womanpolitico

Lincoln in Virginia?

2012-02-04T16:07:00.001-05:00

I wrote the following piece for the Hook, to be published this Thursday, a few days before Lincoln's birthday but already on line at http://www.readthehook.com/102762/abe-va-quiet-rides-and-sad-sojourn-merit-celebration

It begins:

About 20 years ago, I saw an illustration of Abraham Lincoln entering Richmond, the familiar Jefferson-designed Capitol building looming in the background. I figured the drawing was Union propaganda; I had never heard of Lincoln in Virginia during the Civil War.

Eventually, I learn that the picture had accompanied a Harper’s Weekly story reporting Lincoln’s visit with his son Tad April 4, 1865, the day after Union troops occupied Richmond, five days before Appomattox, and 10 days before Lincoln is assassinated on Good Friday.

Emancipated slaves and black laborers greet the President, falling on their knees. “Don’t kneel to me," Lincoln allegedly tells them. "You must kneel to God only, and thank him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy.”

With further research, I find that Lincoln had in fact visited Virginia at least nine times during the War.

I query friends from Virginia and elsewhere: “Lincoln in Virginia during the War? No, I never heard that.”

Like most Americans, I learned in childhood about Lincoln’s humble birth in a Kentucky log cabin; his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves, and the simple eloquence of the address delivered in the cemetery in Gettysburg.

As a Virginian, I visited many Civil War battle sites and cemeteries dotting the Commonwealth and observed numerous silver roadside historic markers noting every campsite and bivouac of various southern generals, as well as the ubiquitous statues of Rebel soldiers in court house squares.

Union General Custer crossed the Rivanna, and Sheridan burned Scottsville. But Lincoln– what did I know of the Great Emancipator in the Old Dominion? How did so many of us miss the presence of Lincoln in our landscape?

CONTINUE THIS ON http://www.readthehook.com/

ALICIA BOWLER LUGO: A LIFE

2012-01-21T19:05:00.001-05:00

http://www.readthehook.com/102558/remembrance-alicia-bowler-lugo

Water Supply Revisited . . . Again

2011-12-14T20:41:00.001-05:00

Today, those of us supporting the Charlottesville. Water Supply Plan showed up in Richmond to testify before the Virginia State Water Control Board in favor of a permit modification to increase the capacity of the Ragged Mountain Dam, built in 1885 to serve the water supply needs of Charlottesville and now the focus of a contentious debate over water supply.

Even though proponents and opponents were present to make their cases, the Water Board voted 6-0 to grant the permit modification. Proponents of the supply plan and permit included Sally Thomas, former Chair of Albemarle Supervisors representing a coalition of environmental organizations; Jason Halbert, the foremost proponent of removing dams in Virginia; Bill Kittrell of the Nature Conservancy, and Liz Palmer, a citizen who also serves on the Albemarle Service Authority, and myself, a former mayor and environmental attorney who specialized in water issues.

Opponents were those who say our real need can be supplied by dredging the South Fork and these include a newly elected member of city council, Dede Smith, who believes her election was due to people's support of her water position.

Proponents pointed out why the dredging alternative will not serve the real water needs; opponents criticized the data, the lack of stream monitoring gauges ("no funding" says DEQ), the consultants' reports and the cost estimates but offer no real solutions except to assert -- in the face of the studies and other evidence -- that dredging will resolve the water supply issue.

We can go over the numbers forever, but the common sense question is: Will the South Fork, if dredged back to its 1966 level, be able to supply enough water for the Charlottesville-Albemarle urban area of 2020, 2030 and beyond? If you look at the growth of the region since 1966 to the present, even with conservation measures in place, this supply will not suffice.

Hopefully, as soon as the cost agreements between city and county are approved and a final pending permit from the Corps of Engineers is issued, we can move on to rebuild the dam, secure our water supply and think about other important issues.

For me, even though I loved working as an advocate, I do not like to spend my retirement years doing this kind of work. I had to miss a fabulous class on women's short stories today to go to Richmond to advocate. I decided to make this final push, and I'm glad I did. One Water Board member told me our support for the project made a real difference in his thinking about it. We do have credibility and today was the day to put it on the line.

Now back to women's short stories, my own and others . . .

Writing A Novel

2011-11-30T19:35:00.001-05:00

Last month I took the challenge of November as Novel Writing Month and wrote a novel (50,000 words) in 30 days. It was exciting to try to turn a short story into a novel. People who had read the story said it would make a good novel, and I threw numerous temper tantrums saying "I don't want to write a novel; I want to write short stories."

But when a writing acquaintance recommended that I consider joining the fun of trying to write a novel in one month, it seemed like a good idea. I took the short story I had written as an outline and started.

I got a friend to read it when I was at about 20,000 words and could not imagine how I could get to 50,000. But one thing led to another, one character led to another and voila! a novel was born.

The interesting thing is that I fell in love with my characters. It was kind of like reading a novel -- which I have done a lot of over the years -- except that I was the writer of the novel I was reading.

I don't know when or where I will show this to others, but I must admit that writing the novel was very empowering.

Occupy the Polls? Hardly!

2011-11-08T19:16:00.002-05:00

People will complain today about the voter turnout, and it will be low. But the choices we face statewide – elections for the Virginia General Assembly – are unfortunately fewer than they should be.

Of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates, only 26 seats have candidates from both major parties running. That means that only 26 districts in the entire state have races that might interest voters.

Percentage wise, the Senate is more competitive – 24 out of 40 seats have choices between the two major parties. (Additionally, a recent write in campaign has been mounted by a Republican against Senator Don McEachin (D-Richmond). Oh, goody, three fifths of Virginians will have a choice for their senator.

This is down from 2009: there are fewer rather than more competitive races for these seats.

When we look at women’s standing in the General Assembly, the record is even worse. Right now, we have 19 women in the 100-member House of Delegates, 13 Democrats and 6 Republicans. I haven't checked the polls statewide but I'm betting this will remain about the same after the election. I'm hopeful that Connie Brennan will get elected and raise this number to 14.

In the Virginia Senate, beginning with a female “surge” in 1996, we now have 8 women, all but one Democratic. Two of those veterans from the 1996 days, Patsy Ticer and Mary Margaret Whipple are not running for reelection, and their replacements will not be women. Oh well.

Hopefully Connie Brennan will be elected tonight in a very conservative district, but I suspect the race will be tight even though her main opponent has had a record of a number of law-breaking incidents (hardly the right person to write laws).

And Senator Edd Houck who has been very good on women’s reproductive rights as well as environmental issues faces a real challenge from a well funded opponent who has received much money from the Governor’s Political Action Committee. Fingers crossed on this one.

The polls have closed. Now we’ll have to wait for the count.

PS: On Election night, I always miss the late great Emily Couric, who, had she lived, would have been our first woman governor. Of that I am sure. Wherever she is, I suspect Emily is with us night.

This year also, I miss Mary Ann Elwood, former City politico and civil rights activist, who died this year, and Drewary Brown and Grace and Robert Tinsley, all of whom worked so hard for all Charlottesvillians and for the Democratic Party's sense of justice -- we remember you always.

Gertrude Stein: My Letter to Editor Regarding Post Review of Stein Show

2011-11-06T00:39:00.004-04:00

Published: November 4 Washington Post

I get it: Philip Kennicott loathes Gertrude Stein [“Gertrude Stein knew the right and wrong people,” Arts, Oct. 23]. While he has his reasons, I wish he had at least described the exhibition ”Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories” before launching his diatribe. I viewed it at the National Portrait Gallery the day before I read his review, and I was disappointed by what he wrote.

The show seeks to tell us about Stein and her time in “5 stories”: Stein as the subject of portraiture; as art collector; in her domestic life; through friendships; and as defined by her legacy as writer, celebrity, mentor. I left the exhibition wanting to know more about this interesting but human woman, whose many shortcomings are noted throughout. Kennicott instead creates a sixth story, the “sins” of Stein.

One does not have to worship Stein, her work or her life to learn from the exhibition, and the review could have described more of the exhibition’s structure and the pieces instead of hammering on Stein, her work, her character, indeed her very being. Must he hit us over the head with the intensity of his disdain? Why does he not respect the readers enough to let them decide on the ultimate value of Gertrude Stein as cultural icon?

I encourage others to visit the National Portrait Gallery and judge the show for itself.

FOR OTHER VIEWS SEE THE REST OF THE LETTERS AT THE WASHINGTON POST WEBSITE

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-many-sides-of-gertrude-stein/2011/10/24/gIQAavUSnM_story.html

KENYA: The Constitution, Widows and Orphans

2011-09-30T21:43:00.003-04:00

"We have one of the best-- if not the best -- constitutions in the world today," said Ambassador Elkanah Odembo, Kenya's emissary to the United States. In Charlottesville at the invitation of the African Development Project at St. Paul's Memorial Church, Ambassador Odembo is an old friend of the church and Charlottesville.

Beginning in the 1988, when he worked for World Neighbors in Kenya, Odembo visited Charlottesville to talk about the work of that nongovernmental organization. Educated at Bowdoin College in Maine and the University of Texas, he had returned to his native Kenya.
Sue Rainey, who met Odembo in the 1980s and introduced him Friday night, said she followed his career because she knew this young man was going to make a difference.

An advocate for social justice, Odembo found himself fighting the Kenyan government. Eventually, government leadership began to change, and Odembo became part of that change, participating in a Constitutional Convention to rewrite Kenya's Constitution.

"It is a revolutionary constitution," he claimed, covering not only the basic human rights of free speech, religious freedom and civil rights but also guaranteeing the basic needs of human beings for food, health care, water and shelter.

With this framework, he explained, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) like World Neighbors and others can more appropriately serve the needs of others.

Kenya has also improved the status of women in Kenya, providing them with rights that they lacked only a few years ago. For example, women can now own property rather than being considered the "property" of their husbands to be inherited by brothers-in-law when they are widowed.

He also explained that Kenya is in the process of creating more local governments in the newly created 47 counties (like our states). The Ambassador believes that the tribal wars of 2007-08 are a thing of the past and that Kenya over the next 10 years will be working to improve its infrastructure of roads and access to electricity. He predicts that Kenya will become the first country to depend totally on renewable energy, and he anticipates that geothermal energy production will reach 10,000 megawatts.

In response to questions, the ambassador said that Kenya is working to reforest its lands which in recent years had been reduced from 10% tree cover to 3%. He noted the work of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Wangari Maathai (who died earlier this month) to reforest Kenya. Currently, the nation is reforesting at the rate of 70,000,000 trees per year. It also has passed a law requiring farmers to allocate 10% of their land to trees.

The Ambassador also said the Kenya would not close its borders to Somalis fleeing the famine. Currently, its camp on the Somali border, built for 80,000, holds 560,000 refugees, mostly women and children. The camp is the fourth largest settlement in Kenya, after Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa.

In addition to the Ambassador, the Rev. James Ouma spoke about the Nyalwodep Project for Orphans which pairs orphans (resulting from the HIV deaths of their parents) with widows, most of whose spouses died from HIV. Currently the west Kenyan project is supporting 65 widows and 120 children. There are schools for the children and occupational training for the widows. His too is an inspiring project and one of several that is sponsored by the African Development Project.

Later, in October, the Rev. Peter Indalo, leader of the Oyani Christian Rural Services in western Kenya, will also be speaking in Charlottesville. His is another of the projects along with Kitui Development Center that receives funding through the African Development Project, which includes many citizens in Charlottesville but which has been a partnership between St. Paul's and Trinity Episcopal Churches.

LIKE HALPRIN PASSONNEAU HAD A VISION FOR CHARLOTTESVILLE

2011-09-30T21:35:00.002-04:00

http://www.readthehook.com/101079/halprin-passonneau-had-vision-charlottesville

PUBLISHED IN THE HOOK, SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Joseph Passonneau, a renowned American architect-engineer, died in Washington, D.C. in late August at the age of 90. Among his accomplishments was his design of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado as well as his ability to persuade a timid St. Louis political hierarchy that the controversial Arch would be a successful gateway to the West.

In the late 1980s, Passonneau also worked on Charlottesville’s gateway: U.S. 29 North. In fact, his proposed urban expressway became so controversial that “expressway” became a pejorative word in Charlottesville transportation lexicology. It shouldn’t be.

In his 1988 report, Passonneau pointed out that it was possible to design “large urban roads that delight the communities in which they are built,” and he envisioned such an expressway for through traffic on 29 with adjacent and parallel landscaped local traffic lanes. (The recent Places 29 Plan proposed a similar design but avoided the “expressway” term.)

Passonneau analyzed the various bypass pathways, including his own adjustments to an urban expressway expediting southbound traffic through Charlottesville and connecting to 29 South via the 250 Bypass. The design built on the so called “base case” traffic improvements of grade-separated interchanges to foster the flow of local east-west auto and pedestrian traffic at Hydraulic and Rio Roads with crossover roads at other points like Greenbrier Drive and Shoppers World.

Such an urban expressway, Passonneau pointed out, would take 242 fewer acres than the proposed bypass, destroy no residences, farm, forest or subdivision land, and impact less business land than any of the bypass pathways. Certainly, an urban expressway would be the least environmentally-damaging option.

Despite Passonneau’s vision, neither he nor his proponents (the Piedmont Environmental Council and Supervisor Tim Lindstrom among the most vocal) could convince the powerful North 29 business owners that a more attractive roadway not only would provide a better solution for local and through traffic but also would serve long term economic interests by creating a more attractive 29 business district. After all, in addition to the local lanes along 29, the network of parallel roads to serve local traffic would include Hillsdale and Commonwealth Drives. That would allow development of an expanded business district– not just the 29 strip.

At the time, however, the 250 interchange flyway, perhaps most controversial piece, was criticized as having too large a footprint. Yet Passonneau had designed it and the rest of the roadway to national safety standards, not to VDOT’s more gargantuan scale. In fact, the 1988 design has no larger a footprint than the Bypass/250 flyway now proposed (and shown in 3D modelling on the Charlottesville Tomorrow website).

Passonneau's urban expressway (and its later version in Places 29) were nixed largely by those representing local business interests, which have evidenced in the 29 discussion little imagination, creativity, or commitment to the region's long-term economic health.

Glenwood Canyon above the Colorado River was a far more difficult engineering challenge and an even more controversial project. Nevertheless, Passonneau’s design preserved and even improved on the terracing above the Colorado River, weaving a 12-mile highway through tunnels and bridges to complete I-70. The result is a beautiful, functional, and scenic highway, which earned Passonneau a Presidential Award for Design Excellence.

Here, in Charlottesville, state politicians have engineered (pardon the pun) a political decision to build a western bypass that will cut through the rural landscape, including Stillhouse Mountain and the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, impact beautiful residential areas and several schools while spending between $240 - 500 million of taxpayer dollars for just six miles of road ($40/million a mile at the lowest estimate)– while removing just 10 percent of the traffic from 29 Business. The interchanges, by contrast, would cost $40-50 million apiece.

If we want a real solution to local and state traffic issues through Charlottesville, one need look no further than to the vision of Passonneau. If Glenwood Canyon could benefit from this excellent designer-architect, why shouldn’t Charlottesville get a landscaped gateway that welcomes visitors to the uniqueness of Jefferson’s country?

Over 35 years ago, Charlottesville invited another visionary, landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, to design the Downtown Mall. Despite naysayers in the business community, the Mall thrives thanks in large part to Halprin’s vision and the leadership of the two Councilors who voted aye on the then-controversial issue: Charles Barbour and Mitch Van Yahres.

An urban expressway on 29 would transform an Everyplace USA strip mall road to vindicate Passonneau’s vision, but more importantly, it would be a true testimonial to the long range vision of our local and state leaders.

Will the expressway design be revived? Probably not.

But imagine what could happen if we could scrap the special interests to execute a truly win-win solution not only for transportation and beauty, but also for business, for the community, and for the Commonwealth.

A Day for World Peace: Reflecting on Thomas Merton

2011-09-21T21:11:00.002-04:00

I attended a world peace commemoration at St. Paul's Memorial Church this afternoon and then enjoyed a community dinner with a large crowd of St. Paul's parishioners and other community members.

Rather than stay for a film, I came home to watch a DVD documentary about the life of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and writer whose books I had read frequently 30-40 years ago.

It was a fitting day to remember Merton. Although he had converted to Catholicism as a young adult, then to joining Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky, over time he came to believe there could be no separation between the secular and the sacred.

Although he craved solitude, he also sought out holy persons from other religious traditions -- the Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama and others. By studying their traditions, he came closer to his own. He believed that the religious person had to be engaged with the issues of the time -- for him -- and also for me -- nuclear war, racism and the War in Vietnam. He inspired thousands of young people from the '60s to this day.

In the film, Merton is quoted from one of his essays: he stands at an intersection of a shopping district in Louisville, Kentucky, suddenly realizing that he is at one with all the people walking past. He had experienced the oneness with humanity that many of us only talk about. From that vantage point, he had to be care about social issues.

One of the exercises we did at St. Paul's was to write on a sheet of paper:

What would peace look like?

My response:

Every person would have a home.

Strangers would be no more; we would greet one another with respect and caring.

We would listen to one another, especially when we disagree.

Egos would be left at the door.

Our politicians--local, state, national, and international-- would reflect us: they too would seek to listen to one another, to resolve issues with respect for the other's opinion when it differs from their own, and they also would leave their egos at the door.

An Uncivil Discourse on the Downtown Mall

2011-08-18T19:10:00.005-04:00

I along with two other former members of Charlottesville City Council held a press conference to raise the issue of paying attention to consequences of decisions and specifically to address our concerns about the fiscal implications of reversing the Council position about building the Meadowcreek Parkway. We were greeted by a group opposing the Parkway, several of whom kept interrupting and shouting as I tried to read our statement. I feel very sad about the lack of civil discourse, especially since many of these same people have been friends of mine and have been quite vocal (without interruptions) in speaking their minds on this and other issues. Below I print what I tried to say over their shouts.

As you can see, most of us are former City officials. All of us have been deeply involved in the life of this city over several decades.

We are here -- in advance of the City Council firehouse primary on Saturday -- because we know from experience that City Council members make important decisions that have consequences on our lives and pocketbooks.

Some in the council campaign have raised the issue of reversing the decision on constructing the Meadowcreek parkway.

Regardless of one’s personal stance on the Meadowcreek Parkway, the City Council has made and reaffirmed its decision to build the road. In fact, the County has completed its portion.

Yet City Council candidates who have announced they would reverse this decision have yet to discuss the financial implications of not building the roadway.

Those here today have varying opinions about the wisdom, the alignment and other specifics of the parkway. It is one thing to have a personal opinion. It is another when those opinions get translated into decisions, for decisions – unlike opinions -- have consequences.

What would be the consequences for the citizens of Charlottesville if the decision on building the Parkway were reversed?

A major consequence is $13.4 million.

Thus far, this amount of taxpayer funds -- $13.4 million -- has been spent for preliminary engineering and right of way for the Parkway and the Interchange.

Reversing the city’s stance and removal of the road from the City’s Transportation Plan would result in the city being required, by statute, to repay $13.4 million in taxpayer dollars to the state and federal governments. The VDOT Board may waive this requirement, which seems highly unlikely under today’s shortfalls in transportation dollars. Decisions likely would be reviewed on an individual basis.

The reimbursement requirement is part of VDOT's standard agreement with cities who request urban transportation projects. It is included in Charlottesville's agreement with VDOT about the MCP. The General Assembly placed this mandate in the state code in order to protect state taxpayers from arbitrary decision-making when a project is requested, millions of public dollars are spent on planning and right-of-way, and then it is cancelled. Yes, the project can be cancelled, but not at the expense of other transportation projects that might have been funded with this money. The locality is held responsible for refunding the money. We know of one city Alexandria which repaid $1 million dollars for a cancelled project.

