Minimum Wage 
Sunday, July 30, 2006, 08:33 PM - Politics
Here's the kind of non-selfindulgent post I write for MomsRising...so sneaky of those damned Republicans to tie minimum wage increase to the estate tax repeal - they've been salivating to get that passed since '94, I'd imagine, and I'm hoping that they realize that this fall is their LAST CHANCE to get it though - their majority status is definitely not assured for the next Congress. Did I mention you should be making some phone calls??? MR post:

Just before leaving for their summer recess, the House passed a bill that would raise the federal hourly minimum wage from $5.25 to $7.25 over three years - but the other provisions in the bill make it very unlikely that it will pass the Senate. House Republicans were leery that Democrats would make the languishing minimum wage (untouched since 1997) a campaign issue this fall; they scrambled and passed the bill after 1AM Saturday morning. It couples the minimum wage increase with a cut in the estate tax, a tactic that might doom the bill in the Senate - it's estimated that the estate tax cut would leave a $258 billion hole in the federal budget, with wealthy families keeping most of that money. 34 Democrats joined the Republican House majority to pass the bill.

Now isn't that better than some long ramble about who reads my blog? At least you learned something from this post...



Nazi SEAL 
Thursday, July 27, 2006, 06:05 PM - Politics
Last summer I worked on a campaign to prevent military recruiters from gaining access to high school students' personal information without their consent - prompted in part by the excessive tactics of recruiters desperate to fill quotas (hot babes in Humvees on campus, etc.). Today Color of Change (black online activist group founded by Van Jones and some ex-MoveOn people) sent out a terrifying update on how military recruiters are relaxing standards and letting in more white supremacists. From a Southern Poverty Law Center report on neonazis in the U.S. military:

"The best way to reduce the number of extremists in the armed forces is to prevent them from entering the military in the first place. "But now we're lowering our recruiting standards. We're accepting lesser quality soldiers," Barfield said. In a move to boost enlistment, the military is allowing more and more recruits with criminal records to sign up. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article revealed the percentage of recruits granted "moral waivers" for past misdemeanors had more than doubled since 2001. The military also revised its rules on inductee tattoos earlier this year to allow all tattoos except those on the front of the face. Both changes in the rules made it easier for extremists to join. And while military regulations prohibit all gang-related or white supremacist tattoos, many recruiters are ignoring such tattoos, or even literally covering them up. "I had one case where a recruiter and his wife took a guy to their house and covered up his tattoos with make-up so he could pass his [physical examination]," Barfield said."

It makes me feel much better to know the war in Iraq is a source of weapons and tactical training for our homegrown terrorists, not just for the other side. Send a letter demanding action on this issue through Color of Change here.

SF Healthcare Ordinance 
Monday, July 24, 2006, 06:22 PM - Politics
Last week San Francisco passed an ordinance that is a bold step towards providing health care for all city residents. The plan is innovative, since it's not technically insurance - people covered through the plan must receive care in San Francisco through the city's system of public and community clinics and hospitals. It pulls together federal, state, and local funds, along with a mandatory contribution from employers who don't cover their employees and means-tested copayments from participants to provide basic medical care for all residents. By working with the existing system and emphasizing preventive care, it's hoped that costs can be contained and the current wasteful emergency-room centered medicine for uninsured patients can be restructured. Having seen the inefficiencies of the SF healthcare system from the inside at SF general and while doing health planning work, anything that will push things towards integration and coordination will be a positive step. Anything that takes a creative approach to the siloed funding of public services and genuinely blends funding streams is a step towards creating seamless services for people who need them- but I shudder to think about how the creaky and archaic health information systems in SF will adapt to this new world (Maybe it's a whole new landscape of streamlined efficiency since I left? Somehow I doubt it.) While the plan faced some opposition from the local business community (I got an earful from Annie, co-owner of Delfina when I was up there a week ago about it) and many of the specifics are still being worked out, it's an exciting local solution to one of our most pressing national problems...and if it means that Delfina decamps to Los Angeles, I can't say that I'd be upset about that unintended consequence. (stolen from my own shorter post on the subject at Momsrising.org).

Lebanon Relief 
Monday, July 24, 2006, 11:35 AM - Politics
It's pretty disturbing how little what's happening in Lebanon came up in conversations over the weekend...the potential for regional escalation is terrifying, and let's just say I don't have a lot of faith in Condi's ability to stop that from happening. (It's also a reminder that changing the balance of power in the House will not solve all our problems, by a long shot - the house vote for a measure supporting Israel was almost unanimous.) Hasn't anyone learned anything about the futility and risk of attacking a non-state actor in the region with conventional military forces? I don't think Israel will repeat its Lebanese occupation nightmare and invade, but the ease with which this could turn into a multi-country free-for-all is sobering. Without strong pressure for a ceasefire the temptation for Israel to take out Tehran's nuclear program must be growing almost irresistable - why not bomb Damascus while they're at it? ((Are we ready for gas to be $10/ gallon?)) Our hawky neocon faction must be drooling at the thought that Syria might be next on the list. (And yes, there should have been stronger pressure for Hezbollah to disarm, particularly after the international attention that followed Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon post-Cedar Revolution- another opportunity to more fully move a military actor into the political sphere missed.)
Donate to Lebanon relief operations here.

Republican Just Desserts 
Friday, July 21, 2006, 11:31 AM - Politics, Food

No, this is not a post about what the appropriate karmic punishment for the Republican would be...we're all about the future around here (although I probably wouldn't stop you if you wanted to hang around the corner of Francisco and Divisadero with a cream pie). On July 31st there will be parties to kick off MoveOn's fall Congressional campaign - there are already more than 400 'Just Desserts' parties scheduled across the country, but you can sign up to host your own party here - we hope to have at least 1,000 events where people will find out more about how you can be part of the master plan we've been cooking up to win back Congress in November. Can't host a party? Find one in your neighborhood here. All the work I'm putting into building a great GOTV program will be for naught without enough people involved and making phone calls over the next few months. Besides, how many other opportunities to change the political direction of our country involve pie and ice cream?

