by Mark Newberg

I’m not old enough to remember Reagan’s “Morning in America” campaign ad, but I’m not immune to its romanticized American-bred optimism. I am old enough to remember the man from “a place called Hope” restoring that optimism to the Nation for as long as bipartisanship lasted. Granted, that wasn’t much past transition time, but it was a rosy time for our American ideals. Now, with President-Elect Obama, we’ve launched, once again (and 75%-heartedly) into an era of national unity, cheer, and good tidings.

I like this stuff. I like it a lot. In fact, I’m of the belief that the best Democratic Presidents tend to tap into the same vein of our collective consciousness: the desire for hope. Don’t believe me? Ok. Name the best Democratic Presidents of the television age (and yes, FDR counts). FDR. Kennedy. Clinton. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” ”Eight years of peace and prosperity.“ Seeing a theme yet? Even Reagan, in his search for the Center, harnessed our desire to feel good about the future, especially in times of great national pain. Remember, “They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God?” How about, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

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Today Al Gore called on young people to practice civil disobedience and demand an end to non-carbon-capturing coal plants.   At a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmental activist explained:

“If you’re a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration”

There are currently 28 coal plants under construction in the U.S., with 20 more waiting in the wings.   And while some efforts are underway to capture and bury carbon, known as geosequestration,  Greenpeace and other critics argue that there are far safer and cleaner alternatives.

takepart by learning more from Al Gore and check out the Architecture 2030 Challenge

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Inconvenient Truth of the Day

I sat in on same great panels today. And let just say that while the media has been preoccupied with creating controversy and ill will between the Obama and Clinton camps, the mood on the ground is far from derisive. And there is overwhelming consensus on the issue of the environment. In the Big Tent, there were two great panels featuring leading experts in the space. The first featured Lester Brown, a lifelong advocate and head of the Earth Policy Institute; Randy Hayes, Climate Policy Officer at the World Future Council; David Orr, Author, Environmentalist, named “an Environmentalist Hero for 2004″ by Interiors & Sources Magazine; and Chuck Kutscher, Principal Engineer and Manager of the Thermal Systems Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Betsy Taylor, executive director of the Center for a New American Dream, moderated.

There were so many strong points made that I wouldn’t even know where to begin so I’ll focus on what was not outright said. This group is frustrated. They have spent the better part of 20 years proving that the science is right, the technology is there, and yet the political will hasn’t materialized to bring clean, renewable energy into the mainstream. Chuck Kutscher asked, How long would you drive your car in the red? and David Orr went so far as to say, that it is the greatest political failure in history.

Excerpts from the panel will be posted on the Big Tent’s YouTube channel so check in often:

http://www.youtube.com/bigtentdenver

David Orr was one of 50 leading scientists featured in The 11th Hour. takepart at the 11th Hour Action site, , for tips on what you can do!

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TakePart at the DNC

A ban on “logging, mining and other development on 58.5 million acres” of national forests has been overturned by a federal judge in Wyoming, with the judge stating that the original ban “flagrantly and cavalierly railroaded this country’s present environmental laws.” My guess is he wasn’t a fan of said ban.

The ban, which is known as the “roadless rule” as it in part prevents roads from being built on undeveloped lands in about a third of national forests, was created by the outgoing Clinton administration in 2001. Judge Clarence A. Brimmer threw out the rule in 2003, and the Bush administration adopted new rules for federal lands. These rules necessitated that governors of states looking to protect their land petition the federal government to do so, and were struck down in favor of the original rules in 2006 be a different judge. Then THAT ruling was appealed, and Judge Brimmer came back into the picture to strike down the throwing out of the rules. And we’re back to the 2003 rules.

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Barack Obama, he that is now consistently being called the presumptive nominee, in the past has been less than consistent on his stance in regards to coal energy, according to a Washington Post article.  The article, posted yesterday in the blog section of the Post, notes that Obama has always walked a fine line between environmentalism and the powerful coal lobby in his home state of Illinois (which I hear will become 25% more awesome come August 1), and in this election his campaign has attempted to show Obama as a champion of clean coal.

Over the past two weeks, Obama’s campaign has run an ad in Kentucky depicting Obama as a strong friend of the coal industry, recounting his efforts on behalf of coal miners in southern Illinois and touting his success in securing $200 million in the federal budget last year for “clean coal” technologies.