Another consequence is that if the City were to balk at this repayment, the Virginia Department of Transportation could withhold funds from the City in the amount of this reimbursement, thus putting off for years, if not decades, other important City projects such as Hillsdale Drive, Belmont Bridge and Ramp Improvements at 29/250 interchange.

Yes, decisions have consequences.

We here care about our city and we believe the candidates do also. We know from experience that our citizens care about Charlottesville AND her fiscal condition.

Yet, it is clear – when one is elected to Council, individual views, if translated into action, have consequences. We believe the voters would want to know how the candidates would deal with these consequences. Where would they find the money to reimburse the millions in state and federal tax dollars that have been spent at the city's request on planning, engineering and right-of-way for the MCP and the interchange? How could they justify a request for the CTB to waive the requirement to repay $13.4 million

All signs are that, in the present fiscal situation and with the severe shortage of transportation funds, the state would indeed require repayment of these funds, either from the city's general fund or from transportation allocations for future projects.

Thus, we urge all candidates to clarify any statements that they have made reversing the decision on the Meadowcreek Parkway.

Likewise, we urge all citizens voting in Saturday’s primary (or in the absentee voting on Thursday evening) to be aware of and think about the fiscal consequences of reversing previous parkway decisions, and to ask this question of their candidates: "Where will Charlottesville find approximately $13.4 million to reimburse VDOT for cancelling the project?" (That, incidentally, is about $788 per city household.)

Thank you. We are glad to take questions as a group, and we refer you also to the VDOT District office. We do have a handout citing the Virginia statute that deals with repayment.

Project MCINTIRE ROAD EXTENDED- 2 LANES
Scope of Work NEW CONSTRUCTION
Description FROM: ROUTE 250 BYPASS AT MCINTIRE ROAD TO: MELBOURNE ROAD INTERSECTION
Prelim. Eng. (PE) $3,700 Complete
Right of Way (RW) $0 N/A

Project RTE 250 BYPASS - CONSTRUCT INTERCHANGE
Scope of Work RECONSTRUCTION
Description AT MCINTIRE ROAD/MEADOW CREEK PARKWAY (0.5000 MI)
Prelim. Eng. (PE) $3,871 Complete
Right of Way (RW) $5,867 Complete

Total PE and ROW for MRE and Interchange $13.438 million

Charlottesville 2010 census stats 2005-2009 # Charlottesville Households = 17,037. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51540.html
$13,438,000 reimbursement/17,037 households = $788.75 per household

Carolina Reunion http://http://www.photoshow.com/watch/sG9kK8Hz

2011-05-23T06:37:00.002-04:00

50th College Reunion -- Wow ! Time flies when your life is full. I took a few photos and have posted them for interest.

Carolina in the late 50s and early 60s was a time of change. We had our first African American undergraduate students in our class; nearby the Greensboro sit-ins began. In Chapel Hill, we boycotted the Carolina Theater when it would not allow African Americans to attend shows -- the irony of Blacks not being able to attend "Porgy and Bess" was the occasion that showed just how ridiculous segregation was.

It was good to revisit with friends, remember the times, and see the changes. Thankfully, Franklin Street and the old campus looks much the same even as the University has grown in other directions.

"We're Mad as Hell and We're Not Going ToTake It Anymore!"

2011-04-10T10:03:00.002-04:00

With the death of director Sidney Lumet last week, I recalled his 1970s hit, "Network," which I viewed for the first time last summer. I don't know how I missed it, but it was prescient about the transformation of TV News from journalism to entertainment and, in the process, the manipulation and exploitation of indivdual malaise into mass anger.

If you haven't seen the film or a while or if you missed it (maybe you were too young or out of the country or - like me - living a rural "hippie" lifestyle), the story is about a network changing from the production and dissemination of hard news to exploiting and fulfilling a perceived need for "entertainment." In addition, a newscaster who has a melt down ("Im mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore") becomes the catalyst for this change by becoming its star and leading the audience to their tribal yell.

Hmm. . . remind you of any network we've heard about?

Maybe Fox News?

Or does it remind you of any other group we've heard from since 2008?

Like maybe the Tea Baggers (aka Tea Party of the Republican Party)?

These people claim to be so angry because their rights are being taken away, but they don't mind tromping on the rights of those who disagree with them.

Rent "Network" from your favorite DVD vendor. This film is still relevant. Sidney Lumet made it and other classics that remind us of issues that continue in importance today. Ironically, it is also entertaining (which of course is the goal of the filmmaker). (A bonus: the film stars the great William Holden, playing a very "Ben Bradlee" newsman.)

See the movie and let it inspire a life sequel: a revolt to demonstrate that we want neither infotainment nor reactionary politics. Any takers?

Hogwash Anew: Trump and "Birther" Conspiracy

2011-04-08T14:45:00.004-04:00

Donald Trump, hoping to be the presidential nominee in 2012 for the Republicans (Tea Bag Party?), is lending his name to the birther conspiracy, and a flurry of utube pieces (including one in which the President is sarcastically talking about birthers' claims) to "prove" that the President was not born in the U.S. and thus was illegitimately elected president. I don't know why this is bugging me, maybe it's because even liberal friends are sending me this hogwash now. In that spirit I want to share a link to an Andrew Sullivan article in 2009 rebutting the birthers. Common sense asks why would Ann Obama, a 19 year old first time mother in 1961, plot to leave the country to have her first child in an undeveloped country AND keep that fact a secret in 1961? Was she plotting her son's presidency in 2008 and have all the others who have examined this issue participated in the same conspiracy? (THIS IS SARCASM, lest I be misquoted). I am disturbed that so many people still believe this hogwash. Because of this, Andrew Sullivan's piece, regrettably, is still relevant: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article6788515.ece

Geraldine Ferraro: In Memoriam

2011-03-27T10:19:00.004-04:00

She was smart, she was funny, she was accomplished. And she made a difference. Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be named to a national presidential ticket, was a trail blazeer for many aspiring female politicians.

For me, it was the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco which nominated her that became the starting point for my involvement in electoral politics (beyond voting and working on campaigns). I still have a red, white and blue "Ferraro" poster hanging in my house.

I had taken my first step toward a more active political life by entering law school the year before the convention. I was then 44; Geraldine -- only 4 years older than I -- had done that decades before. She had served as an outstanding prosecutor in New York, and was elected Congresswoman from Queens, serving with some of the greats -- Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Pat Schroeder -- in the House of Representatives during the same period.

All these women were stars at the Women's Caucus at the Democratic Convention in
1984. They -- along with feminist icon Gloria Steinem -- organized a women's caucus during the 1984 convention, and delegates like me attended daily to hear what was going on behind the scenes, to discuss issues and to network about our home communities during a most informative sharing session.

That's when I heard from the women from all parts of the nation who were holding office at the local or state level or who were running for office. That's when I got inspired to run for office.

Back to Geraldine Ferraro: She was our star during those sessions, and her words to us were always common sense and down to earth. Gerry -- as she was know -- was accessible, smart about issues and pragmatic about politics.

I saw her again in person some 30 years later when she spoke at the Center for Politics at University of Virginia. Then, she was working on the White House Project, a bi-partisan group dedicated to getting a woman in the White House. She inspired me that time to investigate and then write a series of essays about the dismal numbers of women in state legislatures and Congress.

Of course a few years later, Hillary Clinton ran for the Democratic presidential nomination with Gerry Ferraro's hearty endorsement. I also worked for Hillary. Although she lost to a formidable and worthy opponent, our current President, Hillary currently serves superbly as Secretary of State, a critical part of the presidential team during this time of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.

Geraldine Ferraro should never be forgotten for what she contributed to women becoming players in the politics of America. She is the successor to the suffragists who marched in the early part of the 20th century before women got the vote. She was a pioneer for all the women who have come after her. May she rest in peace, and may we remember and celebrate her always.

A COSTA RICAN JOURNAL - JANUARY 2011

2011-03-21T15:37:00.050-04:00

Traveling to Costa Rica for the first time, I learned that this country has two particular political claims on me: It abolished its army in 1948 and it elected a woman president in 2010.

But most importantly Costa Rica invaded my senses and my heart. I hope the entries from my journals and a few photos explain why.

January 11, 2011 Bougainvillea, San Jose

When we arrived at the San Jose airport, I felt the soft air and have been savoring it ever since. I awoke at Bougainvillea Hotel to hear a rooster crowing at 5:30 and the soft call of a barn owl.

This morning I wandered through the and saw my first mot mot – an iridescent blue green bird with long tail feathers – and the clay-colored robin, Costa Rica’s national bird. Among the tropical plans, I most enjoyed the large dangling white “Angel trumpets.”

After breakfast of granola and Costa Rican beans and rice, we drove in vans up to the garden of Ileana Temar on a coffee plantation. The wife of the grower, she has been tending her beautiful orchid gardens for 48 years.

Ileana had stones on the patio from Old San Juan, which had been removed for the construction of buildings. In her garden and greenhouses, she used wood, trees, logs as planters as well as sugar cane pots for fountains, and arranged concrete or stone salt boxes (for cattle) and metates for grinding in various combinations to create walls and waterfall backdrops.

Entering her garden was like coming into fairyland, mosses and ferns sprouting from the steps, orchids clinging to trees and cascading from logs, large varieties of bromeliads, miniature orchids, begonias of all kinds, including clusters of miniature begonias and orchids, ginger bromeliad, fathgotis (flowers springing from leaves), the “little boy” plant, lady’s slippers and always sweet aromas wafting through the soft air.

The house is broad, opens to the gardens, and broad vistas. It is beautifully furnished, and a wide variety of modern art hang on the walls. Ileana gave us a tour of the garden and house, showed a DVD of the work of her foundation (which educates third and fourth graders about the natural world, especially Costa Rica’s native an national flower, the guaria morada, a purple orchid native to the country.
Ileana served us lunch of ceviche with cod and avocado, cilantro with a splash of lemon and cocktail sauce; chicken tamale, plantain, papaya juice, white wine and sangria.

From Ileana’s porch we could see Norfolk pines and much coffee in the valley below.

Birds here included the Inca Dove, Blue and white swallows and a brown swallow (tree swallow maybe?). We next visited San Jose: an historical museum, the gold museum and the National Theater.

Factoids: Costa Rica ‘s army was disbanded in 1948, and the money contributed to public education. The U.S. has a pact with the country to defend it in case any other nation attacks. Lauria Chinchillia is the new and first female president (2010-2014).

Although bananas are a major export, they originated in China; the Spanish brought them to the Canary Islands and from there to the Western hemisphere.
Coffee is another important export; Arabica is the best Costan Rican coffee.A bushel of beans produces two cups of coffee! After the beans are roasted, the small seeds which pop out produce the “coffee” we grind. Harvesting brings only $1 per basket to the pickers.

In the 1850s, Tennessean William Walker sought to create slave holding states in Central America, referred to as the Philobusters. I think my 19th century great uncle James Edwin Slaughter mentions this in one of his letters to his father from Mexico.

We learned there are over 100 snake varieties in Costa Rica, 24 of which are poisonous. We also were introduced to cecropia, a tree that emits a sleeping substance – sloths like it and it can be used by humans to cure insomnia.

We learned about the aboriginal peoples and their hierarchies of caliques, chammes, warriors and “ladies.” The people traded gold with Mexico, and they fashioned in into sheets, melted it for molds forming shapes such as eagles and frogs. In Costa Rica many of these animal figures have human features, and the golden objects are put in burial plots.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted, but we saw more as we drove through the city, the market areas and the diplomatic residential areas, including the home of former President Arias, a Nobel Prize winner for supporting Costa Rica as a peace loving nation.

Finished the day with a drink – guarne – and the Plato Tipico: black beans, salad and grilled sea bass. Muy bueno!

Wednesday, January 13

We left at 7:30 stopping in San Ramon where I purchased new reading glasses to replace the ones I lost. Then on to Nectandra– a beautiful preserve started by Evelyn Lennette and her husband plus others. Nectandra is about 400 hectares but surrounded by other preserved lands. It is in the cloud forest although, as a result of climate change, the hot months are increasing and animals are moving higher to seek the cooler climes. Because of this there are more snakes, crested wren and kill deer and less cloud forest. I took pictures of the waterfall with pond above.

Evelyn and her husband were molecular biologists in San Francisco area who gave up their careers for the new adventure. They built trails, replanting ferns and other plants that had to be removed; and they carried heavy beams up mountains to build a visitor center. In addition to conservation and education at the reserve, they have developed a micro-loan program to local water districts to give

funding without interest for expansion and improvements in return for conservation measures to protect the watershed.

More recently Nectandra is negotiating with a private hydroelectric company to give them a loan with the expectation that it could become a lender to other water districts. For more on Nectandra, see http://www.nectandra.org/

Evelyn also told me that, despite having a woman president, Costa Rica has not liberated women – the males still rule in government; the women rule the homes. Still, no women serve on the local water boards.

We had a fabulous lunch – salad with avocados, mango papaya and hearts of palm and lettuce; cassava (delicious root vegetable), chicken wrapped in palm leaf and of course beans and rice.
On the bird walk through the preserve we saw black and white warbler, bush tanager, tucanet, black guans (with orangy pink feet). These also included the black faced solitaire; silver

fronted tapacula; green hermit and purple throated mountain gem (hummingbirds), slaty-capped flycatcher. Enroute, we also heard a redstart and saw black buzzards and cattle herons as we passed many farms with Brahmin and angus cattle.

At Monte Verde, we also looked at a variety of plants and agin many birds, including Wilson’s warbler, yellow warbler, tropical kingbird, black crested flycatcher, grass quit, black throated green warbler, chestnut sided warbler, golden crowned warbler, and a red bellied trogdon.

From Nectaranda we went south back through San Ramon toward west and then north. Although inland, we had a number of Pacific Ocean views, and could see the Golfo de Nicoya clearly although the clouds hang above it like a mystical mirage. As the van ascends the mountains, the landscape keeps changing. First it has the steep hills reminiscent of Northern Tuscany. In Costa Rica, the pinnacles are punctuated by palms instead of Italian cypress. Longer ridges remind me of the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Then, there is a steep incline from the valleys to the mountain tops, mostly covered with forests, but a few areas -- cleared fields – are dotted with golden Guernsey cows and Brahmin cattle accompanied by small herons – white with hints of Guernsey tan on their crowns and wings. Even the misty sky has clouds the color of the golden Guernsey.

The sign shows a mere 20 kilometers to Monteverde, but the road is hardly more than a narrow track, a graveled and rutted switchback, making this leg arduous and slow. Barely wide enough for two cars to pass, in some places, the road narrows even more. Ahead, an arc of a rainbow reaches up from the valley on the left-hand side; as the van follows the switch back, the other end of the rainbow appears on the other side. Back and forth on the road, we follow the rainbow arcs until, at last, as the road straightens out, the two arcs join in one bow. I ask the driver Juan Carlos, the Spanish for rainbow. “El arco-iris” he says pointing to his eye. We had left Nectaranda at 1 and arrived at 6 p.m. at Casa Vela.

Thursday, January 13, 2011 Fonda Vela, Monte Verde

Yellow throated euphonia. I love the word euphonia and we heard it sing yesterday at Nectandra. A fluted sound, truly beautiful.

This morning we walked with Jorge (Cokie) who’s been a guide for 18 years. We started at the Coffee shop shop where we got a good view of a toucanet.

A lot of mist and rain so we didn’t see a lot. Even so, we spied or heard 30 or so species plus white faced capuchin monkeys and we heard howler monkeys.

After lunch at the hotel, several of us go on a bird walk on the Baja de Tigre trail. Extremely windy, we did not see a lot of birds – black guans, some warblers, tanagers. After halfway, we hit a less windy side and sat for a while at a mirador looking across the valley – very peaceful and meditative.

We marched also through a colony of army ants which went on for some distance. Fortunately we knocked off a few that had made it onto our clothes, but it was a close call. I found myself racing down the path to get away from them.
Once back, we had about a mile walk home, mostly uphill. About halfway through that, as the others, I trod homeward. It was a time when the destination - my bed - seemed more important than the proverbial journey.

Just at the entrance of Fonda Vela, a group of monkeys ran across the road into the culvert. Our guide Vern later told me they were probably howlers.

Dinner that night was grilled corvine (sea bass) with two martinis and a glass of wine. I slept like a rock.

Friday, January 14, 2011 Fonda Vela Monte Verde

This morning we rose for breakfast at 6:30 and departure an hour later for Sana Ana Preserve. As it rained hard, the cloud forest transformed into a rain forest.

Our guide – “Johnny” – was excellent – showing us birds when they appeared, explaining about the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the Preserve, the old growth versus first succession forests, etc. He found plants and bugs, told us about the many species (he counted 78 species in the Xmas 2010 down from 98 in 2009).

We heard: Ruddy capped nightingale thrush; Spangle cheeked salator; buffy cheeked tanager; striped warbler; ochraceous wren; golden cheeked warbler; black faced solitaire.

A shopping excursion into Monte Verde before dinner: Chile relleno with veggies, salad and soup and chocolate cake. We also had a rum sour popular with the locals, acc

Mirage? Pacific gulf in the mists below Monte Verde

Saturday January 15 La Quinta

This morning we left Fonda Vela - a long ride back through San Ramon, stopping at a restaurant by the Rio Seco and then on to shopping at a so-called "artisans' mart", really a tourist trap, but a pleasant one, in Sarichi, and then lunch around the corner overlooking the flame trees. A long drive to La Quinta in the Carribean lowlands.

Bird of the Day: White Tailed Kite.

Ginger

Ginger deserves its own heading. I love ginger in recipes and salads, pickled ginger with sushi and candied ginger as a sweet so I truly enjoyed seeing all the various varieties of ginger in om. Here are but a few.

Sunday January 16, 2011 La Quinta

Today we toured La Selva Biological Station run by a consortium of universities including Duke. Our guide Edgardo was most informative and showed us around the plants and birds: including sloths, old growth forest, tropical kingbird, Tennessee warbler, blue gray tanager, white collared swift, rufous wren, yellow billed elenia, cholortona, rose fronted parakeet, long billed hermit; montezuma orapendual, crested guan, golden hooded tanager, rufous mot mot, wedge billed wood creeper. Also boat billed toucan, chestnut mandible toucan, white crested parrot, cinnamon woodpecker, long tailed tyrannulet, chestnut sided warbler.

Whew ! (see montezuma orapendola above).

Tuesday, January 17 La Quinta
Gale and I continue to lose items in either our room or our purses and then find them. This morning after an early breakfast, we left for a boat trip on the Sarapiqui. We travelled on a flat river boat, two and one-seat wide separated by an aisle and with a canopy. We motored up and down stream viewing critters and birds including 8 howler monkeys in one tree, iguanas, sloths, egrets. We returned to the hotel for lunch salad with beets, cukes, chayote. Then we travelled to Helleconia Island to view the gardens there. Birds seen: chestnut collared woodpecker; cinnamon woodpecker; black faced woodpecker; black cowled oriole; dusty faced tanager; spectacle owl (a pair roosting in a tree); blue cheeked hummingbird; belted kingfisher; bare throated tiger heron; Nicaraguan seed finch; crested caracara; honeycreeper; buff throated salator; red throated ant tanager; Baltimore oriole; blue green honeycreeper. At hotel: crimson cowled tanager; redleg honeycreeper; golden hooded tanager; palm oriole.

Active Turrialba Volcano

Wednesday, January 18, 2011 Rancho Naturalista

We arrived here early afternoon. Now it is only 9:30 but Gale has been asleep for a couple of hours. Today, we drove today south into the central highlands, stopping first at Costa Flores near where we toured the gardens (privately developed but now owned by the CR government). When we left they gave each of us a bouquet of ginger and other flowers (which we photographed).