Katrina Dinner 2006 
Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 07:23 PM - Travels, Politics, Friends, Food
My friend Justin in New Orleans has devised a kind of next-year-in-the-Lower-9th ritual for the lost and wandering tribes of the city. Part voodoo, part seder, mostly party (of course) it has 5 questions, candles, bitter pickles, and red beans and rice. Send it on to the displaced and repatriated you may have sheltered last fall.



Mexican Elections 
Saturday, July 1, 2006, 04:16 PM - Politics
Update: Ugh. The last omen I want right now is a really really close election where my side loses...
I am holding my breath for the vote in Mexico tomorrow. How much will the rabid anti-immigrant rhetoric from up north factor in a Lopez Obrador victory, if he can pull it off? Seems like he's perfectly placed to capitalize on the always-simmering nationalist tendencies in Mexican culture and the sputtering inadequacy of the Fox/Bush alliance - especially given how badly the neoliberal project has failed the majority of Mexicans. And can anyone give me a good reason why WE don't vote on a weekend?

Sparring with the other side 
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 12:58 PM - Politics
I was having another one of those conversations with a conservative (this time it was with Claudia's friend Skittles - how can a conservative go by the name of candy, anyway?) where they're just falling all over themselves about how RATIONAL I am and how I'm so adept at real dialogue. Usually I take this to mean that they just want to get my pants off (Sean, Ken) but I don't think that was Skittles' goal. (It also makes me realize how much my intellectual proclivities were shaped by scrappy debate of the CC core.) Are there truly no other fearless liberal chicks out there to drink Sancerre and fight with? Is our side really that incapable of articulating our positions or allowing that there are plenty of well-reasoned conservative arguements? Perhaps I’m just not afraid to admit when I agree with them, which I’m sure is refreshing. I usually end up respecting the logic behind most fiscal/ libertarian conservatives’ positions, while finding their baseline assumptions to be fundamentally flawed (e.g. the core lack of altruism/responsibility for the community that percolates through what would otherwise be fairly appealing libertarianism).

Our chat last night reminded me of the last serious middle east discussion I was part of (more accurately as a 3rd wheel in a slugfest between Nick and Adam)- I wish I had time to think more coherently about middle east foreign policy/ long term implications, and I wish I understood the Saudi and Egyptian internal dynamics better. I won’t concede the pure ‘I will save the world with democracy’ motivations that were put forward last night – everything there is too mixed up with oil – but I can’t totally discount the impact of the ascendency of idealistic interventionist neocons. I’m fascinated with the Iranian trajectory (which our Iraq quagmire is influencing in unexpected ways)– did you hear they just appointed a new foreign policy committee? Makes me think they’re less likely to become North Korea, more hopeful that the moderating influence of gradually increasing economic interaction with Europe and their profoundly young population can move them towards a less repressive, more democratic incarnation of the revolution. (Is Ahmadinejad a trend or an anomaly?) I don’t have a lot of hope that Iraq will become a shining advertisement for the benefits of democracy any time soon…and for all its flaws, Iran (as Pez pointed out) does have a complex and multi-layered civil society, and (in addition) a strong history of education and women's political participation. Where’s Mana Kia when I need her?

THIS afternoon 
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 12:04 PM - Politics


You should be going to your local Rally for an Oil-Free Congress

Here's the summary from the MoveOn site:
Gas prices are off the charts, the situation in the Middle East is unstable, scientists are warning that global warming is at a tipping point, and last month, MoveOn members decided that "clean, sustainable energy" should be one of our key goals. That's why it's time for an "Oil-Free Congress."

On Wednesday, June 28th — right before the 4th of July when gas prices will be front and center as folks plan for the long weekend — we're going to be holding gas station rallies across the country. We'll tell Congress it's time to say no to Big Oil's money and become Oil Free.

I'll be at the Shell Station at the corner of Fair Oaks and Walnut in Pasadena at 5:30. What does one wear to a gas station?


are we winning? how can you tell? 
Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 12:53 AM - Politics
I was at a meeting last week to examine the state of GOTV research and plot out coordinated efforts to answer the most pressing pending questions. Some of the people there were very impressive, and some seemed frighteningly dense. One of the more interesting proposed goals was developing metrics/ research protocols that would allow for true comparisons and more reliability across different experiments and programs… but the group shied away from discussing the really important outcome measurement: evaluating the movement as a whole. The right knows what’s on its scorecard, and has checked off a few boxes recently (supreme court). I suppose without a coherent ‘progressive’ agenda it’s difficult to determine shared hard benchmarks – but one would think we could come up with some numerical goals for the federal budget / economic indicators that would require the implementation of our priorities – a relative increase, for example, in education spending relative to military spending, a decrease in the % of medical care costs incurred because of lack of access to care, % increase in energy efficiency, reduction in poverty/ income inequality, etc. Even without those agreements, you’d think that we could come up with shared process outcomes that would be indicators of the movement’s growth – % of people who report that they’re civically engaged, % increase in voter turnout in primary and general elections, % of the Democratic party’s funding that comes from small donors, % of women holding elected office… but none of that large-scale evaluation is on the table – which is why you end up with hugely expensive enterprises like ACT that fail utterly to create a sustainable progressive infrastructure, or conferences with seemingly superficial impact. Changing the balance in Congress would be a nice start, but it's very far from what I hope are our ultimate goals.



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