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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (321076)	8/25/2009 6:40:08 AM
From: FJB	4 Recommendations Respond to of 793917

Obama has found a way to use unsanctioned people (czars) to govern us. It seems they all received the same marching orders - Go out and break something. Break down every element of our government and finance. Glad you pointed this out. It is insane. The reason I like Beck so much now is he seems to be the only person in the media pointing this out as well.

To: unclewest who wrote (321076)	8/25/2009 7:11:46 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	2 Recommendations Respond to of 793917

In the end, naming a Czar often yields a quick media hit and gives the impression of action. But Czars are generally tasked with tackling challenging issues that require a high level of commitment, perseverance, and resources. These issues are intractable for a reason: they involve tough questions, difficult trade-offs, and touch the lives of millions of Americans from all walks of life." This sounds more like a recipe for an administrative nightmare than a destruction of government. Obama's saving grace may be that he is incompetent.

To: unclewest who wrote (321076)	8/25/2009 7:20:23 AM
From: FJB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793917

What Van Jones' Appointment Means for Community Organizers This appointment comes on the heels of some exciting circumstances, events, and conferences that have happened just this year (and we're only 3 months in). But what does having Van Jones as this special advisor mean, not only for "enviros," but for community organizers in general? The first thing that seems striking to me, personally, is that the love that community organizers gave to Obama, because he was one of us, is well warranted! It wasn't a façade, it wasn't "poli-tricks," it wasn't a gimmick - Obama is REALLY a community organizer. The fact that Obama's administration selected a community organizer to be a special advisor for the piece of policy that could ultimately be responsible for saving this nation's pocketbook and the planet, is not only note worthy but responsible, and smart. Secondly, I mentioned above that this appointment comes on the heels of some exciting events, et cetera, that took place just this year. The Good Jobs Green Jobs conference, that took place in early February, was an exciting place to be at the moment in time it took place (right as the Senate was debating President Obama's "Green" stimulus package). Like most conferences it had its fantastic moments such as Green for All's final day plenary, and the talk of working models that are in place in states all over this nation - like Chicago and Oakland to name a few - that coincide with providing pathways out of poverty. And, of course there were some moments that could be improved upon, for instance, there still seems to be some major conversations had between community groups and labor unions. Coming out of the conference there arose some new inspirations as well as some big questions for me: One conversation that was lacking though out the main pulse of the conference was how we ensure that vulnerable communities, communities that are least responsible but most impacted by the pollution based economy, get access to this new developing green economy. And I'm not simply talking about jobs; I'm talking about how to those communities, the community that I am apart of, get access to the money that will be flowing from the federal government...if green jobs get put in the stimulus package. Then, just a few weeks later, comes this "Green" stimulus bill that gets passed by the administration, and guess what? It fully funds Green Jobs...$500 million dollars for training in new jobs to build the green-collar economy.. Next, a mere 10 days after the stimulus package is passed, there's the largest youth conference on climate change EVER! Power Shift 2009 in which 12,000 young people attended and participated in what's slated to be the biggest lobby day this country has ever seen. The atmosphere was crazy, inspired, and ready for action but I was still missing some key pieces; inspired, but still had some major questions about what this really means for people and how it plays out for folks in my community specifically. Questions like: How to we get access to those funds to foster green entrepreneurship within our communities; how do we ensure that we have enough training programs and have access to those educational and advancement opportunities; how do we talk with labor unions and work together to invest in and create apprenticeship programs that not only provide jobs for their workers; but also produce a pathway out of poverty for new workers from our community; how do we insure that people from the community are involved in and hired for the massive work that will be done on infrastructure thru this legislation? And I can think of about 20 more questions still bouncing around in my head. Having Van in this position settles my mind on some of those questions. Because, I know that he is going to be a great voice to have on the federal policy level. BUT we still have work to do! We can't depend solely on Van to carry our ideas, values, and beliefs about what green jobs should be on his own. We've still go to show up in DC, we've still got to show up in our states, and local governments. We still have to keep a watchful eye of the funds when they come down, so that we can insure that it's being used justly. We still have to make sure that training opportunities are available to the communities we represent, especially in vulnerable communities. We can celebrate the federal victory, we can even celebrate the appointment of Van to this highly important position - but we cannot be content. Not until our vision of green jobs becomes a reality, and there are real opportunities for people of color, and low-income people to get the training they need in the new green economy, to have a pathway out of poverty, to advance in their work, live with dignity and integrity. So all people can breathe clean air, eat good food, and enjoy the fullness of what this planet has to offer (like seasons). That's my humble opinion - share your thoughts on any number of these things in the comments below. m.wellstone.org