We had lunch on the way at a nearby restaurant and then drove to Rancho Naturalista –our final stay. It’s the best !

We watch hummingbirds at the feeder and then a group embarks on a hike. We stop at a feeding station to observe more hummers – in hope of seeing the snow capped. We don’t see them yet.

As we descend the trail it grows darker and we worry about whether it is circular and where we would return. We decide to turn back.

We arrive back where we started. After showering and changing I arrive for dinner – pork and mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy and salad and a delicious cake with a sweet milk sauce.

Back in the room I read “Mint Leaves” by Aguilar but when I finish I realize Gale is asleep. Early Wednesday: I’ve been awake for at least an hour, feeling fully rested and wondering if I reset my clock by mistake when I reset the alarm. I want to go at 5:45 to see the birds feeding on the moths.

Wednesday , January 19
Starting with the evening, dinner was delicious – chicken, rice, beans.
Today we went to a research center SIECE ( and visited the agricultural fields as well as the botanical gardens with lunch in between0. One building was was named for Henry Wallace who apparently helped found the center in 1942. As usual, a great guide a young man named Marco.

We saw so many different plants and trees. Both Gale and I truly felt the spirits animating the environment here.

Thursday, January 20

Today, our final day, we went to the archeological national monument of Guaybo which also is an “engineering” monument because it shows that the aboriginal people had advanced infrastructure – viaducts conveying water from underground springs into a sedimentation pond and then into a reservoir for future use.

We drove south from Rancho Naturalista to Turrialba near the volcano then north again along a local road to the monument.

From a visitor center we descended into an open area where there were mounds (each for a home for a different group in the hierarch with the chief in the center and the highest mound). The village is placed between two rivers, a mountain range and the volcano, thus in a secure spot. It is dated from about 800 BC existing until about 1400 or 100 years before the Spanish arrived. Along the way we viewed tombs and a plinth into which a cougar and an alligator (legato) are carved.

After a picnic at the park, we split into two groups – I went into Turrialba for shopping – and most important for me – to get dollars for tips, traveller tax and hotel bill. Gale and I walked around town purchasing a couple of things including two great collages of people but mostly looking at the fish and meat market, vegetables many stores of “stuff”, shoe stores, etc.

Upon return we got ready for dinner and prepared the book on plants which I donated as a gift to Vernon and Juan Carlos. Dinner was festive – beef in mushroom sauce, cauliflower tempura, salad and potatoes, chocolate mousse.

Home to our room early so we read aloud two Costa Rican stories, including one about Elena Gonzalez, who disappeared. These are wonderful mystical realism and Gale and I now are thinking this way.

Food: Almost every morning we have rice and beans, prepared with touch of parsley, peppers, onions, salt and pepper). Today we had eggs probably fried, then basted with water, still soft, parsley and pepper, tortillas and fruit and delicious sausage.

Friday January 21, 2011 Rancho Naturalista to San Jose: Leaving Costa Rica

Views of Turrialba volcano from all sides. Steep valleys through coffee plantations shaded by eucalyptus trees, chayotes growing, other plants, including Boston ferns. Through Cartago, the early capital: photo of the ruined cathedral, bottlebrush trees.

I did not sleep well. After reading two costa Rican stories, I went to sleep but awoke again at 1:30 so I got up went to the bathroom, read some more and by two something I went to sleep again until 5:45. This morning after an omelet with mushrooms, avocados, peppers and bacon and fruit, we departed from Rancho Naturalista. Even before we left we saw another bird, the brown headed orapendula, my favorite. This morning the volcano was more active or at least the steam or lava was going vertically into the air – we all got many pictures on our way.

We stopped to purchase our coffee beans at Cristina’s – she worked on the Panama Canal with the US Army communications and her husband was a pilot (I joked “Agency people”). They retired, according to Vernon, and bought the coffee plantation.

In the air now, I’m looking at Costa Rica from 34,000 feet – saw a volcano which I’m guessing is Turrialba. This would mean we are traveling northeast – I can see the Caribbean coast with a line of islands.

Homeward bound!

Finally . . . What Mubarak Must Do Before Stepping Down

2011-02-06T22:09:00.007-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/04/AR2011020404123.html

Connect to this link and read the Washington Post column by Hossam Bahgat and Soha Abdelaty of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. They have written an article in the Washington Post that clearly states what has to happen in Egypt now. For the details please read the link above.

I'm delighted someone is spelling out to the public what should happen -- based on the existing constitiution:

If Mubarak were to leave the country for "medical reasons" the interm president would be the current vice president. On the other hand, if Mubarak were to resign, the speaker of the People's Assembly would become president, and the current speaker would be an even worse choice.

So Bahgat and Abdelaty suggest that Mubarak, prior to resigning, must issue decrees giving all authority to his vice president and lifting state of emergency which has held many people in detention. They also say that prior to Mubarak's resignation, an independent commission should be appointed to rewrite the Constitution to esnure that presidential elections be open to all candidates, that the elections be supervised by judicial and civil monitors. The amendments, they claim, could be drafted and then put to a referendum in a short period of time.

A caretaker government would be appointed to work with the interim president.

As you can see, their article definitely gives an outline for the next steps, something for which I have been searching over the past couple of weeks since the reform protests began.

COSTA RICA

2011-02-05T11:47:00.005-05:00

Having recently returned from a visit to Costa Rica for the first time, I was amazed to learn that Costa Rica has no army, having abolished it in 1948 after a devastating war. The leader at that time Jose Figueres declared the abolition of the Army and turning over of military installations to the educational system. The 1947 Rio Treaty with the U.S. probably made this possible since the U.S. agreed to help defend any of the Central or South American countries, including Costa Rica, who were part of the pact. (see information on U.S. Department of State webpage.) Nevertheless, Costa Rica has not had to spend its resources on an army and instead has focused on education. (According to a 2009 United Nations Development Report, Costa Rica has a

95.9 Literacy rate; the U.S. has a 99% rate.)

President Oscar Arias Sanchez, president 1986-90 and 2006-2010, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars in other neighboring nations. (Laura Chinchilla, the first female president of Costa Rica succeeded Arias last year.)

According to the State Department, Costa Rica's main exports are pineapples, bananas, ornamental plants, sugar, coffee, seafood, electronic equipment and medical equipment. The U.S. is a primary trading partner, and about half of its tourism dollars come from the U.S. Still its median income is only about $6500. On my trip, I noticed the many poor rural homes as well as areas in the cities that appeared impoverished.

One place we visited was a field station for CATIE (Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza) in Turrialba, established for scientific research of agricultural economy. I was surprised to see a building titled "Henry A. Wallace" and asked our guide if this was named for Henry Wallace, who was Roosevelt's Secretary of Agriculture from 1932-1940s. Yes, the guide replied, he was one of the founders.

I have since learned that CATIE was first conceived at a scientific conference in Washington, D.C. in 1940. Wallace was one of the visionaries who saw the need for research on tropical agriculture. By 1942 CATIE had been established by the Pan American Union, later the Organization of American States.

More on EGYPTIAN DEMOCRACY

2011-02-01T19:44:00.004-05:00

Tonight on PBS' Newshour, Tarek Masoud, an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard who just returned from Egypt, noted that the Egyptian Constitution is relevant to how a transitional government can occur. Should Mubarak resign, elections would have to be held within 60 days -- it's unclear what would happen during those 60 days: Who would run the country?

In addition, the Constitution establishes a president who is all but a dictator. To change powers of the presidency, the Constitution would need to be amended by the parliament, but this body is run by Mubarak's party, which hardly has the confidence of the masses. So what to do?

Unfortunately, another commentator on the show, when asked these follow up questions, didn't have the answers and stuck with the "power to the people" line. It still seems to me important to address how to accede to the will of the people under a rule of law.

Hopefully, the US government and even more important, the Egyptian protest leaders are seeking answers to these issues. President Obama states correctly that the U.S. government cannot decide for the Egyptians, but we, as interested citizens of the world, should ask how this transition can happen.

EGYPT: THE SEA FOR CHANGE IS RISING

2011-01-31T20:22:00.005-05:00

Clearly, Egyptians want political change; the unprecedented and sustained demonstrations by Egyptians in the face of President Mubarak's refusal to step down demonstrate that point. And it appears that Mubarak's ouster is the bottom line of the protestors, if such a collection of diverse citizens can be said to have a collective will. Certainly, reporting and anecdotal evidence appears to point to that general consensus among the protesters.

Unfortunately, the American press - as far as I can see - has not reported if the Egyptian Constitution addresses the issue of succession to the presidency between elections, the possibility of interim elections and any existing measures to safeguard the legitimacy of the electoral process. Neither have I heard these issues discussed on NPR, PBS or Network news. A cursory search of the internet has not turned up information on these topics, although Egyptian specialists in politics and foreign affairs probably know the answers.

As we wait for the million man march tomorrow in Cairo, we can pray that the event is peaceful and that the Egyptian Army will live up to its word not to fire against peaceful protestors.

In the meantime, it would be helpful if the press could answer Americans' questions about the political process in Egypt.

Oil Moratorium

2010-12-08T13:43:00.002-05:00

Hooray for the President and Secretary Salazar for reinstituting the offshore oil moratorium for the next five years. One of the things the Secretary said in his press conference was something that my former employer (southern environmental law center) had emphasized: the oil and gas companies have thousands of leases that they have not yet exercised. There's no need to open up new areas right now, especially as we are still reeling from the results of the BP oil spill in the Gulf.

An October 12, 2010 Washington Post article showed how politics drove the opening of the mid- and south-Atlantic to oil drilling during the Obama Administration. It also repeated some of the misconceptions that the President and the Secretary had about the risks of offshore oil. For example, they had stated categorically that no oil had been spilled from rigs during severe weather events. Yet the Department of Homeland Security and NOAA had reported oil spills from rigs during Katrina and Rita -- Approximately 8 million gallons of spilled oil in comparison to 11 million gallons spilled during the Exxon Valdez.

The President did the right thing, although I'm sure we'll hear more from the oil and gas industry in the next Congress.

TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE RETIRED . . . & OBAMA BLUES

2010-12-08T13:26:00.004-05:00

Well, yes, I got over the election but November flew by. Although retirement brings more time, sometimes life takes over regardless of whether you're "working" or just hanging out.

Back to politics: the President is correct. Like him, I don't like the tax cut for the rich, but politics is the art of compromise, and as he explained - politics is not for the ideologically pure: if you want to get something done, you have to compromise. In this case, the compromise will allow unemployment benefits to be extended along with the extension of the tax cut.

If the American public doesn't like the tax cut, they should be telling that to their representatives and senators. Instead, collectively, the public elected a much more conservative House of Representatives (taking office in January) that won't raise any taxes and possibly will be less likely to compromise.

When I was first in politics, I used to think compromises were bad -- one needed to stand by principles. But deadlocks occur, you're in the minority and you don't get any of your goals accomplished. I can understand that senators and representatives from more liberal areas may object, but they ought to see the bigger picture and be able to explain it to their constituencies. A lot of their colleagues got defeated recently because they were too "progressive" -- they voted for the cap and trade bill or health reform or the stimulus package or wall street reform. In the long run, I think the public will be glad we have the last three and I hope eventually that some type of climate change legislation will pass -- But probably not in the next two years.

Politics can surely break your heart and November was a bad month for progressive politicos, myself included. But like Bill Clinton, Obama will rise and man, he has done the things he said he would do -- and is still trying.

Election Hangover, Sorta

2010-11-04T13:33:00.005-04:00

This morning a man in a class I am taking asked me how the election went for me. Although he was unknown to me, I could tell from his slight smirk that he was a gloating Republican.

"Not well," I first replied. Then I rejoined with "No, wait, I really enjoyed Election Day at Carver Recreation and seeing the tremendous response of people who turned out. I just didn't like the final result of the election [with Tom Perriello losing his seat as our representative for the 5th District of Virginia]."

I spent the day as an observer on behalf of the State Democratic Party's voter protection team to make sure the process was transparent and that challenges were handled appropriately.

I was deeply touched by the steady stream of people who showed up to vote -- some with kids in tow, pushing strollers or trying to ride herd on boisterous toddlers, other elderly people with canes, walkers, some accompanied by their adult child, sometimes carrying portable oxygen, a young disabled man in a wheelchair. There were a number of people from public housing who showed up to vote. Because this is not always the case, something -- good local organizing, the appearance of the President the weekend before -- had made them realize the importance of the election and their vote.

Sometimes people learned they were not registered, such as the young woman who had registered when she got her learner's permit at the Department of Motor Vehicles, only to discover that the registration had not shown up on the Board of Election records.

When they were rejected, people were extremely disappointed, which showed how important voting is to many.

Outside the polling place, the regular Carver precinct Democrats -- Tim Sims, Teresa Walker - Price, Former Mayor David Brown, Ann Hill Williams, Donna Goings, Former Vice Mayor John Conover, Jean Hiatt and many others -- greeted voters as they arrived to vote. The Republicans also had a representative greeting voters.

Inside the polling center, I listened as voters gave their names and the electoral workers searched the computer base, asked for their identification and in the large majority of cases, validated their registration and gave them the authorization to proceed to the voting booths.

At the beginning of the day, there were three other observers, all Republicans, with me. I pointed out to them that they were supposed to have only one representative per computer station, and since we had only one station, one was enough. The Republican male did not concur, and I did not complain to anyone, but eventually the Electoral board informed them that three were too many and so they took shifts.

With the Republican women (one Republican and one "Independent" she told me), I bonded as we discussed the community, mutual friends, foods and travels, and our concerns about our community. (I did not discuss our candidates because obviously we had reached different conclusions.)

However, a problem emerged that also bound me to the male Republican inside. We were both trying to observe the resolution of a dispute with a would-be voter told he was not on the rolls; he was directed to the precinct official across the room from where we were seated, so we followed. She did not want us present and told us to go back to our seats. I had the State Board of Election rules and tried to show her that we were entitled to observe the electoral process, and that the resolution of a dispute was part of that process.

Before we could say anything else, another official jumped up and started shouting at us to go to our seats. When we tried deferentially and quietly to respond to him, he just kept yelling "I can't hear you. My ears are clogged up. Now go to your seats!" We retreated but both of us (and the women observers who were still present and looking on in horror) agreed we would file a complaint about this poll worker (which we did). (My female cohorts at the site especially were encouraging and supportive of standing up to the officials and making the complaints.)

Later, our objections about not being part of the process were raised with the State Board of Elections (and I was told, with the Attorney General and Governor's Office), all of whom agreed that we should be allowed to hear the process going on. The Electoral Board member returned to the site to so inform us.

One small victory for transparency.

Of course no one in Carver was trying to prevent voting, but in any bureaucracy, people just want an issue resolved, regardless of the outcome (whether or not the voter gets to vote). My charge was to make sure that each voter entitled to a vote would get to vote either straightforwardly or provisionally. The Republican told me he was there to ensure that there were no double votes and no people voting who were not entitled to vote. He also was quite irate if someone had an out of state license and still got to vote (if you didn't have valid in-state identification, you could sign an affidavit saying you are who you say you are). "They only get 30 days to change their license," he insisted, although I rejoined that no one in the precinct was authorized to enforce the DMV law.

So it went for 13 hours that the poll was open. If there were situations I thought I could resolve (when the person was being sent elsewhere), I went outside and interacted with them, showing them the Board of Elections' rules so hopefully they could defend their right to cast a ballot as in situations, for example, where a voter was returning an unused absentee ballot.

Mid-day, I took a break to go vote in my own precinct - Recreation - and to drive by a couple of other precincts where I dropped off cookies for Democratic precinct workers and greeted old friends and new. At Jefferson Park, I briefly joined in the citizen-led traffic directions before the police arrived to thankfully take over.

I was at Carver when it closed at 7 pm and the results were heartening: Perriello, 977 and Hurt, 139. Later we saw high margins for Perriello in the rest of the City, but ultimately Hurt won by approximately 10,000 votes.

The election outcome was not what I desired, but all in all, I had a good day of watching the democratic process at work and staying alert to make the process transparent, and hopefully making sure everyone got his/her opportunity to cast a ballot and have a voice in this election.

Now, if I can only hold on to my image of this "beloved community" of Charlottesville and find other ways to help make our town an even better place for all of us to live together and prosper.

PS: At the end of the day, the shouting official told me that he had not meant to alarm us, and I and the other poll watcher reiterated that he had acted inappropriately but that in the end, our view had been vindicated by the State Board. And I responded: "But apology is accepted."

LTE OCT. 22, 2010 WASHINGTON POST

2010-10-28T20:42:00.001-04:00

The Oct. 13 front-page article "How politics spilled into policy" did an excellent job of showing how offshore drilling safety and spill records were ignored and industry assertions believed as the Obama administration sought to open more areas to drilling.

But I would like to correct a misstatement, attributed to President Obama, that no oil rigs were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. According to a report from the Department of Homeland Security, 115 oil platforms were destroyed and sunk, 52 were significantly damaged and 19 were set adrift during Hurricane Katrina.

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the cleanup of more than 8 million gallons of spilled oil, including six major and four medium-size spills, and more than 1,000 minor oil spills throughout the gulf region. To put that in perspective, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill totaled 11 million gallons; Deepwater Horizon, more than 200 million gallons.

A missing political calculus is that many Virginia politicians do not recognize the significant impact oil drilling could have on military operations along the Atlantic Coast. In the quest for oil revenue, some seem willing to sacrifice the golden goose of the military that has helped Virginia and other Atlantic states prosper.

Letter to Charlottesville Daily Progress, Oct. 26, 2010, re Tom Perriello

2010-10-28T20:30:00.001-04:00

Tom Perriello should be re-elected because he is part of a new generation of political leaders who seek creative solutions without regard for partisan politics or ideology. Tom, responding to constituents, has applied his intelligence to restarting the economy while protecting the environment, promoting true health insurance reform, preserving Social Security and assisting returning military veterans.

To reform health care, Rep. Perriello sponsored legislation to remove the anti-trust exemption health insurance companies enjoy that enables them to avoid competitiveness, thus increasing consumer cost. His bill passed the House three times, only to die in the Senate because of undue influence by the health insurance industry. Perriello will continue to push this bill until the Senate enacts it.

He has also supported legislation to jump-start the new energy economy because he knows that renewable energy sources can create new jobs for much of Southside Virginia and that they will also be good for the environment.

The congressman voted against Wall Street bailouts and against a budget bill that did not address the growing deficit. Thus, he does not vote in lockstep with the president or with the Democrats in Congress. Instead, he reads the bills, thinks through the options, including the unintended consequences, and listens to his constituents. I do not necessarily agree with his every vote, but I support the principled basis, including impacts on the district, on which he makes decisions.

Tom Perriello has held scores of public town halls and meetings with constituent groups, including those such as the tea party, which opposes him. Last year, at a health reform meeting in Charlottesville, he listened and responded to questions for several hours without making speeches or pronouncements. He cares about the needs of others, not only in terms of legislation but also in a personal commitment to fairness and justice for all.

The congressman receives no support from corporate political action committees or paid lobbyists; instead, he has based his campaign on contributions from thousands of individuals.

Tom Perriello is a good man who represents a bright future for the regions of Central and Southside Virginia. I know I will be proud to vote for Tom Perriello for Congress on Nov.2

Beginnings & Endings on Women's Equality Day

2010-10-28T20:24:00.002-04:00

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/09/02/ESSAY-slaughter-womensequality-b.aspx

Last Thursday, August 26 was the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the one that granted women the right to vote. I've been thinking about this one for a while.

In fact, when I began my career as a reporter at the Harrisburg Patriot News in 1961, one of my first assignments was covering the 41st anniversary of this Amendment. I was one of six women on the newspaper, all of us assigned to the Women's Section, which, ironically, was edited by a man.

