Today's Story

I was sitting in my front yard this evening planting petunias. A group of african american kids were walking down the street and saw my Obama yard sign. A 4 or 5 year old started singing "Obama, O-B-A-M-A, you know who that is? That's our next President! Obama, O-B-A-M-A..." I smiled and waved. About 10 minutes later, an older guy with a wooden cane was walking down the street. We nodded at each other as he passed, and when he came to my yard sign he stopped, turned around and walked up to me. He said as he reached for my hand, "Hey, my name is Chris, and I just wanted to tell you that I stole a flower from your yard the other day. I picked it for my sick mother. And I also wanted to let you know that I voted for Obama yesterday too." And he shook my hand again.

These were small moments that symbolize something significant. America really is changing. People are coming together, and people have real hope for the first time in a long time. Stories like this are not unique to me, or North Carolina, or even Obama. But something important is happening right now in America. So please my friends, reach out to fellow man and woman, stop them on the street, and shake their hand. It made my day.

Race and America

Barack Obama gave a historic speech on race and America in Philadelphia today. He addressed the recent issue of some inflammatory remarks made in the past by his pastor Reverend Wright, and used the reverend's story as an example of what is good and bad about the reality of black and white America. Obama pulled several issues out of the shadows that we have been reluctant to ask ourselves regarding race. The speech is about 35 minutes long, and is worth watching regardless of the color of your skin or who you plan to vote for.

Obama Speech Video

PS - sorry for the long silence - the prog posse is in full affect once again.

Furnace Efficiency Gets Meager Increase

The Bush Administration released new efficiency standards for home furnaces and boilers. After 6 years of development on the new national standard, the Department of Energy will increase furnace efficiency from 78% to 80%. In addition, this modest increase will not take effect for another 8 years, in 2015.
CS Monitor Article

Obama in the International Context

Here's an Op-Ed piece from the New York Times that looks at Obama's presidency in the greater context of the international world and America's changing role in it. It also references The Atlantic article from the previous post. The author, Roger Cohen, has a long career in international journalism dating back to the 1970's and has also co-written a biography of General Norman Schwartzkopf.
New York Times Op-Ed

The Bridge

Tonight is the eve of many elections across America. It also signals that 1 year from right now, we will be electing our next president. America continues to be polarized and divided on many issues, and the issues at stake are coming to a critical mass of dangerous proportions. The specifics of these issues and nuances of the candidate's policies can really become irrelevant to the larger picture of what is going on. This article from The Atlantic provides a step back from the divisive politics of today and looks at America in the context of what has truly defined it for the past 40 years: the baby boomer generation. The divisions of today's America are rooted in the 1960's, and the events that divided that generation have defined modern culture and politics today. The need for a bridge over these divisions cries out for a voice that simply can not come from the entrenched values and symbols of the baby boomers. The voice needs to come from someone who transcends the two sides that have been created and does not represent a continuation of the internal struggle America has faced the past 40 years.
This voice could be Barack Obama.

This is a long article, but is an extremely compelling take on where our country is right now. I encourage you to read all of it. Maybe not today, but someday... soon...

The Atlantic Article

thanks to brandon "the screen" pass

Left, Right and Center

I received some good feedback on the MoveOn post. The Petraeus ad and recent Rush Limbaugh verbal diarrhea about "fake soldiers" brings up an interesting question: what is the role of our current political extremes? Some say that we must have one extreme to balance out the other. The self righteous liberal activist yelling on a sidewalk is a counter weight to the self righteous conservative talk show host. If you lose one, the whole scale becomes tilted. Some feel the scale is already severely tilted (from both sides of course).

An even bigger question might be, where is the center? With all the polarizing issues out there like abortion, immigration, war and civil liberties, it becomes difficult to see much common ground sometimes. Can we resolve these issues through compromise from the center or would the center only provide watered down ineffectual policy, and still not represent the majority of Americans? Here's a centrist blog from last year that discusses the need for a central party to emerge:

View From The Center Blog

A 3rd party would most likely form from the center, thereby pushing both current major parties to the extremes. Are the Democrats too progressive or are they already too big of a compromise? The dems could move closer to the center and make room for a legit green or progressive party, but that could push the government farther right altogether.

So where does that leave us, the general citizens and semi-conscious voters? Are the extremists on both sides hurting the political process or are their voices necessary to avoid ineffective politicians? How does the media's spin affect our perception of our values compared to our actual beliefs and is our perception of our values really accurate? (remember the political compass)

Should we all move to the center?

MoveOn Backlash

When General Petraeus gave his Iraq report, MoveOn ran a full page ad in the New York Times questioning the bizarre calculations of violence and calling him "General Betray Us". Since then, Republicans and Fox News have blasted MoveOn as anti-American for questioning the accuracy of his report. Senator McCain said the organization "ought to be thrown out of this country."

A few days later, Republicans blocked a bill giving soldiers more leave time between tours and instead decided it needed to react to a newspaper ad and passed a resolution condemning personal attacks on General Petraeus by a vote of 72 to 25. While I do not always agree with MoveOn's statements, I certainly believe they have the right to condemn or question anyone they want to. If you agree, please add your name to a statement from MoveOn:
Sign the MoveOn Statement

The most interesting part of this story is the solidarity the 3 million MoveOn members have formed since the congressional resolution. Within 1 day, MoveOn exceeded their goal of $500,000 in donations for their next ad campaign, more than any day this year. A few days later, the goal of $1 million was exceeded, and now a few days later, the amount is at a staggering $1.7 million. The ad is highlighting the Republican leaders that blocked the bipartisan bill to give troops more leave time, but it represents something much greater. It's an opportunity to show congress we will not quietly sit back any longer, nor will we let them stifle the voice of questioning and dissent. I try to avoid asking folks for donations, but consider joining me in making a donation to MoveOn's next ad campaign:
Donate to Ad Campaign