialism is so great, people will agree with you and like you.
Poetry by Thomas J Marlowe, printed with permission.
The corporations for our good, need full deregulation;
The rich need all their taxes cut, to benefit the nation.
If the poor are starving on the street, or freezing in the snow,
Well, those people have their problems-it's not our fault, you know!
The summer's getting hotter, the ice is melting fast,
The winds are blowing fiercer, and judgment comes at last.
All who have been poor stewards, will have to bear the curse,
Of traitors to the planet, who made bad into worse.
The coal is burning dirty, cheap oil is nearly done,
For money, wars and poverty now threaten everyone.
Wind, solar, geothermal, have long been kept in check,
The ship's adrift in stormy seas, with no captain on the deck.
The seas are getting higher, the island kingdoms drown,
The deserts they are spreading, whole nations sinking down.
But if we pull together, it isn't very strange,
Then we can build a movement, and we can make a change.
The winter's getting colder, the storm is coming strong,
It's all a part of climate change, we haven't got too long.
We've got to change our habits, and take care of the earth,
Make lives for our grandchildren, and love with all our worth.
The people they are rising, with anger in their voice,
Governments and companies have got to make a choice.
To heed the voice of Mammon, and let many creatures die,
Or pursue the path of reason, and hear the planet's cry.
We all must pull together, be careful how we live,
We all must work together, and together we must give,
To keep a home for every kind, a future for our kin,
A harbor in the stormy seas that life can shelter in.
From notes received lately, it is obvious that most people do not know that I post regularly about religion and politics. Values, whether from religion or not, is at the heart of politics. We on the progressive side, ought to start engaging in the discussion. Here is a repost of where I think the discussion should start!
The United States is one of the most religious countries on earth, but Americans know nothing about religion, their own religions or the religions of other people.
Why is this so critical? Because the Christian philosophy is very liberal progressive philosophy. Every political activist should know enough about the basic Christian core beliefs to know and to be able to show that the Christian philosophy is a very liberal progressive philosophy. Remember that the natural religious experts, are prohibited by law from making these political connections clear. I, however, being of no particular faith can say this clearly.
My difficulty in assessing the state of the progressive movement is because it is not a single-issue movement. I think it is better described as an ever-changing and flexible coalition. For the most part, you're a progressive if you want to be ... I think we're a big enough movement. We share values of good government, justice, transparency and the motto "we all do better when we all do better."
Then again ... there are some candidates that caused me to roll my eyes when they claimed it. Yet, I'm fine when they do, because if the progressive movement helps them, we can hold their feet to the fire once they're elected.
So what brings us together?
That's obvious. The single most important figure for the progressive movement is George W. Bush. The lawlessness, greed, hypocrisy, blindness and incompetence that he epitomizes galvanized us all into action. We all realize that separately, we can be ignored. We realized that that acting separately, he and his allies would prevail. We realized that in the aftermath of the disaster that is the Bush Administration, we have a chance to make real changes to the fabric of America. We all see the opportunity to improve the lives of Americans.
So what have we actually achieved here in MN in 2008? Is Obama whomping McCain in MN enough to consider this year a success? While Al Franken's chances of winning the recount got better, Ashwin Madia got beat and Michele Bachmann and John Kline were reelected. We only gained 2 House seats and failed to gain a Pawlenty-proof margin in the House. We'll need a few Republican cross-overs to override any Pawlenty veto. Can we claim an electoral victory?
Is overriding Governor Pawlenty's veto on the transportation bill a big victory for the progressive movement? Or should we attribute it more to a bridge falling down as a result of lack of maintenance at the Republican-run MNDOT?
The Tea Party Express sure has been 
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and I sat down at a coffee shop near his congressional office in Minneapolis to talk. I wanted to find out his take on healthcare reform, what's coming up in Congress and see "the goatee" for myself.