For my story, I reviewed the history of the women's movement back to the first Women's Rights Convention convened by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott in 1848. It took until 1920-- 72 years of struggle--- to get the right to vote.

A Pennsylvania suffragist still alive in 1961 told me that she and her colleagues often used existing political gatherings to argue their cause, and not all women were convinced that voting was the right way to go. She recounted that one suffragist, so stunned by the polished rhetoric of an anti-suffragist, tried a little reverse psychology as a debating point: "My opponent with all her intelligence and eloquence certainly belongs in the halls of Congress," said the suffragist, "while I should remain a housewife."

In the early 20th century, the movement focused on the workplace. While many women toiled in factories and in the "female" occupations, women had fewer economic and educational opportunities-- and no representation in the federal halls of power. There were 22 states and territories that allowed women to vote in their elections, but most states denied the right.

As I talked to the Pennsylvania suffragists nearly 40 years ago, I liked to think that I would have been one of them. A few years later, I was a wife and mother when I read Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, which sealed my fate as a modern-day suffragist, that is, a feminist. Increasingly, I questioned why women couldn't do the same jobs as men.

Why couldn't our daughters grow up to be doctors or lawyers? And by the way, I thought, why can't I be a lawyer? I'll admit that after initially perusing a George Washington University law school catalog, I found the academic schedule too daunting for a mother of two toddlers, even with their dedicated feminist father at my side.

By 1971, the movement then known as Women's Liberation had been launched, Ms. magazine founded, and Bella Abzug convinced Congress to proclaim August 26 as Women's Equality Day. My friends and I celebrated as we continued to advance in our jobs and take care of kids.

Fast forward to 1986, and I am graduating from the University of Virginia Law School, a place where I could not have pursued undergraduate studies back in 1957 when I was graduating from high school. During my graduation year, female enrollment in the law school class was 35 percent, and I was told this was the highest female enrollment to date. (By contrast, the class of 2012 is 47 percent female.)

While I had few professional female role models, my grandmother, widowed in her 40s, became independent by necessity and found a position as a college housemother at Mary Washington. My mother worked outside the home as a secretary when that was not the norm. These two women, along with numerous teachers, scout leaders, and friends both male and female, demonstrated that exercising competence and freedom in the larger world could be very satisfying.

My mother's and grandmother's modest goals helped me set mine a little higher-- to eventually become a lawyer who would work in the public interest. My 24 years at the Southern Environmental Law Center have given me that wonderful context in which to advocate for the beautiful earth I inhabit and want to preserve.

Last week, as I celebrated Women's Equality Day, it was also my last day before retiring as an attorney from the SELC.

I've come full circle in my work life-- from being a reporter, editor, wife, and stay-at-home-mom to working mom editor, adult educator, and counselor, administrator, lawyer, small town politician, and teacher.

We women have come a long way since 1920. Hillary Clinton was close to becoming president; and now, she, Condeleeza Rice, and Madeline Albright have made serving as a female secretary of state seem routine. An August 22 Washington Post article points out that women dominate the American nuclear diplomatic debates at the highest echelons.

Locally, we've had women represented on the City Council ever since Jill Rinehart was elected in 1972 and Nancy O'Brien became Mayor in 1976. Similarly, the County has had able representation from women beginning in 1976 with the late Opal David.

Yet there is a lack of women at the state level. No woman has held an elected statewide office since the 1988 re-election of Mary Sue Terry as Attorney General. Of the 40 state senators, just eight are women; of the Virginia House of Delegates, just 18 out of 100 are women.

One can view the glass as half empty or half full. My own personal glass is overflowing.

On August 26 (interestingly also my first born's birthday), I retired from my beloved vocation as a professional advocate and attorney. I celebrated not only the end of my professional career but also those feisty women who preceded me-- the celebrated and the forgotten-- who worked for access to the ballot box, to universities and professional schools, to board rooms, courthouses, city halls and to legislatures. If not for them, my glass today would not be so full.

So let the celebrations continue. Here's to those pioneering women and also our daughters and granddaughters, our colleagues and friends, and the women of generations to come.

Ode to the Perfect Secretary

2010-09-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

In my early days as a single working woman and a feminist, I would lament -- not without irony -- that I needed a wife – someone to take care of me, as millions of women had taken care of the details of the lives of their working husbands.

Little did I realize that after 24 years of my legal career, I would look back and see that – in the very best sense of the word – I found such a partner in my secretary, Carol Satterwhite.

For approximately 22 years, Carol has been my help-mate during the 52 work weeks per year. I was 48 when we began working together; she was 28. I was divorced with adult children; she was married without children. I had become a lawyer in middle age and was still – professionally speaking – a novice. She had worked for other lawyers in private practice before coming to our law center and knew the ropes of working for lawyers.

We grew up together in this practice. Carol became the secretary I shared with Deborah and later with other attorneys. At the beginning of the word processing era (late 80s), I was a good typist and learned how to cut and paste and edit. Back then, we had no email so land phones (not cells) and letters were our modes of communication to the outside world. Even the fax was new.

Carol was a super typist, so often I dictated notes or memos into a small machine, which she then transcribed. I edited her copy by hand and she prepared the final version. In the early days I was doing a lot of billboard work – most notably defending the Waynesville, NC sign ordinance outlawing billboards that was before the district court in North Carolina, a case that at the time seemed to last forever although it truly was litigated within a couple of years.

It seems every time I went on vacation in the summer, a brief or pleading would be filed, and Carol – my ever trusty secretary – would have to track me down on Ocracoke Island, N.C. In those days – before cell phones – she had to call the Community Store, which had to call my landlord who had to drive over to tell me to call the office. Once faxes came in, she was able to fax a brief to me via the Community Store.

After a couple of years, Carol and her husband Pete became expectant parents, and Carol took maternity leave to have her baby girl, Brittany. Brittany was only a year or two younger than my grandsons.

When Carol came back to work, Baby Brittany grew up fast and before I knew it, Carol, searching for a better school, found one here in Charlottesville. Many days Brittany would come to the office after school, and I watched her grow. Later, in high school, I ran into her in Richmond while I was lobbying and she was on a class trip. She is now a college student at Liberty University.

Through all the early years, Carol stayed up nights with Deborah and me when we were filing motions, and briefs, appendices to briefs, the records, etc. First there were the billboard briefs for Waynesville and Durham and Raleigh. Then, there were many briefs and other legal documents relating to changing Virginia’s law on “who has standing to sue on environmental matters” Finally, there were 15 years of comments and briefing on the King William Reservoir. Deborah and I would draft, read, re-edit and revise the documents, and Carol would dutifully re-type the next version. She was fast, she was accurate and she could usually read my scrawled rewrites with the various editorial marks noting deletions, insertions and the moving of words, phrases, paragraphs or pages. She was remarkably accurate even though our legalese sometimes made no sense to her.

And here’s the rub -- No matter how late in the evening we labored on deadline night, she was always organized, had the appendices in order, the table of contents done and the table of authorities (an index to all legal documents in the brief) ready to go with all the documents together. We’d be bleary eyed, and she would be clear headed . . . even though she was just as tired as we were – and had to drive further to get home than either of us.

She was also always cheerful and calm under pressure.

In addition to handling litigation, comments to state and federal agencies on a host of issues and correspondence, Carol kept my schedule, ordered my rental cars, hotels, made air reservations, reminded me of meetings, collected my trip receipts and filed my travel vouchers; she kept up with my Lexis account information as well as my frequent flyer mileage numbers on a host of airlines. She registered me with the Commonwealth as a lobbyist and she helped file my year end report. She reminded me of my continuing legal education requirements each year and kept me up to date on numbers of hours I still needed to complete.

Carol “refreshed my recollection” of staff meetings (even after we got email and notices) and attorney lunches. She told me about interns’ schedules and reminded me about my intern presentation. She reminded me when I needed to turn in my work hours or put a code on a file. As to filing – although not her favorite subject, she reminded me of this necessary task and would “babysit” me while I tried to do the impossible – file the oodles and oodles of papers that had sat for weeks (if not months) in piles on my desk. Most recently she has helped me clear out the 24 years of files I have accumulated, discarding much material, and saving only those still important documents needed for current or historical purposes.

Carol showed me how to insert pictures into my documents and how to do other functions with the computer. And when I got frustrated with the computer (how do I get to the “fat” side of the network) – which was often – she always kept her cool and either told me how or found someone who could help.

In short, Carol has taken care of me and my office needs for 22 years. That’s longer than I was married. And in our partnership, Carol has made my life so much easier than it would have been otherwise. And, like any successful marriage, our partnership has succeeded not just by being my help-mate but also by the broader and deeper relationship we have formed over this long time.

Carol is my friend. There have been many times when one or the other of us needed someone to listen or to counsel and comfort. I remember especially only a few years ago when my daughter Margaret was diagnosed with breast cancer, Carol was there for me (as she was for Deborah who later received a similar diagnosis). When Carol went through a rough patch in her marriage – like everyone does – I was there assuring her that she could find help to make better times occur. And she did.

At holidays and birthdays, Deborah and Carol and I have long celebrated together. We have our special lunches, exchanging gifts and spending time together. And now, as I prepare to retire, we will begin a monthly breakfast so that we can stay in touch and share our lives still.

Did I mention that Carol is almost always cheerful and optimistic? When I have been storming around or grumpy or overworked or stressed for a variety of personal or professional reasons, Carol was always there – not Pollyanna-ish – but compassionate and helping me to find a solution, always assuring me that I could get through the crisis du jour – small or large. For 22 years, as I struggled through stressful storms and anguished moments, Carol was there for me, as a helpmate and a friend.

A couple of weeks ago, Carol went on vacation for a week. In past years, I always coped with her temporary absences and celebrated her return when things got “back to normal.” For the first time, I truly realized how my life was going to change without Carol in it on a daily basis. I can only hope that after 22 years I have internalized her sunny presence and can-do attitude so that in my moments of need, I’ll find my way.

And I will anticipate with pleasure those monthly breakfasts.

Suffragist City: Begins and Endings on Women's Equality Day

2010-09-05T17:23:00.001-04:00

Published September 2, 2010 in issue 0935 of the Hook, Charlottesville, Va.

Last Thursday, August 26 was the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the one that granted women the right to vote. I've been thinking about this one for a while.
In fact, when I began my career as a reporter at the Harrisburg Patriot News in 1961, one of my first assignments was covering the 41st anniversary of this Amendment. I was one of six women on the newspaper, all of us assigned to the Women's Section, which, ironically, was edited by a man.
For my story, I reviewed the history of the women's movement back to the first Women's Rights Convention convened by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott in 1848. It took until 1920-- 72 years of struggle--- to get the right to vote.
A Pennsylvania suffragist still alive in 1961 told me that she and her colleagues often used existing political gatherings to argue their cause, and not all women were convinced that voting was the right way to go. She recounted that one suffragist, so stunned by the polished rhetoric of an anti-suffragist, tried a little reverse psychology as a debating point: "My opponent with all her intelligence and eloquence certainly belongs in the halls of Congress," said the suffragist, "while I should remain a housewife."
In the early 20th century, the movement focused on the workplace. While many women toiled in factories and in the "female" occupations, women had fewer economic and educational opportunities-- and no representation in the federal halls of power. There were 22 states and territories that allowed women to vote in their elections, but most states denied the right.
As I talked to the Pennsylvania suffragists nearly 40 years ago, I liked to think that I would have been one of them. A few years later, I was a wife and mother when I read Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, which sealed my fate as a modern-day suffragist, that is, a feminist. Increasingly, I questioned why women couldn't do the same jobs as men.
Why couldn't our daughters grow up to be doctors or lawyers? And by the way, I thought, why can't I be a lawyer? I'll admit that after initially perusing a George Washington University law school catalog, I found the academic schedule too daunting for a mother of two toddlers, even with their dedicated feminist father at my side.
By 1971, the movement then known as Women's Liberation had been launched, Ms. magazine founded, and Bella Abzug convinced Congress to proclaim August 26 as Women's Equality Day. My friends and I celebrated as we continued to advance in our jobs and take care of kids.
Fast forward to 1986, and I am graduating from the University of Virginia Law School, a place where I could not have pursued undergraduate studies back in 1957 when I was graduating from high school. During my graduation year, female enrollment in the law school class was 35 percent, and I was told this was the highest female enrollment to date. (By contrast, the class of 2012 is 47 percent female.)
While I had few professional female role models, my grandmother, widowed in her 40s, became independent by necessity and found a position as a college housemother at Mary Washington. My mother worked outside the home as a secretary when that was not the norm. These two women, along with numerous teachers, scout leaders, and friends both male and female, demonstrated that exercising competence and freedom in the larger world could be very satisfying.
My mother's and grandmother's modest goals helped me set mine a little higher-- to eventually become a lawyer who would work in the public interest. My 24 years at the Southern Environmental Law Center have given me that wonderful context in which to advocate for the beautiful earth I inhabit and want to preserve.
Last week, as I celebrated Women's Equality Day, it was also my last day before retiring as an attorney from the SELC.
I've come full circle in my work life-- from being a reporter, editor, wife, and stay-at-home-mom to working mom editor, adult educator, and counselor, administrator, lawyer, small town politician, and teacher.
We women have come a long way since 1920. Hillary Clinton was close to becoming president; and now, she, Condeleeza Rice, and Madeline Albright have made serving as a female secretary of state seem routine. An August 22 Washington Post article points out that women dominate the American nuclear diplomatic debates at the highest echelons.
Locally, we've had women represented on the City Council ever since Jill Rinehart was elected in 1972 and Nancy O'Brien became Mayor in 1976. Similarly, the County has had able representation from women beginning in 1976 with the late Opal David.
Yet there is a lack of women at the state level. No woman has held an elected statewide office since the 1988 re-election of Mary Sue Terry as Attorney General. Of the 40 state senators, just eight are women; of the Virginia House of Delegates, just 18 out of 100 are women.
One can view the glass as half empty or half full. My own personal glass is overflowing.
On August 26 (interestingly also my first born's birthday), I retired from my beloved vocation as a professional advocate and attorney. I celebrated not only the end of my professional career but also those feisty women who preceded me-- the celebrated and the forgotten-- who worked for access to the ballot box, to universities and professional schools, to board rooms, courthouses, city halls and to legislatures. If not for them, my glass today would not be so full.
So let the celebrations continue. Here's to those pioneering women and also our daughters and granddaughters, our colleagues and friends, and the women of generations to come.http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2010/09/02/ESSAY-slaughter-womensequality-b.aspx

Good NPR stories on Offshore Oil and Berms - Friday, June 11, 2010

2010-06-11T18:17:00.002-04:00

Check out:

Offshore Oil Companies Get Break from Washington
http://http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127774532

Scientist Warns Oil Fighters: Sand Berms Won't Last
http://http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127774917

Oil Spill: A Collective Responsibility

2010-06-06T21:03:00.005-04:00

Now that the Deepwater Horizon has shown us just how bad an oil spill can be, people are looking to blame someone for the fiasco. Understandable but unproductive.

"Drill Baby Drill" was a popular slogan in the 2008 Presidential race and reemerged as a theme of the winning candidate in the 2009 Virginia gubernatorial campaign who proposed to fund needed transportation improvements with revenue sharing (that does not exist) from future wells (not yet discovered).

As an environmental lobbyist opposing state resolutions on oil drilling during the 2010 Virginia General Assembly, I testified before legislators fighting to embrace the Governor's irresponsible view that future drilling would solve Virginia's financial problems and bring economic prosperity.

All this was in the face of facts that only a small amount of oil is likely to exist off Virginia's coast (6 days at current rates of consumption). And, thus far, there is NO revenue sharing for any states beyond the Gulf Coast.

Moreover, as reiterated a couple of weeks ago, the Department of Defense continues to oppose the establishment of Virginia off shore oil drillling in the midst of naval and NASA operational areas. Military operations in Hampton Roads represent existing economic activity in the Commonwealth.

The mood had definitely been pro-oil drilling in this state. Nationally, Senator John Kerry -- long a staunch environmental supporter, had agreed to drilling in order to attract his colleague, Sen. Lindsay Graham to co-sponsor Climate Change legislation (though the senator has now backed out of this co-sponsorship).

The country has been in a "why not drill?" mood. Now that the spill has occurred, Americans need to examine their attitudes that supported this movement for "drill now" as well as the motives and mistakes of BP, Halliburton and other contractors involved with Deep Water Horizon. My point is not to exonerate corporate malfeasance but instead to be more productive about our collective responsibility.

We are a nation addicted to oil (and indeed to fossil fuels). We're looking for a new supplier (hey, let's try the Atlantic) rather than looking to break the addiction. The President understands that we need to move toward a new energy future. But even he still emphasizes the need for fossil fuels during the "transition period." But when would the transition end?

What about focusing more on conservation and energy efficiency? Promoting transit more than new roads? Building cars that will get more miles per gallon?

At the very least, Deepwater Horizon should get a dialogue going on these issues.

Pilate the Politician: A Political Meditation for the Season

2010-04-02T17:15:00.000-04:00

The Story of Pilate provides an opportunity to reflect on power and politics in Jesus’ time and in our own lives.

Rome is the occupying authority of Jerusalem, Pilate, the Roman governor. He is indeed the top politician in Jerusalem.

The high priests and elders, politicians in their own religious bailiwick, have held their court, and they bring the defendant Jesus to Pilate who as civil authority has the power to mete out punishment.

Pilate is not a rubber stamp for the priests – Instead, he uses his position to question Jesus:

“Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus responds simply “you have said so.”

The priests and elders make their accusations against Jesus, but Jesus remains silent. He does not defend himself,

What kind of man is this? What kind of power does he have?

Pilate questions Jesus a second time: You hear how many things they say against you; what do you say?

But Jesus gives no answer.

Pilate, the gospel tells us, knows that the priests are envious of Jesus. The priests – and Pilate - understand the power that comes with their positions. But Jesus has a different kind of power, the power that emanates from his very person.

In the face of Jesus’ silence and lack of defense, Pilate, we are told, “Wondered greatly.”

Jesus’ refusal to play the power games makes Pilate pause and listen.

Pilate is perceptive: He understands power and he understands politics; he understands the priests’ and elders’ motives: they want to get rid of this troublemaker who threatens their authority.

Pilate is also traditional: he adheres to the Passover custom of releasing a prisoner to the Jews. So he asks the crowd –

Who do you want released -- Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?

Then a remarkable interlude occurs: As the people talk, Pilate is interrupted by a message sent by his wife.

She has had a dream that has disturbed her, and she warns her husband against harming Jesus, whom she calls “this righteous man.”

Pilate allied himself with a woman who pays attention to her dreams, to her intuitions. The message to Pilate can also be seen as a message from Pilate’s own intuition about Christ’s innocence. At the very least, the message reinforces Pilate’s reluctance to harm Jesus.

Pilate thinks, he perceives the motives of others, and he intuits what is going on.

And yet . . . and yet . . . he ultimately will give in to the mob.

Returning to the crowd, Pilate continues:

Which of the two do you want me to release?

And the crowd, which has been instructed by their leaders, the priests and elders,

This crowd says “Release Barabbas.”

Pilate still struggles with his own instincts as he asks again the fatal question:

Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ.

The mob shouts: Let him be crucified.

Yet Pilate is still not ready to give in: “Why, what evil has he done?” he questions.

Let him be crucified.

The polls are in – the crowd wants death for Jesus. Despite Pilate’s wonder at Jesus’ person, his understanding of the envy of the priests and the manipulation of the crowd, despite his intuition that Jesus has done nothing wrong, Pilate gives in.

Just like that.

The gospel says “He saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather than a riot was beginning.