To: unclewest who wrote (321076)	8/25/2009 10:49:56 AM
From: KLP	1 Recommendation Respond to of 793917

From Wiki on Van Jones….(and also STORM below) >>>>>Having started his career as a staunch critic of capitalism, by the late 1990s Jones's views were evolving. Today, he has emerged as one of the foremost champions of green business, entrepreneurship and market-based solutions. In his book The Green Collar Economy, Jones wrote: [W]e are entering an era during which our very survival will demand invention and innovation on a scale never before seen in the history of human civilization. Only the business community has the requisite skills, experience, and capital to meet that need. On that score, neither government nor the nonprofit and voluntary sectors can compete, not even remotely. So in the end, our success and survival as a species are largely and directly tied to the new eco-entrepreneurs — and the success and survival of their enterprises. Since almost all of the needed eco-technologies are likely to come from the private sector, civic leaders and voters should do all that can be done to help green business leaders succeed. That means, in large part, electing leaders who will pass bills to aid them. We cannot realistically proceed without a strong alliance between the best of the business world — and everyone else. Speaking to the East Bay Express, Jones explained that as a young person he became further politicized in the wake of the Rodney King verdict. Jones was still a law student at Yale Law School at the time. While volunteering as a legal monitor during a peaceful protest in San Francisco following the Rodney King trial, Jones was arrested along with other legal monitors and some protesters. He and the other detainees were released after being illegally arrested; the charges were later dropped and Jones was financially compensated by the City of San Francisco's Attorneys Office for the unlawful arrest.[15] In jail, however, Van Jones said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.' I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary. I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th. By August, I was a communist."[16] In 1994 the group of activists Van Jones was involved with Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), a collective which "dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia".[16] [KLP Note: When looking up the book made by the STORM group, I found this PDF format for the 56 page book……] leftspot.com Reclaiming Revolution written by the participants of STORM….. [KLP Note #2 - Looking up STORM on Wiki, we find this…..} Per Wiki: en.wikipedia.org [edit] Origins STORM grew out of a radical people of color organization in the Bay Area called Roots Against War (RAW), which was committed to involving young people of color in direct action protests against the Gulf War. RAW emerged in the early 1990s and organized mass protests in the Bay Area around the Rodney King verdict, as well as protests in 1992 against the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas in 1492. [edit] Development & composition STORM initially included anarchists, communists and revolutionary nationalists, but after some struggle the anarchists left and STORM become more communist-oriented. STORM was also different than its predecessor group RAW because it had white members, whereas RAW was comprised only of people of color. While STORM had some white members, its membership was always more than 60 percent women and 75 percent people of color. Most of STORM's membership had never previously been in other revolutionary organizations. STORM officially dissolved in December 2002. [edit] "Sisters at the Center" Throughout its history, STORM was committed to maintaining itself as a majority women, majority people of color organization. This commitment also extended to the areas of mass work in which STORM members collectively worked. Growing out of theoretical frameworks inherited from revolutionary, third wave and Black feminisms members of STORM developed the "Sisters at the Center" slogan early on in their organization's history. Application of this slogan meant a conscious emphasis to keep women of color and working class women at the center of the organization's analysis, program and practice. [edit] Disbanding & summation After STORM disbanded, a collective summation entitled Reclaiming Revolution: History, Summation, and Lessons from the Work of Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM) was written by former STORM members, collectively endorsed by a majority of the organization's former membership and was published in Spring 2004.