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Did you know that the Queen of England is still the Queen of Canada?  And did you know that until 1982, the Queen had to sign off on all amendments to the Canadian constitution (and, ironically, had to sign off on that self-same amendment that changed the law)?  It’s true!   The British, tired of just meddling in politics involving mooses and hockey, are now sticking their noses back into American affairs, obviously forgetting the lessons taught by the War of 1812.  Green Futures, a British sustainability magazine, profiles each of the three presidential candidates’ (apparently there’s an election soon?) positions on climate change and the environment.   The good news, according to the article, is that Clinton, McCain and Obama all recognize the importance of placing emphasis on environmental problems and enacting solutions quickly.

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John Quincy Adams is all over the place these days. First he appeared in the best-selling biography of by historian David McCullough. The book inspired Tom Hanks to produce the HBO seven-part miniseries John Adams, in which Mr. Adams was played by Paul Giamatti and Abigail Adams by Laura Linney. The first episode drew 2.7 million viewers, which suggests that John Adams may be the catalyst for a new trend of presidential bio pix. Thanks to the HBO project, Mr. Adams is attracting new interest and visitors to the Adams National Historic Park in Quincy (there he is again), Massachusetts. And today, John Adams made an appearance on MSNBC’s Meet The Press with Tim Russert when Newsday’s Jon Meacham compared a potential Clinton victory to 1824 when

Andrew Jackson won the popular vote, Henry Clay threw his support to John Quincy Adams. Adams becomes president. Four years later, running on a, running on a campaign saying, “That was a corrupt bargain,” Jackson takes over, founds the modern Democratic Party, and here we sit.

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Hillary Clinton has declined to appear in a photo shoot for Vogue Magazine for fear of appearing too feminine, but will appear in the February edition of Harper’s Bazaar. Editor in chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, was disgruntled enough to write an open editor’s letter about Clinton’s pull-out. In the Harper’s spread titled “The Politics of Fashion,” which also features other high-profile Republican and Democratic candidates, Clinton appears next to a model wearing high heels and a miniskirt. What to learn more about young women, the “maturation” of feminism, and Hillary Clinton? and read Michael Barone’s take at US News & World Report.

A Clinton victory in New Hampshire this week begs the big question: What happened to Obama-mania? Alternet and the Huffington Post reported that Bill Clinton, a popular figure in the state, went after Obama with a vengenge, as did the entire Clinton campaign:

Hillary’s sputtering campaign strategy has shifted to telling voters, ‘Whatever you don’t like, that’s what Obama is.’ Clinton and her surrogates are attacking from every direction, hoping something will stick. The attacks are as varied as they are contemptible. … Put on your galoshes, the mud is mighty thick.

Not only is Obama too liberal, too conservative, soft on crime and lacks specificity, but he’s a dreamer to boot! For more on Clinton’s “portrait in cynicism” click here and here. Obama’s staffers also seem to have made some mistakes by focusing more on making phone calls and less on upping visibility by increasing the number of supporters out in the streets with placards.

Yesterday Hilary Clinton announced a plan that would cover both borrowers behind on their payments and those who were on time when it comes to their mortgages, specifically adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). Her plan came a day before President Bush revealed his own plan that would also work over a 5 year period to freeze interest rates. Both come on the heels of large housing woes that are the result of eager folks signing up for long term mortgages with flashy low interest rates, only to have the rates hiked up the next year. Many cite the difference between the two plans comes in the depth of who would be covered: When Bush revealed his plan, he also addressed the scope of who would be receiving help:

Announcing a package of measures, Mr Bush said the threat of foreclosure was a “terrible burden for hard-working families and communities across the country”.Homeowners seeking assistance have three options. They can either have their payments frozen at an introductory rate for five years, refinance their mortgage at a lower rate or refinance through the Federal Housing Administration. The government estimates that 1.2 million homeowners facing “preventable foreclosures” would qualify for such help, although they will have to request assistance themselves.

All of this spinning and political what have you to the side, this an issue that effects people where their heart is, it effects their home. And more than that, it’s a complicated issue, that many folks (my self included) don’t have the background to understand fully.Luckily, there are some folks out there trying to help those, who others are happy to take from. The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project is a group that works to gain financial justice within low income communities and communities of color. Give them a visit to learn how to be involved and for an in depth (and easy to understand) look at how the subprime madness is starting to have a major impact on minority and poorer communities, head over to Lines of Flight, a political travelogue that explores how we can escape oppressive systems.