Even though Pilot may be afraid he has other options. He has an army at his disposal. He could use military power to quell the riot. But he does not.

Instead, he takes water and washes his hands.

He says to the crowd “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

Pilate thinks he is absolving himself by doing the crowd’s will.
He knows the score but he is unwilling to stand up to the crowd OR take responsibility for what he does.

The priests and the crowd need Pilate to do their will, and Pilate thinks he needs them.

Finally, there is a chilling conclusion to the story of Pilate. Not only does he give in to the crowd but once he has agreed to have Jesus crucified, he must go the whole way: scourging Jesus before delivering him to be crucified, torturing him: Jesus is beaten, probably whipped with belts and metal balls as was the practice prior to crucifixion. Jesus suffers torture so violent that muscles and sinew are torn and the flesh is bleeding, and he is losing consciousness even before he attempts to carry the cross to Golgotha.

The Bible does not tell us, but Pilate has probably left the scene: he has washed his hands; he does not want to see the consequences of his decision.

This is a story about power – the power of God that Jesus has demonstrated throughout his short life to heal and teach and love, the power that does not need to boast or defend itself against its enemies, even in the face of death.

And it is the story of the other faces of power – the priests and elders’ envy of Jesus’ power. And the power of Pilate, the politician, who had a choice to use his power for good or for evil.

But the Church and the State are not the only forms of power.

Like Pilate, we too have been given many forms of human power. As Americans we enjoy a degree of prosperity and well being beyond most of our fellow creatures on this planet. As people of faith, we know what is right and wrong. We exercise a great deal of personal and collective power.

The question remains: how do we use our power – within our families, our relationships, within our places of worship, the workplace, our schools and other organizations? How do we use our power as citizens of our community, the nation and the world?

Do we like Pilate give in to the easier way and wash our hands of the pain we see, the pain we inflict.?

How do we use our human ability to perceive, to think, and to feel? Do we seek to follow Christ’s example to heal, to love, to serve others?

May we learn from Pilate to strive toward using our power in the service of God, the Christ of our better nature and to pray for forgiveness when we, like Pilate, fail.

REPUBLICAN SURVEY

2009-10-23T15:20:00.002-04:00

Oddly enough, I received a fundraising letter from the Republican Party, a "2009 Congressional District Census." I live in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia and have voted Democratic for my entire life.

Here are some of the laughable questions or omissions from the survey:

Query re my Media sources for political news includes Fox and major networks but not PBS or NPR (which I wrote in)
Question as to which political party is best able to handle each of the following issues has the usual list plus "Protecting Traditional Values" to which I responded "Oh, please, what does this mean? Anti-gay?"
"Do you feel that the huge trillion dollar solutions the Democrats have advanced to boost our economy will help or hurt or nation in the long run?" Answer: What is your solution? Do nothing?
"Would you like Congress to pass additional tax cuts to further stimulate our nation's economy?" Answer: the Bush tax cut re-started the deficit after the Clinton Administration had eliminated it.
"Do you think all Americans should be required to have some fort of health insurance even if it requires the federal government to underwrite the costs?" Answer: erroneous question as it mis-states proposed sliding scale subsidy for people of lower incomes.
"Using numbers 1 through 5,, with 1 the top priority please indicate the policies you support most to address how the energy should meet future energy needs.

Numbers 0 and 1 are my answers.

0 increase drilling Alaska's ANWR

1 more funds for alternative fuels research

0 build new oil refineries in the U.S.

0 expand off shore drilling

1 greater investment in wind/solar energy

? tap previously unrecoverable oil

0 build new nuclear plants in U.S.

I added to "Other" category: support or increase tax credits for homeowner and commercial energy efficiency programs and weatherization, thus decreasing need for new fossil fuels.

Do you think the Democrat effort to restore the Fairness Doctrine that will destroy conservative talk radio is a violation of free speech? Answer: NO

Do you support oppose or have no opinion on the following social issues:

school prayer, ban burning of the flag, ban human cloning, faith based initiatives, ban all abortions, prohibit homosexual marriage.

Answer: What do you think ? Can't you see the ads now in the mid-term election in 2010?

I would be intersted in knowing if other Democrats received and returned this poll.

Great Endorsements for Deeds and Wagner

2009-10-20T21:50:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, the Washington Post endorsed Creigh Deeds in a fulsome and well articulated editorial -- see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/17/AR2009101701477.html

Just an excerpt here:
"There are plenty of reasons why Mr. Deeds is the better choice for governor in the Nov. 3 election. He has stood with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the incumbent, and his predecessor, now-Sen. Mark R. Warner, in support of the sane fiscal and budgetary choices that have made the state one of the best-governed and most business-friendly in the nation. . . Mr. Deeds has compiled a moderate record on divisive social issues that reflects Virginia's status as a centrist swing state. Mr. McDonnell has staked out the intolerant terrain on his party's right wing, fighting a culture war that seized his imagination as a law student in the Reagan era.
But the central challenge facing Virginia and its next governor is the deficit in transportation funding projected at $100 billion over the next two decades -- and only Mr. Deeds offers hope for a solution. . . he would appoint a bipartisan commission to forge a consensus on transportation funding, with the full expectation that new taxes would be part of the mix. Mr. McDonnell, by contrast, proposes to pay for road improvements mainly by cannibalizing essential state services such as education, health and public safety -- a political non-starter. And rather than leveling with Virginians about the cost of his approach, as Mr. Deeds has done, Mr. McDonnell lacks the political spine to say what programs he would attempt to gut, or even reshape, in order to deal with transportation needs. "

On Monday, the Post also endorsed his running mate: Jody Wagner. The subhead of the editorial says it all: "In Virginia a problem solver is better than a pol."

You can read the whole editorial at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/18/AR2009101801993.html

The Post editorializes about Jody Wagner:

"Smart, tough-minded and capable, Ms. Wagner would be among the best-prepared public officials to assume the job. A former corporate lawyer, she started a successful family business (making kettle corn) before going to work for then-Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) [as State Treasurer]. Then, as Mr. Kaine's finance secretary -- she resigned this year to launch her campaign -- she developed an authoritative command of state government, spending and income, critical knowledge for the challenges posed by the recession. "

She would also be the first woman in 20 years to be elected to statewide office.

Pass it on.

Scary Candidate: Cuccinelli

2009-10-20T21:31:00.003-04:00

The focus is on the Governorship in Virginia pitting moderate Creigh Deeds against stealth conservative Bob McDonnell (The Washington Post generously characterizes "Mr. McDonnell's silver tongued embrace of ideas that would mire Virginia in a traffic clogged backward looking past.")

But perhaps the real stealth right wing candidate in Virginia is Ken Cuccinelli who is running for Attorney General and who the Post describes as a person out to re-make the office of Attorney General (according to Cuccinelli's own words). People should read the post article "Cuccinelli's bid puts focus on a job often off the radar: Va. attorney general candidate says there's power in the position"
See article by Amy GardnerMonday, October 19, 2009 :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/18/AR2009101802401.html

I guarantee you that you will want to write to family and friends and urge them to vote against this fellow without even knowing that his opponent, Steve Shannon is a moderate Virginia delegate (like Cuccinelli, also from Fairfax) who has also served in a local prosecutor's office. Shannon will know how to deal with appeals on criminal matters (which is what the Attorney General has to handle in terms of criminal law) and he will not decide to use the office to fight a far right agenda.

Cuccinelli doesn't believe in global warming and he would fight federal regulation that deals with greater emission limits from polluters. Thus, it's a small surprise that the Virginia League of Conservation Voters gave him a failing 10% grade on his conservation votes in the state senate, while Steve Shannon received 96% for his votes in the House of Delegates.

Cuccinelli also sees his office as an opportunity to defend the family against gay marriage.

Please ... we do not need to spend taxpayer money for this kind of nonsense.

So if you read this,
1) write a letter to your editor,
2) copy the Post article and put it in emails to your family and friends, and
3) do all that you can to elect Steve Shannon, not Ken Cuccinelli, on November 3.

Support Deeds

2009-10-16T14:15:00.004-04:00

Today I've been writing letters to the Editor about why Creigh Deeds should be our next Governor.

It's appalling that so many people who turn out for the presidential election will not vote on November 3. This means that Deeds will be at a distinct disadvantage, since last year the majority voted for Obama and in my congressional district, for Tom Perriello.

But I have faith that if enough people are reached through knocking on doors, phone calls and letters to editor and personal appearances, Creigh can win.

As I think about him, I realize one of his strongest assets is as unifier:

While in the State Senate he has represented the the area in Bath County stretching from the West Virginia mountains to the University community of the Piedmont area of Charlottesville. He thus understands firsthand the rich diversity of our state. Over the years, he has told his rural constituents the importance of Northern Virginia as an economic engine for the rest of the state.

Deeds is supported by an impressive and diverse group of moderate Republicans, including former State Senators John Chichester of Stafford, Brandon Bell of Roanoke, Russ Potts of Winchester, Warren Barry of Fairfax, and Marty Williams of Newport News as well as former Delegates Jim Dillard from Northern Virginia and Panny Rhodes of Richmond.

Chichester, former Senate Majority leader for many years, also was the conscience and mind of the Senate on fiscal matters. He was probably the most influential legislator during his time as he worked with various governors to solve fiscal dilemmas.

Williams was chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee and Potts, Senate Education and Health, where he stood up to extremist anti-abortion protestors.

These moderate Republicans all worked with Creigh, they endorsed him -- a person not of their party -- because they know he will create practical solutions in terms of financing schools and transportation and protecting our natural resources -- issues they care about.

Creigh was also born into the hard times of Virginia. The child of a single mother, he understands how middle- and lower-income families have to struggle to pay for basic necessities.

But rather than just talk "jobs" like all candidates do, Creigh has actually sponsored legislation to help the economy. This year, for example, he sponsored the Virginia Clean Energy Bill that supports family home improvements that will in turn create jobs for the new energy economy in renewables, efficiency and weatherization.

Creigh has long been a supporter of Virginia’s natural resources and understands how a protected environment and historic preservation are critical to the state’s tourism economy. New businesses seeking locations in Virginia also look for quality of life. Deeds' legislative record of 86% on the League of Conservation Voters’ scorecard contrasts with his opponent’s failing grade of 18%.

Beyond Creigh, I am thinking about Lt. Governor and Attorney General:

Jody Wagner would be the first woman in 20 years to hold statewide office. A Tidewater businesswoman and former State Secretary of Finance, she is eminently qualified to help Governor Deeds move Virginia through this critical period.

Former prosecutor Steve Shannon, a Northern Virginia state delegate, will maintain public safety while fighting such issues as internet abuses and predatory lending. He is non-ideological in approach – in contrast to his opponent who has supported extreme-right positions.

Election Day is November 3; absentee ballots must be filed by October 27.

We need Deeds, Wagner, and Shannon, but we won't get them unless enough people vote.

We need to get the word out for people to vote. Use your networks, use email and remind people of the importance of THEIR vote in THIS election.

Politics as Usual?

2009-10-08T19:47:00.002-04:00

First off, let me say that I'm 100% for Creigh Deeds for Governor. He's smart but modest, he has ideas, not soundbites, and, as a senator, he has been a reliable vote on issues of importance to me -- the environment, education and women.

Yet, I'm having a hard time finding my role in this election. After decades of phone banking and canvassing, I really want a younger generation to take on those tasks. I've volunteered for other things but so far, I've mostly just made modest financial contributions, responded to a few blogs on line and written to a newspaper ombudsman when I read coverage I thought was unfair and superficial.

I'm writing this because I find myself more interested in taking walks, birding or visiting friends or planning to view the fall colors. What's wrong with me? I' advertise myself as woman poltiico, but I don't feel very politico.

Maybe it's because my work -- environmental advocacy -- involves a lot of politics with a small "p." I am constantly thinking about how to approach an issue, how to articulate it, where to press the advantage, who the allies will be, who the opponents, what next steps to take to advance the ball forward.

I'm tired. I need this time of revival.

I want to look at the leaves. I even want to rake leaves. And after viewing Ken Burns "National Parks: America's Best Idea," I want to visit those parks I've never seen -- like Arches and Zion -- and re-visit others -- Crater Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone -- and re-re-visit places like Shenandoah, Hatteras National Seashore and Acadia, which are my sacred places where I first truly felt the importance of nature in my life.

But Virginia poltiics doesn't allow any time for revival. Every year, we have an election -- last year, President, Congressman (Perriello - yay) and Senator, this year, Governor, Lt. Gov, Attorney General and House of Delegates. Next year it'll be Congress again and the year following, the Virginia House of Delegates AND Senate. And on and on ...

Meanwhile at the national level (and the state level), it feels as though politics doesn't stop after the election. Congress is in a battle over health care -- the Republicans don't want to give anything that the President might want. There are real areas of disagreement, but there are also those that simply want to use this issue for political gain.

I'm tired of this politics-as-usual. I want more focus on the issues. In the Governor's race, I want people to be involved and interested in who will lead our state over the next four years instead of just asking "what's in it for me?" As a former politician, I know people need to feel invested, but I wonder what will make them wake up and realize: They're OUR schools, our kids and grandkids who will need the education of the future, our mountains, ocean and Chesapeake Bay that need protecting, our collective community that needs to recommit itself to the common good and to vote for the person who will truly seek to find the common good through working with all people of good intentions, not just those in his/her own party. We need the bridge builders, not the bomb throwers.

It's funny that I'm writing this after having experienced this evening a very beautiful meeting with a small group from my church. There, I felt the peacefulness of giving oneself over to trying to discern the will of God and even spoke about how that had manifested itself in my life in very real and strong ways. Unlike some, I'm not trying to bring God into politics but I am trying to figure out how what we learn about relationship in the church can also apply to how we act collecively and politically --tolerating differences and appreciating similarities and finding a way to achieve the common good for the larger community.

The President Nails It: How We Deal With Health Care Reflects the "Character of Our Country"

2009-09-09T21:23:00.007-04:00

President Obama hit the right notes tonight in his speech on health care. He reminded us why we need reform:

Ever since Congressman John Dingell, Sr. in 1943 (his son now a senior congressman from Detroit) introduced health care legislation, we have been postponing universal coverage.
30 million people have no coverage, that is, one in three citizens have no health care plan; this includes those with pre-existing conditions.
Our costs are one and a half times the cost of other countries.
In our premiums, each of us already pays $1000/year for those who are uninsured.
Health care, because of the waste and inefficiency, IS our deficit problem.

The two political poles on the issue range from those calling for a single payer system to those who would continue to depend only on an employer-based voluntary insurance program.

Because one-sixth of our economy is based on health care, the President says we should build on the system. Given that there are 5 house bills (4 of which came out of committee) and a Senate Finance bill coming out next week, he opined that we have "80% agreement" on particulars.

He established three goals: 1) more security and stability for those with insurance; 2) coverage for those who don't have care; and 3) slowing the costs of health care.

His program would

1) ensure that current private health care plans, VA, medicare, medicaid coverage remain the same;
2) prohibit denial of coverage because of preexisting conditions;
3) prohibit dropping of coverage when a person is sick and prohibit yearly or lifetime caps on coverage;
4) limit out of pocket payments (thereby stemming bankruptcy due to health issues);
5) cover preventative services;
6) establish an insurance exchange to allow those without coverage to shop for quality affordable choices,
7) create tax credits based on need to allow people to purchase low cost coverage -- a plan proposed by Senator John McCain during the '08 campaign;
8) require individuals to purchase health insurance just as now they must purchase auto insurance (with a waiver for hardships).

Misconceptions the President explained:
1) there are no death panels; 2) illegal immigrants would not be covered;
3) there would be no funding through these plans for abortions; and
4) there would be no rationing of care.

However, the president said there should be a public option to provide accountability. It could be a not-for profit option either through co-ops or government for those who could not afford the other choices. He anticipates that about 5% Americans will sign up for this.

The Plan must pay for itself. He committed to adding nothing to the deficit and to embrace more spending cuts if savings do not materialize. But he emphasized that savings can be found within the health care system.

He also pointed out that there is some waste from Medicare.

Recognizing the valid concerns of those calling for medical malpractice reform, he committed to embracing this issue as well.

The cost of health care reform, asserted the President, would be $900 billion over 10 years, which he noted was less than the amount of the Bush tax cut.

In perhaps the most moving part of the speech, the President spoke of a letter written last spring by the late Senator Ted Kennedy when he learned of the terminal nature of his disease. In it, Senator Kennedy said how we respond to health care reflects the "character of our country," and the President urged us to respond to that character. As he spoke, Michele Obama held the widow Vicki Kennedy's hand, and after the speech, you could see Mrs. Kennedy saying about the speech to Mrs. Obama, "Magnificent, magnificent."

It was indeed.

Now let the lawmaking begin.

Senator Ted Kennedy on Health Care

2009-08-28T06:36:00.001-04:00

The lion roars.

Farewell Teddy

2009-08-26T23:13:00.002-04:00

Watching and listening to the tributes to Senator Ted Kennedy, I realized that with his death, I am saying goodbye to a representative of a time on which I cut my political teeth.

When I was in college, John F. Kennedy ran for president, and I went on my first door to door canvassing dollars for Democrats. When he won, his inauguration message resounded: what could I do for my country, not what could it do for me. Martin Luther King was preaching a message of equality and dignity, and I was proud to be part of a new generation emerging from the South.

After that first assassination, I was heartbroken but recommitted to the dreams of the time -- I marched in sympathy with Selma in New Jersey, I worked on Lyndon Johnson's campaign against Goldwater in 1964. And I worked in a civil rights group to open segregated housing in the surburbs of Washington in the mid-60s.

But the Vietnam War interrupted, and our country became more and more bogged down in a war we couldn't win. We protested, we marched, we wrote letters. In short, we organized.

Then Martin Luther King was assassinated and 2 months later, Bobby Kennedy. So much sadness, such deep divisions within our country.

(In a different way, I feel those divisions again, paired with an uncontrolled anger -- especially in the town hall meetings over health care reform. )

As part of his legendary family, Teddy Kennedy suffered through personal tragedies that seem the stuff of myths. His own personal shortcomings led to a terrible death of a young person, and subsequently to more anguish and dysfunction in his own life..

But Ted Kennedy had a third act -- In the last 30 years, he rose to become the greatest of our senators. He became not only the voice of the poor and the dispossessed but one of the most respected senators (by both parties). He forged friendships and alliances with people whose views diverge greatly from his -- Orrin Hatch of Utah, John McCain of Arizona. And I know of at least one situation in which his personal attention helped a grieving family settle their affairs. Someone said he was a generous man, and indeed, he was generous in spirit.

Losing Teddy, then, is a huge loss for the Congress and our country. For me, it marks the end of the era that he represented. Yet as it said so eloquently in 1979 when he gave up the presidency:

"For all those whose cares have been our own, the work goes on, the cause endures, and the dream shall never die."

Health Care Myths Exploded by White House

2009-08-26T07:28:00.002-04:00

Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
We can afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
Reform would not encourage "euthanasia": It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Moran and Dean Participate in a Lively Town Hall on Health Care in Reston, Va

2009-08-25T22:21:00.002-04:00

I was surfing the TV after the News Hour tonight when, from the comfort of my living room, I discovered Congressman Jim Moran introducing former Governor and Dr. Howard Dean to an audience of screaming people. The meeting was a live town hall meeting on health care reform in Reston, Va. on C-Span.

This show was better than any of the other fare on TV tonight. Drama: anti-abortionist Randall Terry and followers were shouting "Dean is a baby killer" and "We won't pay for murder." Moran explained Terry had announced his intent to disrupt the meeting, and that he would be escorted from the meeting unless he wanted an opportunity to ask a question and be part of the process.

Terry obviously opted not to be part of the process, and he was removed. The meeting remained lively, noisy and chaotic -- with a vociferous group vying for attention among the several hundred people there.

Moran persisted, laying out a number of myths about the health care reform bills. (Most of these were covered before I found the meeting but I hope he will publish them on his website.) Howard Dean made three points: Health care in the US is 70% more expensive than it is in other countries; many people have no health care; and the way to pay for health care is to eliminate the unnecessary procedures.

After that, Moran drew names out of three boxes (for, against and undecided about health care reform) to get questions from the audience. A pharmicist asked if the Governor supported medical therapy services, and Dean responded yes, and that using pharmicists and nurse practitioners was one way to reduce costs.

Several people asked Moran if he was willing to go on a public plan. He kept responding that, as a federal employee, he is on a public plan for which he pays about $6,000/year. People seemed miffed at this answer.

One man asked whether a system of medical cooperatives would be an acceptable compromise to a public option. Moran responded that this was not a substitute for a public option although there was nothing wrong with the idea. He said a coop would need 500,000 people and start up monies, and that there would be no private incentives for cooperatives to operate.

A woman saying she was the questioner asked "why don't we take $23 million out of bailout?" and then Moran realized she was not the questioner.

Moran answered a question about Part D saying that the pharmaceutical companies agreed to a deal with the bill negotiators that they would reduce the "donut hole" gap in coverage if the government would not require negotiation with drug companies for coverage. Moran said he preferred negotiation as users of Veterans Administration had been able to pay one third to one half of the drug costs because VA was able to negotiate with the companies.

Another person asked why not have a universal coverage without a public land. The response was that the Netherlands and Switzerland, which has no public plan but universal coverage, treats insurance companies like public utilities governing rates strictly.

Another person asked why is medicare so much in the red. Moran responded that medicare costs are rising slower than privately insured costs even though it is true that over time, medicare will run out of money. Medicare spents only 3% on administrative costs; private companies, 30%.

Tort Reform: The issue is how to stop frivolous lawsuits while still allowing people who have been injured by a doctor or hospitals to redress their grievances in court. Both politicians acknowledged that the congressional bill writers didn't want to take on the anti-tort reformers in this legislation. But they agreed tort reform was needed. Dean suggested a plan whereby people would go to arbitration, and the results of the arbitration - while not binding - could be evidence in a tort trial.

Moran claimed that the public plan would be paid for by the revenues coming in, although he did not explain how Congress would fund the subsidies for those who are unable to pay for the public plan and receive the sliding scale subsidies.

At the end of the meeting, Dean pointed out that this had been a good forum in the "spirited American tradition," and that both sides had behaved "pretty well."

After listening to this I tried to find the C Span feed; at the time of writing there was no feed but an announcement of the next time the event would be re-shown on C Span 1 -- several times on August 26, for example:

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&tID=5&src=atom&atom=todays_events.xml&products_id=288530-1

Health Care Reform

2009-08-17T20:50:00.003-04:00

For weeks I’ve been reading the articles on health care reform and grousing because there are so few summaries of the 1000+ page bill. But I’m happy that some writers are finally talking substance rather than the politics of the bills or the uproar at townhall meetings (often over misinformation or dis-information, by the way).

Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post last week wrote about the Republicans propagating falsehoods in the attacks on health care reform. He pointed out several main points of the bill, especially notable the “exchange” idea:

The health insurance exchange that individuals and small businesses could purchase insurance at lower rates than now available. It is this exchange in which the question of “public option” arises. Although the public option is in the House bills floating around, it appears that the bi-partisan Senate bill will probably opt for a “nonprofit cooperative” to take on the role of the public option, and the Obama Administration signaled in a number of press outlets this weekend its willingness to consider such alternatives to the public option.

The Sunday Washington Post had a “handy health care cheat sheet” by Alec MacGillis, although I think it needs to be honed down a bit more. In short McGillis points out that 47 million people are uninsured; and that health care costs have been surging. The proposed solution is making Medicaid available to more people and helping others to purchase insurance through the “exchange.” Everyone would be required to buy insurance. At the outset, large businesses and people receiving coverage from employers probably wouldn’t be able to buy on the exchange.

The cost of expanding coverage, according to MacGillis, would be around $1 trillion over 10 years ($140 billion/year). The funds would be raised by squeezing money out of Medicare and Medicaid from subsidies that go to private Medicare Advantage Plans and some other Medicaid funds.

The bills would set a federal panel to establish Medicare rates free of pressure from providers.

From the House Committee on Energy and Commerce there are a number of other provisions in their fact sheets:
* Guaranteed coverage – Insurance companies will not be able to refuse to sell or renew policies or exclude pre-existing health conditions. Prohibits lifetime and annual limits on benefits. Premiums can vary based only on age, geography and family size.
* Over time a minimum quality standard for employer plans will include preventive services with no cost sharing, mental health, oral health and vision for children.
* Caps on amounts person must pay out of pocket in one year
* Sliding scale affordability credits for low and moderate-income families and individuals.
* The exchange and inclusion of a public health insurance option (or cooperative option) will open many markets in area to new competition.
* Expansion of Medicaid to persons and families with incomes at or below 133 percent federal poverty level and will be fully federally financed.
* Filling of "donut hole" in Part D drug program, eliminating cost-sharing for preventive services and improving low income subsidy programs in Medicare, fix physician payments.

An excellent column by Paul Begala in the Thursday Washington Post warns against Progressives dumping the health reform effort because of compromises such as no single-payer plan or perhaps no public option. Bergala points out that every other major piece of social legislation had to make compromises in the beginning and gives some excellent examples of groups excluded from Social Security initially (agricultural workers and domestic workers) but who later have been included. Although we can be appalled that these workers were not initially included would we have wanted Roosevelt to veto the legislation?

Begala was part of the White House group advising President Bill Clinton in the early 90s urging him to veto any legislation that didn’t meet idealistic goals of real reform – Of course health reform did not get out of Congress in the 90s – it was dead on arrival. Bergala says, in effect, that this time we need to be willing to accept the half-loaf. I agree.

Everyone needs to write their Congressmen and Senators and express their views – however idealistic they may be.

But the bottom line should be: We need health care reform now. We cannot postpone this issue for another generation to decide. Let's begin the reform in 2009.

Let's Ban Some Phrases

2009-07-13T14:21:00.001-04:00

UPDATE ON OLD POST: Please take a look at a political art blog dontcallmesweetie that elaborates on my desire to ban "At the end of the day..." from the political lexicon:

My previous post from 12/08: This is the beginning of a list of hackneyed and misplaced phrases or responses that are frequently used. I'm always yelling at the TV or radio when they're said. Instead, I'm hoping that writing about them here, a few others will join me to lobby to remove from our lexicon

Here they are:
“At the end of the day . . .” Said by media reporters, politicians and everyone making some type of public pronouncement.
Womanpolitico: Try anything else. How about “Finally…” ?

“I have to tell you . . .” used especially by politicians.
Womanpolitico: No, you don’t have to tell me but you want to.
“It’s my opinion …” or “I believe . . .”

“No problem” : said by clerks, wait people, anyone to whom you’ve just said “thank you.”
Womanpolitico: Please just say “you’re welcome.”

I'd love to hear others' pet peeves in the language area.

MORE THAN YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LAWMAKING IN VIRGINIA... BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

2009-02-21T15:32:00.008-05:00

Ever since the inauguration I've been on the road driving most mornings 60-plus miles to Virginia's Capitol, leaving the car in a high- rise car park and trudging several blocks to the General Assembly Building.

The state legislature has been in session. It adjourned only yesterday.

I've been a lobbyist during this month -- talking to legislators and appearing before committees to try to convince them to vote for or against measures my organization supports or opposes. I work for an environmental organization and advocate for politices and laws that we deem to be good for the environment. Over the pasts 15 years I've lobbyed for bills to improve clean water, provide open space, and allow citizens the right to appeal pollution permits. More often than working for bills, I'm playing defense -- fighting against legislation that would despoil natural resources, allow landfills near public water supplies, lease park areas to private interests, etc.

This year, I had one assignment: EnergyEfficiency legislation. Of course this is all about using elecriticity in the most cost effective way. But energy is exactly what one needs during the General Assembly as I go to bed late and rise early to plan my day and write talking points before driving to Richmond to meet with allies and opponents, and attend committee and subcommittee meetings. One night we were in committee until midnight.

The Governor has dubbed 2009 the Year of Energy and Environment; in the last year of his term, he's trying to take a meaningful step toward a new energy future. After receiving a lot of criticism from enviromentalists for his support of a new coal fired power plant, he persisted in efforts to look at new energy sources through sponsoring a Commission on Climate Change and in this his last session of the General Assembly, forging ahead with energy efficiency legislation the Commission recommended.

However, the Governor is also now the chair of the Democratic National Committee; he has a Republican House and a bare majority in the Senate. This is not an easy time for him, and bi-partisanship has not become the mantra of the Virginia General Assembly.

Still, the Governor is promoting "Energy efficiency," the legislators claim they're all for it, but the term means different things to different people.

After all the votes were counted, one of the Governor's bills, patroned by Senator Ralph Northam of Norfolk got through the General Assembly and onto his desk, albeit in very different shape from how it was originally drafted by the Governor's staff.

What does energy efficiency mean anyway?

For environmental groups, it denotes promoting programs that permanently reduce demand for more electrical supply by using electricity more efficiently, like, for example, home appliances and machinery that are built to use less electricity, better insulation and weatherization of residences, homes and industries, programmable thermostats that help to turn down the heat when it's not needed even when you're not there to do it, and smart meters -- combined with variable rates -- that help you to become aware of the best times to use electricity when it is cheapest (like washing and drying your clothes in the middle of the night rather than at peak usage times).

The end result should be that by making electricity more efficient, we'll consume less, our bills will go down, and there will be excess capacity that can be used for new growth, thus delaying the need (and expense) to build new power plants. Energy efficiency costs about 3 cents/kWh; power plant generation, 9-10 cents/kWh.

But less demand for electricity is dicey for utilities. Their task is to plan so that a reliable source of electricity is always available. While they agree to reducing electricity through company-based programs, they would like to be compensated for their costs of the programs and for loss of revenues they would have received if everyone was continuing to use more electricity.

Energy efficient legislation has to take these factors and more into consideration. To Wit:

The Governor's bills (one beginning in the Senate with its twin in the House) started out with a goal of 19% as a mandatory reduction by 2025 -- 10 % allocated to utilities, 1% to public buildings, 1% to industry, etc. The idea was that the utilities would have to pay into a compliance fund if they didn't hit yearly targets.

You can imagine how well that went over with Virginia Dominion and Appalachian Power, the big utilities in the Commonwealth.

So a "carrot" approach was tried using "enhanced" rate of return to get the reductions rather than the "stick" of the compliance fund. Even with the loss of the "mandatory" aspect, environmental groups worked well with the utilities on language for the bill - agreeing to definitions of various terms and the framework of how energy efficiency programs would be developed.

Still . . . we hit snags.

The manufacturers wanted to be carved out of the bill arguing that they already used energy efficiency to cut costs and therefore should not have to pay for programs serving other consumers (Of course, they will still benefit from the lower costs due to delay of building power plants). So a carve-out was designed and re-designed several times.

The utilities wanted a guarantee that nothing in the bill would prevent them from getting new power plants so they wanted language that in essence would have directed the the State Corporation Commission (SCC) not to consider the impact of reducing demand when they asked the SCC to give them permission to build power plants. With a lot of wordsmithing, the Governor's staff was able to placate environmentalists and utilities.

At the time the Governor's bill in the House of Delegates went to the full House Committee on Commerce and Labor, a number of Republican delegates expressed concerns about the enhanced rates and the costs to ratepayers -- even though studies show that ratepayers would see their rates drop by 2015 an average of $5-20 a month.

Nevertheless, the Governor's bill (sponsored by Del. Plum of Herndon) never got out of the House committee -- It was "rolled into" (i.e. subsumed by) a more innocuous version of rate recovery for energy efficiency program costs (Del. Pollard's bill) Because of the motion to "roll" one bill into another, there was no vote on killing the Governor's bill, but the proof was in the pudding.

Meanwhile the House (and Senate) passed other bills that required a study of the cost effectiveness of "energy conservation" and other measures by next fall.

But the Senate also passed another version of the Governor's bill. By the time it passed the Senate, the mandatory goals had become voluntary; by the time it left the House of Delegates, even the voluntary goals had been stripped away.

Success, however, is getting the bill in relatively unscathed form (no fatal amendments) to the Governor's desk, and that was achieved.

This is probably more than you wanted to know about energy efficiency or lawmaking -- but this , I emphasize, is only a synopsis. There are many more "back stories."

Pollard's bill subsequently became the subject of an effort on on the Senate Floor to require an amendment that would list the cost of energy efficiency programs on consumer bills. Now consumer disclosure is a good thing, but oddly, as Senator Chap Peterson pointed out, the same legislators had not asked for consumer disclosure two years ago when they mandated the building of a coal fired power plant in South West Virginia.

Fortunately, the amendment was defeated, largely along party line vote.

Peterson by the way had sponsored legislation that was far more ambitious than the Governor's in attempting to set a reduction in electricity usage; his bill went down in flames. Senator Don McEachin of Richmond championed a bill with mandatory goals and the compliance fund; his was killed by the committee on an 8-7 vote. Other legislators who championed some aspects of energy efficiency legislation included David Toscano and David Nutter.

The Governor will have two bills on his desk that go to the heart of energy efficiency programs -- Pollard's HB 2506 and Northam's SB 1248. Other bills (that we opposed) that were substantially amended, SB 1348/HB 2531, will also be before the Governor to sign, veto or amend.

The debate over energy efficiency will continue in Virginia. Because it's in your self interest to save money at your home and business, you need to be involved. We also need citizens to help shape future Commonwealth policy on the topic.

President Obama

2009-01-21T20:55:00.010-05:00

We stood for 5 hours in temperatures that with wind chills plummeted to 7 degrees, yet we were warmed literally by the proximity of so many other like-minded bodies (and our hand and foot warmers) who had turned out for The inauguration. It is and probably will be the inauguration of my lifetime.

Although I came of political age during the John F. Kennedy election cycle, I was too young (not yet the required 21 at that time) to vote. A southerner, in college I was a meek boycotter of racially segregated movies, but it was a big step for me. Later, as I gained confidence, I committed myself to racial justice and joined a group combatting housing segregation in the Washington suburbs through picketing and sit ins.

During 2008, I started out a Hillary supporter, but Obama not only won my vote (which was never in doubt) but my heart and mind as well. I am ready to do my part and to follow this wise leader.

What touched me at the inauguration was the variety of people who were attending. Sure there were lots of African Americans and lots of white folks and college aged youth. But I was most affected by efforts made by ancient AFrican American women in wheelchairs and the middle aged white ladies using their walkers to get around the inhospitable cold ground of the National Mall. I was thrilled by the middle schoolers from Santa Barbara who asked to interview me for their video website and blog: What do you think Change means, they asked.

I enjoyed the folks we met on the crowded metro lines from North Carolina, Savannah, Ga., Texas, Chesapeake, Va., Los Angeles, and Ohio who were elated, tired, cold and energized just like we were -- all at the same time. They all felt like me -- they had to come.

Earlier in the weekend, my daughter Margaret and I had visited a new exhibit on Abraham Lincoln's life in commemoration of his 200th birthday. It opened last week at the National Museum of AMerican History. Only a few blocks away near Chinatown, the National Museum of Art and the National Portrait Gallery hosted two more exhibits on Lincoln -- one of photographs taken, including the final one before his assasination, and the two life masks -- one created just before he took office and one just before his death. The toll that the Civil War took on him is etched into his face. I thought about Lincoln all weekend as another Illinoian prepared to take the oath of office. How far we have come since Lincoln gave his all to save the union -- and what new challenges have arisen since that time -- just as the new man takes office.

Obama's faith in the people -- sometimes erroneously dismissed as rhetoric -- is returned by the faith that people have in him. Here is a man who can ask - yes, even demand - our sacrifices. He reminds us that he is not perfect, that he will make mistakes, but that change is occurring and that he needs us all to participate.

I'm betting we will be ready to follow. It won't be easy and we may question him -- especially if he wants to cut our favorite program -- or not take up the cause I deem most important. Just so, the public and polticiians questioned Lincoln. Lincoln and Obama have at least one trait very much in common -- they have a focused calmness that inspires others' confidence.

As I looked around at the crowd yesterday, those standing close to me and those at a distance, and I heard the strains of "American the beautiful . . . God spread thy grace on thee..." I felt a lump in my throat and a tear, albeit icy, in my eye.

FOr this scene before me represents America . . . this mass of people wrapped in wintry wool, who have given up at least their immediate comfort and warmth to witness this moment. Why ? Because all one million of us know that this is an important time for us individually and for our country.

Medicare -- Mr. President-Elect's Internet Team, Take Note

2009-01-03T12:55:00.003-05:00

On NPR's All Things Considered, December 27 about medicare drug programs, a guest emphasized the medicare interactive tools but decried that most people over 65 are not web savvy. Well, I’m a senior who is very experienced with the web, but the www.medicare.gov website failed me. I was trying to compare my current drug program with others for which I would be eligible to see how the costs compared. I could not get the medicare site to do the job it promised.

Now that we are about to get a President who is web-literate and innovative, I hope he will work to make the Medicare.gov and other essential government service websites like it user friendly.

Women in Politics

2009-01-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, here we are again -- how many woman are in Congress? How many women have been elected to your state legislature?

In Congress, 74 out of 435 representatives (17%) and 16 out of 100 Senators (16%)are female. According to the Center on Congress, this is the highest number of women in the history of Congress! Jeannette Rankin of Montana (pictured below) was the first woman ever elected to Congress -- in 1916 -- several years before the Constitutional amendment allowing women the right to vote was affirmed by the states.

In my state of Virginia, it's about the same: out of 100 state delegates, 13 are women (13%); the state Senate percentage is a little better -- 8 out of 40 (20%). Still, for a state where over half the population are women, this is pretty pitiful, especially since none of the top three executive positions (governor, lt. governor and attorney general) have no females and haven't since Mary Sue Terry was attorney general from 1986 to 1994 (and she's the only female to have held one of the "big three").

Why is this? What do you think?

How do we find women willing to run and encourage them?

INAUGURATION DAY - WASHINGTON, DC

2009-01-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

Born in 1939, I politically was baptized by the election of JFK in 1960. A pre-baby boomer, I took my own babies on picket lines in suburban Maryland and Virginia in the mid-60s to protest housing segregation. Our proudest accomplishment was getting the Johnson DoD to end housing segregation for the families of troops serving during the Vietnam War. In mid-life I went to law school, joined the Southern Environmental Law Center and have worked for 23 years to protect our environment. Along the way, I also served in local government, was mayor of Charlottesville and ran for Congress in a special election against a then little-known politician named George Allen. I learned first hand the difficulties of running an issue-based campaign when Allen attacked me in an ad implying I was disloyal to my country: The NRCC TV ad depicted a rally against the Gulf War in front of the Capitol, a protestor holding a sign reading "Victory to Iraq" and a still photo of me saying "Kay Slaughter and the liberals in Congress opposed fighting Saddam Hussein." The President Elect, who also got into politics because of his principles, ran the kind of campaign I strove to run. I plan to celebrate his victory (with my daughter) and that of Congressman Tom Perriello (VA) on Inauguration Day. I worked for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- canvassing when I swore I never would again -- and standing in the rain at a Republican precinct on Election Day. A lifelong Virginia Democrat, I proffered mint juleps to my election night guests as Virginia went Democratic. I will be in Washington on Inauguration Day as it will be the most significant Inauguration of my lifetime and, I hope, the beginning of a better day in America and the world.

"Father's Day": Tom Perriello for 5th District of Virginia, U.S. Congress

2008-11-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

Listen to Vito Perriello's endorsement of his son: Priceless.

http://www.perrielloforcongress.com/assets/media/vito_mix_a.mp3

SATURDAY BEFORE ELECTION DAY: Canvassing in Cumberland

2008-11-02T11:55:00.000-05:00

Gold and orange trees with the streams of noonday sun marked the path as we moved into Cumberland County, Virginia: We had exited Interstate 64, swung South along Route 15, then east along the Rivanna River and south again into the small rural southern County of Cumberland, tucked between Prince Edward and Farmville to the South, now-largely suburban Goochland and Powhatan to the North and East, and Charlottesville-oriented Fluvanna to the West.

A lifelong Virginian, I'd seldom gone through Dixie or Columbia, Va., and I had never set foot in Cumberland Court House. Now friend Kate and I were searching for 40 or so undecided voters to urge them to vote for Obama, Warner and especially Tom Perriello for Congress, who as we found out, was probably the least well known.

At the first house, where someone was home, we met Bonnie, a 60-year-old white woman in front of her TV. Legally blind, she had already voted already as absentee.

"May we ask who you voted for?" I inquired.

"Obama" replied Bonnie. Then, her 82-year-old mother entered the room, eyes sparkling as she nodded that she too had voted for Obama.

Bonnie told us that Obama was the more thoughtful of the candidates, that McCain was just like Bush. "When he talks, his voice even sounds like Bush. I can't tell 'em apart," she said. Obama, she thought, was calmer, more presidential. She thinks he's the right one.

Bonnie had lived her entire life in this house in Cumberland.

A little later, I walked a flyer up to a house that I thought was empty. But Joe came outside. A 64-year old retired cop from Virginia Beach, he said he (and his wife) are among the one out of 7 who are undecided. "I'll decide on Monday," he said. He likes Obama but is worried about having a unified Congress and President. He does not like Nancy Pelosi so I steered the conversation back to how Obama would be good for the county, could unify and direct Congress, working across the aisle.

"He can help us with the economy," I argued. "John McCain hasn't been interested in economic issues and has even said at times that economics is not his cup of tea."

Joe nodded, he was truly undecided and he wanted to talk -- I didn't try to disabuse him of his prejudices about Pelosi. He was mad at Mark Warner because he raised taxes but seemed supportive of him as senator. He did say that he and his wife would be voting for Tom Perriello.

"Virgil Goode has been there too long," he said.

When I returned to the car, Kate said she was sorry she wasn't there with me. "I think I'm being a political therapist," I said. "People want to talk. They want someone to listen to their concerns."

Later, we wended our way along a path back to a small farm where we met the mother of a home-schooled child who told us she was voting for Obama but didn't know much about the others. We looked at her pet mule and the goats she no longer milks because her daughter is a vegan. Leaving the farm, we stopped at a whimsical wooden staircase rising up to a platform among the trees.

In a small enclave of houses in the country, we met a young African American male, who was just chilling in his yard. He couldn't vote, he said. While we didn't ask, we assumed he had a conviction. Too late to get him re-enfranchised and registered this time.

Nearby lived his aunt, a 92-year-old African-American woman. She is voting for Obama. "I loved Kennedy," she said. "I loved that man." She was unclear about the other candidates so we reminded her about Governor Mark Warner. Kate told her that Tom Perriello was cut from the same cloth, that Perriello and Warner and Obama represent a new generation of leaders. Tell your friends, we said, as we left our Perriello flyer.

As Kate drove us back toward Charlottesville, I leaned out the window taking photographs of the colors that flew past us in the diminishing light. This has been the most beautiful Fall ever.

Yes, and if we win on Tuesday, it will be even more beautiful than I could have imagined.

TAKING IT BACK WITH BARACK (FOR SWING VOTERS)

2008-11-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

Remembering Lady Bird Johnson: Liz Carpenter: A Hillary supporter's case for voting for Obama

2008-10-31T21:31:00.000-04:00

In 1960, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson took a whistle stop train tour on behalf of Kennedy-Johnson ticket through a number of small towns, including my family's hometown of Culpeper, Virginia. I have always remembered Lyndon Johnson's words as he left Culpeper in the dust -- "What has Richard Nixon ever done for Culpeper?" It amused Culpeper citizens and my family at the time and it still makes me chuckle today. I thought of that campaign fondly as I read Liz Carpenter's piece about a later campaign by the Johnsons. I hope you enjoy it. . . . Womanpolitico -- Kay Slaughter

06:11 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Liz Carpenter was press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson from 1963 to 1969 and is a best-selling author. Jim Comer is a speaker and the author of "When Roles Reverse: A Guide to Parenting Your Parents."

Forty-four years ago this month, I boarded a train at Washington's Union Station with Lady Bird Johnson for a 1,682-mile whistle stop campaign. We stopped 47 times, in towns large and small. Along the way, Lady Bird faced down hecklers, spoke to hundreds of thousands of voters and made history. Just three months earlier, President Johnson had signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, which ended discrimination in public accommodations. For the first time, African-Americans had full access to restaurants, hotels, theaters and public transportation. Many Southerners were furious with the president.

But we couldn't write off the South in the election, and, with her blend of gentility and grit, Lady Bird was the perfect surrogate. As I planned her schedule, she told me, "Don't give me the easy towns, Liz. Let me take the tough ones."

While her charm came through, she did not mince words. In a Southern accent that she shared with her audiences, she said, "The hard duty of assuring equal constitutional rights to all Americans falls, not only on the president but on all who love this land. I am sure we will rise to that duty. We are a nation of laws, not men, and our greatness is our ability to adjust to the national consensus."

Those words were powerful but not popular. We faced hecklers at some stops, crude signs at others, and even death threats. Our roughest moments came in Charleston, S.C., where the hecklers would not stop, and neither would Lady Bird. Her courageous words got through, overwhelming the messengers of hate.

More than four decades have passed. I turned 88 a few days after the Democratic Party nominated an African-American as its candidate for president.

Much credit goes to President Johnson who persuaded senators to pass a tough civil rights bill after a hundred years of filibuster and delay. Barack Obama's nomination would not have been possible without presidential leadership and the work of thousands of unsung heroes, some who gave their lives to ensure "equal justice under the law."

Although I was an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter in the primaries and feel she would make a great president, I believe her spirited contest with Mr. Obama strengthened each of them. For the last four months of the campaign, the two major candidates agreed on 90 percent of the issues.

While I look forward to the day we have a woman in the Oval Office, I'm happy to endorse Barack Obama. He is right on the issues, smart and unafraid to surround himself with people who challenge his views.

Hillary has made scores of speeches supporting Mr. Obama. If she can get over her loss, so can we. Any Democrat who considers supporting John McCain must count the cost of such a vote: Four more years of Bush policies, the continuation of the war in Iraq, expanded tax cuts for the rich, no progress in health care reform, right-wing Supreme Court justices and a vice president who is profoundly unprepared to be president. Sarah Palin is against everything the women's movement stands for: She may be female in gender, but she's a good old boy at heart.

As I cast my ballot, I'll be remembering 1964 and the Lady Bird Special slowly winding its way through the South. I'll hear the cheers and the hecklers. I'll recall the soft-spoken courage of Lady Bird, who went into her beloved South and campaigned for long-overdue change.

And I'll picture a 3-year-old named Barack Obama who grew up, believing that he, too, had a chance to become president.

Liz Carpenter was press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson from 1963 to 1969 and is a best-selling author. Jim Comer is a speaker and the author of "When Roles Reverse: A Guide to Parenting Your Parents

TOM PERRIELLO FOR CONGRESS !

2008-10-28T22:17:00.001-04:00

Goode Race Could Be Election Surprise
October 28, 2008
By John McArdle
Roll Call Staff

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DANVILLE, Va. — When Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) finally took the stage to roaring applause from 500 supporters at the Danville Community Market on Friday, he picked up right where 5th district Congressional candidate Tom Perriello (D) left off, hammering Republicans for policies that led to the nation’s current economic crisis.
The rally in Danville was well-timed. This week, the city is set to demolish a condemned portion of the now-defunct Long Mill textile plant, which for decades was at the heart of the town’s textile industry and a major employer for Danville residents. The mill closed down in the mid-1990s, and plans to turn the site into a new shopping and residential center never materialized.

Perriello’s camp views the mill as a symbol of the economic decline that Southside Virginia has experienced under Rep. Virgil Goode (R) and an example of why new leadership, focused on reviving small businesses, is needed in the 5th district.

That message has caught fire. Now, Perriello — a 34-year old attorney who was a political unknown when he entered the race — could be the surprise of the commonwealth on election night.

If he wins, it will be a sign that the Democratic wave on Election Day has turned into a flood.

Polls taken just two months ago showed the six-term Congressman ahead by more than 30 points in this conservative south-central Virginia district. Perriello’s internal polling, taken in mid-October, showed him just 6 points behind.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sees an opportunity in the district. The committee has spent $325,000 in independent expenditures in recent weeks on the race, most of it going to fund TV ads. By comparison, Perriello’s entire media budget for the cycle is about $750,000.

As of last week, the DCCC began buying time in the Richmond media market, which covers about 15 percent of the district. It was an area that Perriello’s campaign had already deemed too expensive to play in on television, and the campaign had planned to cover the territory with mailings and field operations.

Perriello is also expected to benefit from a Democratic presidential campaign that has made Virginia a priority this cycle. That could be especially important because Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) presence on the ticket is expected to boost voter turnout among the district’s 24 percent black population. Perriello’s latest polling numbers conservatively estimated that black voters would make up 18 percent of the electorate on Election Day, leaving plenty of room for growth.

“He’s young, he’s energetic, he can raise money and this is the right time,” Joyce Glaise, a former Danville City Council member, said as she headed into the Biden rally on Friday.

But another Democratic supporter noted as she was waiting in line that the 5th district “is very Republican, so it’s going to take a lot.”

The 5th district voted for President Bush by double-digit margins in 2000 and 2004, and Goode’s worst performance in six elections came in 2006 when he beat Democrat Al Weed by a very comfortable 19-point margin.

Goode does his own press and prides himself for being “hands-on” when it comes to constituent issues.

That trait — not to mention his pronounced southwestern Virginia drawl — has made it very hard for any Democrat to argue that Goode has “gone Washington” during his time on Capitol Hill.

But Goode’s hands-on approach in almost every aspect of his campaign has also been criticized by some Republicans, who say it isn’t a feasible way to run a modern campaign.

One Virginia Republican consultant argued Monday that Goode runs “a 19th-century campaign in the 21st century” and that it allowed an unknown candidate to establish himself and become credible in a contest that should have been a slam-dunk for Goode.

“At the end of the day, does Virgil lose? No. He’s too well-known. But at some point in time, this election ought to serve as a wake-up call” for how Goode runs his campaigns, the consultant said.

As the race has narrowed in recent weeks, Goode’s response has been to paint Perriello as a liberal lawyer whose political philosophy doesn’t fit with the conservative values of the district.

Perriello was raised in Albemarle County, which is home to the liberal bastion of Charlottesville, and he earned his law degree in Connecticut at Yale University. After school, he worked for a nonprofit organization in New York.

At the Biden campaign event on Friday, a Republican staging a one-man counter-rally called Perriello “a liberal carpetbagger.”

“He left here to go to New York to become a lawyer,” said Elmer Woodard, himself a lawyer in Danville. “If he was so concerned about us, why did he leave here in the first place?”

Goode said Perriello’s law school and New York connections are what gave him the ability to raise a staggering $1.5 million as of Oct. 15. Goode has raised $1.49 million this cycle. In 2006, Weed raised less than $600,000 when he challenged Goode.

“The New York money and the California money has allowed him to attract more DCCC money,” Goode said on Monday.

According to campaign finance information complied by CQ MoneyLine, Perriello has brought in just under $200,000 from New York and just over $100,000 from donors in California.

“You have to be fearful of someone like him who is New York slick,” Goode said.

Goode noted that Perriello has made much of his promise this cycle not to take donations from corporate political action committees but “corporate PACs give money to [Rep.] Charlie Rangel [D-N.Y.] and Charlie Rangel gives to him.”

Goode argues that Perriello is playing loose with the truth when he blames Goode for the region’s job losses.

“We’ve lost manufacturing jobs because of free-trade agreements,” Goode said. He said that what workers in Southside Virginia really needed in recent years was more Members of Congress voting against free-trade agreements.

But Perriello told the crowd at Friday’s rally that it’s Goode who likes to twist the truth, especially when he’s scared of losing. He cited a recent television commercial with a picture of the Democrat that Perriello says was darkened and altered in order to make him appear more sinister.

“From one side we have a politics of fear. A politics of trying to survive by convincing people just how scary the alternative is instead of offering a plan for change,” Perriello told the crowd. “We’ve seen it from my opponent, Congressman Goode. ... I tell you this: The 10,000 jobs we’ve lost during Congressman Goode’s time is a lot scarier than that picture.”

October 12 Electoral Map Picks by Kay Slaughter from "The Fix" Contest in Washington Post

2008-10-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

<p><strong>><a href='http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/'>2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election and enter to win a $500 prize.</p>

I gave Obama the states Kerry won and then added in Virginia, New Mexico, and North Carolina, where I believe he is currently leading.

THE HARDEST VOTE by George Packer, The New Yorker

2008-10-12T11:11:00.000-04:00

Barbie Snodgrass had agreed to meet me at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, on a strip of fast-food restaurants and auto shops west of downtown Columbus, Ohio, but she didn’t have much time to talk. Her shift as a receptionist at a medical clinic, which got her out of the house at six in the morning, had just ended, at three; the drive home, to a housing development in a working-class suburb south of the city, took half an hour. She then had a little more than an hour to eat, change clothes, let the dog out, check up on her sister’s two teen-age daughters—Sierra and Ashley, who were under her care—and then drive back into Columbus, where she worked the evening shift cleaning the studios of a local television station, and where her day ended, at ten. She also worked some weekends. She was forty-two, single, overweight, and suffering from stomach pains.

Snodgrass sat down at my table and refused the offer of a soft drink. She was wearing a drab ensemble of gray cotton sweatpants and a loose-fitting pale-yellow knit top, and her brown hair fell in bangs just above her eyes. I asked for her thoughts about the Presidential candidates, and she said, “Someone who makes two hundred or three hundred thousand a year, who eats a regular meal, who doesn’t have to struggle, who doesn’t worry if the lights are going to be turned out—if he doesn’t walk in your shoes, he can’t understand.”

In Snodgrass’s shoes, it hardly made sense to draw a paycheck. “You’re working for what?” she asked. She hadn’t finished college, and the two jobs that kept her “constantly moving” brought in a little more than forty thousand dollars a year, but after the mortgage (a thousand a month), car payments (three hundred and fifty), levies for supplies at the girls’ public high school, fuel, electricity, stomach medicine, and a hundred dollars’ worth of groceries each week (down from eight bags to four at Kroger’s supermarket, because of inflation) there was basically nothing left to spend. She could cut corners—go out for a McDonald’s Dollar Meal instead of spending seven dollars on a bag of potatoes and cooking at home. But that meant the end of any kind of family life for her nieces.

“These days, you have to struggle,” she said. “As a kid, I used to be able to go to the movies or to the zoo. Now you can’t take your children to the zoo or go to the movies, because you’ve got to think how you’re going to put food on the table.” Snodgrass’s parents had raised four children on two modest incomes, without the ceaseless stress that she was enduring. But the two-parent family was now available only to the “very privileged.” She said that she had ten good friends; eight of them were childless or, like her, unmarried with kids. “That’s who’s middle-class now,” she said. “Two parents, two kids? That’s over. People looked out for me. These kids nowadays don’t have nobody to look out for them. You’re one week away from (a) losing your job, or (b) not having a paycheck.”

Snodgrass, who has always voted Democratic, was paying close attention to the Presidential campaign—she had taped both candidates’ Convention speeches, and watched them when she had time—but her faith in politicians was somewhere close to zero. She wanted a leader who would watch out for people in the “middle class,” people like her who had no one on their side. “I think McCain is going to be just like Bush the next eight years,” she said. “I don’t see how it’s going to change.” To her, Sarah Palin, a working mother close to her own age, felt more like a token choice than like a kindred spirit. “I think McCain picked her so women can relate to her, not because she’s the best person for the job,” Snodgrass said. “She’s more of a show for the American family.” Hillary Clinton had been better, but even she couldn’t fully apprehend Barbie Snodgrass’s predicament.

She remained uninspired by Barack Obama. His Convention speech had gone into detail about his policy proposals on matters like the economy and health care, which seemed tailored to attract a voter like Snodgrass, but they filled her with suspicion. His promise to rescind the Bush tax cuts for wealthier Americans struck her as incredible: “How many people do you know who make two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? What is that, five per cent of the United States? That’s a joke! If he starts at a hundred thousand, I might listen. Two hundred fifty—that’s to me like people who hit the lottery.” In fact, only two per cent of Americans make more than a quarter of a million dollars a year, but that group earns twelve per cent of the national income. Nonetheless, the circumstances of Snodgrass’s life made it impossible for her to imagine that there could possibly be enough taxable money in Obama’s upper-income category—which meant that he was being dishonest, and that she would eventually be the one to pay. “He’ll keep going down, and when it’s to people who make forty-five or fifty thousand it’s going to hit me,” she said. “I’d have to sell my home and live in a five-hundred-dollar-a-month apartment with gang bangers out in my yard, and I’d be scared to death to leave my house.”

TO CONTINUE THIS ARTICLE GO TO: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/13/081013fa_fact_packer

SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY POLL (BOSTON) PUTS OBAMA AHEAD IN VIRGINIA

2008-10-06T14:19:00.000-04:00

Though the Commonwealth of Virginia has voted Republican in ten straight Presidential elections, a new poll by Suffolk University signals that Democrat Barack Obama is poised to break that historic streak. Obama (51 percent) leads Republican John McCain (39 percent) by 12 percentage points. "Barack Obama has built a coalition of suburban DC area progressives from the north, African-American voters from the south, and young voters statewide," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. “That broad-based support suggests a 44-year Republican run in the Old Dominion State, dating back to Lyndon Johnson’s victory in 1964, is in jeopardy."

The poll shows last Thursday’s vice presidential debate was a net plus for the Democratic ticket. Exactly three-quarters (75 percent) of likely voters watched and scored Joe Biden (46 percent) the clear winner over Sarah Palin (26 percent), while 20 percent said neither won the debate. When asked if the debate affected their presidential selection, 32 percent said it made them more likely to vote Obama, while 18 percent said the debate moved them to McCain, and 47 percent said the debate didn’t affect their decision.

“The toxic state of the economy in the final year of the Bush Administration is making many Republican candidates radioactive,” Paleologos said. “As has been the case in other Suffolk battleground states, the recent Wall Street and economic turmoil has been costly to the Republican party in Virginia.”

When likely voters were asked which political party -- if any -- deserved blame for the shaky economy, 39 percent blamed the Republicans; 15 percent blamed Democrats; 31 percent said neither; and 13 percent were undecided. And when asked which candidate voters trusted more, Obama led McCain 50 percent to 37 percent, a dramatic uptick from other recent Suffolk surveys in other battleground states.In the clash between the Old Dominion’s two former governors, Democrat Mark Warner (57 percent) leads Republican Jim Gilmore (25 percent). Independent Greens candidate Glenda Gail Parker secured 1 percent; 15 percent were undecided; and 2 percent refused to pick a candidate.The economy/jobs issue (52 percent) dwarfed all other issues in the survey, including the Iraq War (9 percent) and healthcare (8 percent). Taxes, moral values, terrorism, and education all tied with 6 percent.
The Virginia bellwethers disagreed on the presidential winner. In Accomack County, Obama led McCain 41 percent to 40 percent, but in the city of Chesapeake McCain led Obama 42 percent to 36 percent. Bellwether ID’s are designed to predict outcomes - not margins - and to supplement the Suffolk statewide polls.

In 2008, Suffolk University bellwethers, when they agreed on an outcome, were 95 percent accurate in predicting straight-up winners in both Democratic and Republican primaries, and, when in agreement with the statewide Suffolk polls of the respective states, were 100 percent accurate in predicting straight-up winners.

The Suffolk University poll was conducted Friday, October 3, 2008, through Sunday, October 5, 2008. The margin of error on the study of 600 is +/- 4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the Virginia statewide survey were likely voters. In the bellwether polls, there were 282 respondents from Chesapeake city and 303 respondents from Accomack County, and both were surveyed separately from the statewide poll. Marginals and 120 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site on Monday, October 6, 2008. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

http://www.suffolk.edu/31220.html

WOMANPOLITICO COMMENT: I guess I'll have to change my electoral map (see below), since I have been very pessimistic about the Democratic presidential candidate winning Virginia. If the Suffolk University poll is correct and this trend continues in Virginia, then it may be an indication that there will be an overwhelming Obama victory in the electoral college. I hope so !

FLIRTING HER WAY TO VICTORY: THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN ON SARAH PALIN

2008-10-04T06:58:00.000-04:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/oct/03/sarah.palin.debate.feminism

Sarah Palin's farcical debate performance lowered the standards for both female candidates and US political discourse

Michelle Goldberg
guardian.co.uk,
Friday October 03 2008 18:30 BST

At least three times last night, Sarah Palin, the adorable, preposterous vice-presidential candidate, winked at the audience. Had a male candidate with a similar reputation for attractive vapidity made such a brazen attempt to flirt his way into the good graces of the voting public, it would have universally noted, discussed and mocked. Palin, however, has single-handedly so lowered the standards both for female candidates and American political discourse that, with her newfound ability to speak in more-or-less full sentences, she is now deemed to have performed acceptably last night.By any normal standard, including the ones applied to male presidential candidates of either party, she did not. Early on, she made the astonishing announcement that she had no intentions of actually answering the queries put to her. "I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also," she said.

And so she preceded, with an almost surreal disregard for the subjects she was supposed to be discussing, to unleash fusillades of scripted attack lines, platitudes, lies, gibberish and grating references to her own pseudo-folksy authenticity. It was an appalling display. The only reason it was not widely described as such is that too many American pundits don't even try to judge the truth, wisdom or reasonableness of the political rhetoric they are paid to pronounce upon. Instead, they imagine themselves as interpreters of a mythical mass of "average Americans" who they both venerate and despise.

In pronouncing upon a debate, they don't try and determine whether a candidate's responses correspond to existing reality, or whether he or she is capable of talking about subjects such as the deregulation of the financial markets or the devolution of the war in Afghanistan. The criteria are far more vaporous. In this case, it was whether Palin could avoid utterly humiliating herself for 90 minutes, and whether urbane commentators would believe that she had connected to a public that they see as ignorant and sentimental. For the Alaska governor, mission accomplished. There is indeed something mesmerising about Palin, with her manic beaming and fulsome confidence in her own charm. The force of her personality managed to slightly obscure the insulting emptiness of her answers last night. It's worth reading the transcript of the encounter, where it becomes clearer how bizarre much of what she said was. Here, for example, is how she responded to Biden's comments about how the middle class has been short-changed during the Bush administration, and how McCain will continue Bush's policies:

Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced [sic] your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education, and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? ... My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.

Evidently, Palin's pre-debate handlers judged her incapable of speaking on a fairly wide range of subjects, and so instructed to her to simply disregard questions that did not invite memorised talking points or cutesy filibustering. They probably told her to play up her spunky average-ness, which she did to the point of shtick - and dishonesty. Asked what her achilles heel is - a question she either didn't understand or chose to ignore - she started in on how McCain chose her because of her "connection to the heartland of America. Being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child, about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills?"None of Palin's children, it should be noted, is heading off to college. Her son is on the way to Iraq, and her pregnant 17-year-old daughter is engaged to be married to a high-school dropout and self-described "fuckin' redneck". Palin is a woman who can't even tell the truth about the most quotidian and public details of her own life, never mind about matters of major public import. In her only vice-presidential debate, she was shallow, mendacious and phoney. What kind of maverick, after all, keeps harping on what a maverick she is? That her performance was considered anything but a farce doesn't show how high Palin has risen, but how low we all have sunk.

GASOLINE BLUES

2008-09-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

By Kay Slaughter

Distress at the gas pump won’t be resolved by drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, despite the American propensity, when frustrated, to act, even if that action is largely meaningless. The politicians are pandering to polls showing that people want elected officials to do something -- anything -- to reduce the cost of gas. Drilling won't do that and politicians need to tell them.

The government’s own estimates are that, at best, the entire Atlantic Coast would yield 100 days of gasoline. There is no evidence that additional leases would lead to lower prices or that the oil, in particular, would even be used in the U. S.

Moreover, if exploration starts now, we can expect any oil to materialize in about 10 to 20 years.

The oil companies would love to have more "futures" on which to speculate and more leases to pick from.

Here are some other facts:

While the numbers of permits for the oil and gas development on federal lands has risen by more than 361%, gasoline prices during this same time period have also risen.
Moreover, only 10.5 million acres of the 44 million currently leased are producing oil or gas. Oil and gas companies hold leases to nearly 68 million acres of federal land and waters that are not producing oil and gas.
According to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, opening up the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions “would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030.
Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017.”
Because oil prices are determined on the international market, “any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.”

But what about the environmental costs?

First, the consequences of off shore drilling on the coastal areas are often overlooked. To support oil and gas exploration and development, new roads, pipelines, ports, and industrial processing facilities must be built on the nearby coasts. In the South Atlantic, this would include the area around Virginia Beach, the outer banks of North Carolina, or nearby estuaries.
These will have devastating impact on coastal areas, wetlands and sensitive lands that are already stressed with development.

There are many consequences from the exploration and drilling:

“Airguns” sending thousands of blasts of seismic waves into the ocean reveal oil and gas resources. These blasts have led to mass strandings of whales and other marine mammals and harm fish, thus resulting in decreased commercial fishing catches.
Offshore drilling results in the discharge of substantial drilling muds and "produced waters". These contain lots of toxins including mercury, radium and other materials that are harmful to life. The dumping of muds also smothers sea life on the ocean floor. At high concentrations, the pollutants kill marine life. At lower concentrations, they cause birth defects and impaired growth.
Accidental oil spills resulting from human error or equipment failure cause irreversible harm to ocean life. Just remember, oil spreads on water at a rate of one half a football field per second. It is toxic to marine life, andcannot be fully cleaned up. Despite industry claims, technological advances have not protected drilling from storms or spill prevention.
For example, Department of Interior's Mineral Management Service reports that 435,330 gallons of oil spilled from platforms and drilling rigs during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
An additional 306,054 gallons of oil leaked from pipelines damaged during these storms.
More than 7 million gallons of petroleum products spilled from onshore operations, reminding us that the transport of oil and gas via pipeline and tankers invites many risks k of leakage and spill.
Air becomes polluted from oil and gas drilling due to ozone, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur compounds.
Ships transporting oil and gas also discharge harmful air pollutants as a result of the low-grade fuel they burn and the fugitive emissions from the materials they are carrying.

Are all these impacts worth 100 days of oil ?

According to CBS program, Fast Draw [check out the video on this page], although John McCain has ridiculed Barack Obama for his suggestions, we could save 7 billion gallons of gas from inflating tires, reducing highway speed by 5 miles AND dealing with obesity (so the cars aren’t carrying such fat people). Offshore oil drilling by contrast would bring only 1.4 billion gallons of gas.

Instead of lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling, which will not lead to lower gasoline prices, other steps, such as energy efficiency measures and the development of alternative fuels, will lead to lower fuel costs and reduced dependency on fossil fuels. We should talk about the facts to our friends . . . and to our politicians.

WRONG WOMAN, WRONG MESSAGE BY GLORIA STEINEM

2008-09-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."This is not to beat up on Palin. I defend her right to be wrong, even on issues that matter most to me. I regret that people say she can't do the job because she has children in need of care, especially if they wouldn't say the same about a father. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience. Palin has been honest about what she doesn't know. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."
She was elected governor largely because the incumbent was unpopular, and she's won over Alaskans mostly by using unprecedented oil wealth to give a $1,200 rebate to every resident. Now she is being praised by McCain's campaign as a tax cutter, despite the fact that Alaska has no state income or sales tax. Perhaps McCain has opposed affirmative action for so long that he doesn't know it's about inviting more people to meet standards, not lowering them. Or perhaps McCain is following the Bush administration habit, as in the Justice Department, of putting a job candidate's views on "God, guns and gays" ahead of competence. The difference is that McCain is filling a job one 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.So let's be clear: The culprit is John McCain. He may have chosen Palin out of change-envy, or a belief that women can't tell the difference between form and content, but the main motive was to please right-wing ideologues; the same ones who nixed anyone who is now or ever has been a supporter of reproductive freedom. If that were not the case, McCain could have chosen a woman who knows what a vice president does and who has thought about Iraq; someone like Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. McCain could have taken a baby step away from right-wing patriarchs who determine his actions, right down to opposing the Violence Against Women Act. Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.I don't doubt her sincerity. As a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., she doesn't just support killing animals from helicopters, she does it herself. She doesn't just talk about increasing the use of fossil fuels but puts a coal-burning power plant in her own small town. She doesn't just echo McCain's pledge to criminalize abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade, she says that if one of her daughters were impregnated by rape or incest, she should bear the child. She not only opposes reproductive freedom as a human right but implies that it dictates abortion, without saying that it also protects the right to have a child.So far, the major new McCain supporter that Palin has attracted is James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Of course, for Dobson, "women are merely waiting for their husbands to assume leadership," so he may be voting for Palin's husband.Being a hope-a-holic, however, I can see two long-term bipartisan gains from this contest.Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.And American women, who suffer more because of having two full-time jobs than from any other single injustice, finally have support on a national stage from male leaders who know that women can't be equal outside the home until men are equal in it. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are campaigning on their belief that men should be, can be and want to be at home for their children.This could be huge.

Gloria Steinem is an author, feminist organizer and co-founder of the Women's Media Center. She supported Hillary Clinton and is now supporting Barack Obama.

Accidental President?

2008-09-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

By Kay Slaughter

Pundits note that in naming Sarah Palin as his Veep pick, John McCain takes a political risk calculated to shore up the Republican Conservatives AND reach out to independent women and disaffected Hillary voters.

What pundits haven't recognized is that the risk is not just McCain's political calculus, but also a risk to the nation. If John McCain were elected, Sarah Palin would be a "heartbeat away" from being president; if McCain were to die, Sarah Palin would become an "accidental President."

I'm only a few years younger than John McCain, and I know that "stuff happens" as you hit your senior years. McCain has already defeated deadly melanoma twice. Every presidential candidate needs a qualified running mate. However, as an older candidate, according to actuarial tables, McCain especially needs a well qualified VEEP.

Sarah Palin is feisty. She can deliver one liners with humor, energy and good timing. But so far, she has not explained her qualifications to take over the highest office in the land. She has not explained her views on a variety of presidential matters. Even Dan Quayle (the oft-ridiculed vice president under George I) looks more qualified than Palin.

I was a Hillary supporter because I believed her to be the best qualified candidate of either party. It's an insult to think that women would vote solely on the basis of gender. I, for one, do not want an accidental female president ... especially one as unqualified and untried as Sarah Palin.

MORE ON SARAH PALIN

2008-09-11T20:29:00.000-04:00

Please take a couple minutes out of your day to watch these funny and fact based videos about how Governor Palin has completely miss-represented her record. And of course please send this along to anyone else who might be interested.

Our response should not be based on her experience or ideology, it should be based on the fact that she has lied to America about her real record. American, if Governor Palin is willing to lie about her record, what else will she lie about!?

Videos below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbOyhhVYPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xbn_AXlaeY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieuA7nAOBXQ

Remember, Governor Palin is a complete unknown to American, and what our fellow citizens assume they know about her is that she is a "mavericky" reformer. This is a paper thin reputation that we can pop like a balloon.

If you have extra time here are some more resources:

Palin's eBay Story: What Actually Happened

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/10/palins-ebay-story-what-ac_n_125361.html

So What Did Palin Request in Federal Earmarks? Seal DNA Research!

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/

This is particularly galling because if you remember McCain is found of saying that he'll make the names of wasteful government spenders "famous"; and one of the examples he uses is a an earmark to study grizzly bear DNA. Well, evidently he has made one those wasteful government spenders quite famous!!!

Follow up post on earmarks:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/9/11/02449/9021

Wall St. Journal: Ethics Adviser Warned Palin About Trooper Issue

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122109403841221751.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

Wall St. Journal: Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claims

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB122090791901411709.html

Media debunking Governor Palin's 'Bridge' claim summary video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HEVV7KmsGc&eurl=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This might be the most worthwhile missive sent around so far.
Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the
announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere
partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce—on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate—that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to
ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the
accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience—the greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

Sincerely,
Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE by Thomas Friedman, NYT Sept. 3

2008-09-04T07:49:00.000-04:00

As we emerge from Labor Day, college students are gathering back on campuses not only to start the fall semester, but also, in some cases, to vote for the first time in a presidential election. There is no bigger issue on campuses these days than environment/energy. Going into this election, I thought that — for the first time — we would have a choice between two “green” candidates. That view is no longer operative — and college students (and everyone else) need to understand that.

With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.

Given the fact that Senator McCain deliberately avoided voting on all eight attempts to pass a bill extending the vital tax credits and production subsidies to expand our wind and solar industries, and given his support for lowering the gasoline tax in a reckless giveaway that would only promote more gasoline consumption and intensify our addiction to oil, and given his desire to make more oil-drilling, not innovation around renewable energy, the centerpiece of his energy policy — in an effort to mislead voters that support for drilling today would translate into lower prices at the pump today — McCain has forfeited any claim to be a green candidate.

So please, students, when McCain comes to your campus and flashes a few posters of wind turbines and solar panels, ask him why he has been AWOL when it came to Congress supporting these new technologies.

“Back in June, the Republican Party had a round-up,” said Carl Pope, the executive director of the Sierra Club. “One of the unbranded cattle — a wizened old maverick name John McCain — finally got roped. Then they branded him with a big ‘Lazy O’ — George Bush’s brand, where the O stands for oil. No more maverick.

“One of McCain’s last independent policies putting him at odds with Bush was his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” added Pope, “yet he has now picked a running mate who has opposed holding big oil accountable and been dismissive of alternative energy while focusing her work on more oil drilling in a wildlife refuge and off of our coasts. While the northern edge of her state literally falls into the rising Arctic Ocean, Sarah Palin says, ‘The jury is still out on global warming.’ She’s the one hanging the jury — and John McCain is going to let her.”

Indeed, Palin’s much ballyhooed confrontations with the oil industry have all been about who should get more of the windfall profits, not how to end our addiction.

Barack Obama should be doing more to promote his green agenda, but at least he had the courage, in the heat of a Democratic primary, not to pander to voters by calling for a lifting of the gasoline tax. And while he has come out for a limited expansion of offshore drilling, he has refrained from misleading voters that this is in any way a solution to our energy problems.

I am not against a limited expansion of off-shore drilling now. But it is a complete sideshow. By constantly pounding into voters that his energy focus is to “drill, drill, drill,” McCain is diverting attention from what should be one of the central issues in this election: who has the better plan to promote massive innovation around clean power technologies and energy efficiency.

Why? Because renewable energy technologies — what I call “E.T.” — are going to constitute the next great global industry. They will rival and probably surpass “I.T.” — information technology. The country that spawns the most E.T. companies will enjoy more economic power, strategic advantage and rising standards of living. We need to make sure that is America. Big oil and OPEC want to make sure it is not.

Palin’s nomination for vice president and her desire to allow drilling in the Alaskan wilderness “reminded me of a lunch I had three and half years ago with one of the Russian trade attachés,” global trade consultant Edward Goldberg said to me. “After much wine, this gentleman told me that his country was very pleased that the Bush administration wanted to drill in the Alaskan wilderness. In his opinion, the amount of product one could actually derive from there was negligible in terms of needs. However, it signified that the Bush administration was not planning to do anything to create alternative energy, which of course would threaten the economic growth of Russia.”

So, college students, don’t let anyone tell you that on the issue of green, this election is not important. It is vitally important, and the alternatives could not be more black and white.
More Articles in Opinion » A version of this article appeared in print on September 3, 2008, on page A25 of the New York edition.

Drilling for Oil: Another Act in the Tragedy of the Commons

2008-09-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

The whole issue of offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Atlantic Ocean means the potential loss to others who enjoy and profit from the bounty of this common resource. The oceans of the earth are "commons" for all the peoples and shared by many nations. As with public lands within the continental borders, the U.S. has long understood that it can lease the ocean floors: that's what the offshore oil leasing program is all about.

From our British roots, this country has long utilized the concept of the commons. Even in the early years of the country, the colonists believed that the ocean, rivers and estuaries were open to all -- Native Americans, British and French traders, colonists -- to fish and to gather clams or oysters.

Although the seas were seen as common to all, by the 18th century, most nations came to recognize the sovereignty a country had over its territorial waters, defined as the the 12-miles from its shore. At the same time, the U.S. came to realize that its lands could be used for settlement, growth of the nation and profit.

In this same vein, the US now leases oil and gas exploration rights in the oceans -- it has been leasing in the Gulf of Mexico for some decades and also in the Pacific.

Now, the government through the Department of Interior may lift its decades-old moratorium on drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, opening the way for the granting of long term leases to oil and gas exploration companies.

This is another example of the loss of the commons. Currently, fishermen are free to fish in these areas. Even though they can still technically fish these areas after the oil and gas leases are in place, the impacts of these industries -- the pollution from mud drills and production waters -- will impact the fish that live in the Atlantic and the fishermen who catch them for our food and their profit.

If the politicians decide to lift the moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic, they will be bowing to public polls, not to rational arguments. (See "Gasoline Blues" below).

The true tragedy of the commons -- in classic terms -- is that as each party seeks to maximize profits by using it more, the finite commons, in this case the ocean (and yes, even the oceans are finite) will be ruined for all.

According to Garrett Hardin, the 1960s scientist who popularized this concept, the only solution to the tragedy is "mutual coercion mutually agreed upon." Hardin posits that social arrangements often do define responsibility and that in the case of the commons, society through its government needs to set the limits on the use of finite resources.

We the people need to urge the politicians to say no to lifting the moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. 100 Days of Oil estimated to be at stake is not worth the loss of yet another of Earth's finite commons.

FAST DRAW: OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING

2008-08-29T18:03:00.000-04:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

2008-08-29T00:11:00.000-04:00

HILLARY CLINTON ASKS THE RIGHT QUESTION

2008-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

In her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton explained all the reasons she ran for the presidency, and she then said "Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reason you should too."

She added: "I want you to ask ourselves: were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling for cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"

This statement goes to the core of why I supported Hillary for president: She is both a great politician and a woman who is in politics because of the changes she wants to make. I feel certain she asked herself this same question: each of us who enter politics to make the world a better place at some point have to ask the same question, which boils down to: "are you in it for the ego-kick or are you in it because you care?"

This was the right question to put to her supporters listening at home and at the Democratic Convention. Hopefully, those who have been less than enthusiastic about Barack Obama will hear the question and turn a page on the campaign of 2008 and get to work.