http://allalongtheedge.blogspot.com/2009/01/ecopsychology.html
[how 'they' make us want what we really never wanted]
1/29/2009
Frederick Douglass Coming to SCC
An incredible one man show is coming to Sandhills College Owens Auditorium Wednesday Feb 11 at 7:30 p.m.
It is a presentation of Frederick Douglass and is a powerful and impressive performances. Actor has extensive Broadway, Film, and Opera experience.
It is a presentation of Frederick Douglass and is a powerful and impressive performances. Actor has extensive Broadway, Film, and Opera experience.
1/28/2009
On Tim Geithner, Treas. Sec.
Sanders Votes No on Geithner:
[He's] More of a Part of the Problem...Than the Solution" * We speak with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–VT) about his decision to vote against Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Obama's $825 billion economic stimulus plan, and why the $700 billion financial bailout amounts to "the greatest financial scandal in the history of this country."
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/28/sanders_votes_no_on_geithner_hes
[He's] More of a Part of the Problem...Than the Solution" * We speak with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–VT) about his decision to vote against Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Obama's $825 billion economic stimulus plan, and why the $700 billion financial bailout amounts to "the greatest financial scandal in the history of this country."
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/28/sanders_votes_no_on_geithner_hes
To Release Iraq Minutes
Iraq minutes 'must be released'
The government is ordered to release the minutes of 2003 Cabinet meetings where the invasion of Iraq was discussed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7854105.stm
The government is ordered to release the minutes of 2003 Cabinet meetings where the invasion of Iraq was discussed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7854105.stm
1/27/2009
Civil Disobedience in Climate Change Fight
In Climate Fight, a Time For Civil Disobedience?
By Patty Henetz, Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2009.
"Al Gore... in September called for moral lawbreaking.
'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,' Gore told the Clinton Global Initiative gathering to loud applause, according to Reuters news service.
Since then, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben and poet Wendell Berry have chimed in. Last month, they wrote an open letter, which has circulated widely on the Web, urging mass civil disobedience against coal in March...
Heeding such calls, organizers are mobilizing for a mass act of nonviolent civil disobedience March 2 to protest coal-fired power plants and the damage industrial pollution has caused to the planet's climate.
'We're hoping and preparing for thousands,' said Matt Leonard, the Greenpeace coordinator for the event. 'It will certainly be the largest such action on climate change in U.S. history. We hope it will be the first of many.'
Protesters will gather at the [coal-fired] Capital Power Plant in Washington -- source of heat and refrigeration for the entire Capitol complex -- walk on to the property, sit down and thereby break the law." For more info go to CapitolClimateAction.com.
--
"Let’s all of us make sure that when we look back, in decades to come, we can say:
We saw the threat.
We responded to the challenge.
We did our bit."
Ed Milliband
By Patty Henetz, Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2009.
"Al Gore... in September called for moral lawbreaking.
'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,' Gore told the Clinton Global Initiative gathering to loud applause, according to Reuters news service.
Since then, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben and poet Wendell Berry have chimed in. Last month, they wrote an open letter, which has circulated widely on the Web, urging mass civil disobedience against coal in March...
Heeding such calls, organizers are mobilizing for a mass act of nonviolent civil disobedience March 2 to protest coal-fired power plants and the damage industrial pollution has caused to the planet's climate.
'We're hoping and preparing for thousands,' said Matt Leonard, the Greenpeace coordinator for the event. 'It will certainly be the largest such action on climate change in U.S. history. We hope it will be the first of many.'
Protesters will gather at the [coal-fired] Capital Power Plant in Washington -- source of heat and refrigeration for the entire Capitol complex -- walk on to the property, sit down and thereby break the law." For more info go to CapitolClimateAction.com.
--
"Let’s all of us make sure that when we look back, in decades to come, we can say:
We saw the threat.
We responded to the challenge.
We did our bit."
Ed Milliband
Gaia's Garden - Must-have for home gardens
http://www.amazon.com/Gaias-Garden-Guide-Home-Scale-Permaculture/dp/1890132527/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233089648&sr=1-3
Technology to the Rescue?
http://allalongtheedge.blogspot.com/2009/01/technology-to-rescue-probably-not.html
Importance of Wikipedia
http://www.vtcommons.org/blog/2009/01/24/relocalizing-vermont-controlling-our-history
1/26/2009
1/24/2009
Growing Food on the White House Lawn
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/growing-food-on-the-white-house-lawn/
Sustainability = Science
[Sustainbility a useless buzzword without science. Study up!]
http://www.oregonlive.com/events/index.ssf/2009/01/beyond_fact.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/events/index.ssf/2009/01/beyond_fact.html
1/23/2009
What Obama Said and What He Did Not
http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/What_Was_Said,_And_What_Was_Not.html
1/22/2009
Sustainability On Campuses
http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2009/01/22/News/Sustainability.Takes.Hold.On.Campuses-3593161.shtml
Concert, Jan. 23, SCC
The John Cowan Band
Friday January 23, 8 p.m.
General Admission
Doors open at 7 p.m.
with
David Holtzclaw
There are lots of bluegrass fans in the Sandhills. There are a few people in Moore County who think they don't like bluegrass. That's because they have never heard John Cowan sing. If you are in either category, you need to be at Owens Auditorium of Sandhills Community College this Friday night, January 23rd, at eight o'clock. The Rooster's Wife has teamed up with the college in support of their new athletic teams, the Sandhills Flyers. Let's line their coffers while listening to some fantastic LIVE, LOCAL music!
John writes songs that reach down deep into his personal experience. His voice is instantly recognizable. He was THE voice of New Grass Revival, with Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and Pat Flynn. The group took traditional instruments in new directions and abandoned the costumes and short hair considered to be essential for success as bluegrass artists of the time. They played a wide range of music from Bob Marley to Jerry Lee Lewis with their own translation to bluegrass instruments . The band split up nearly twenty years ago, but their individual talents remain as strong as ever. John Cowan will be here in Moore County Friday night. Don't miss him.
Friday January 23, 8 p.m.
General Admission
Doors open at 7 p.m.
with
David Holtzclaw
There are lots of bluegrass fans in the Sandhills. There are a few people in Moore County who think they don't like bluegrass. That's because they have never heard John Cowan sing. If you are in either category, you need to be at Owens Auditorium of Sandhills Community College this Friday night, January 23rd, at eight o'clock. The Rooster's Wife has teamed up with the college in support of their new athletic teams, the Sandhills Flyers. Let's line their coffers while listening to some fantastic LIVE, LOCAL music!
John writes songs that reach down deep into his personal experience. His voice is instantly recognizable. He was THE voice of New Grass Revival, with Bela Fleck, Sam Bush and Pat Flynn. The group took traditional instruments in new directions and abandoned the costumes and short hair considered to be essential for success as bluegrass artists of the time. They played a wide range of music from Bob Marley to Jerry Lee Lewis with their own translation to bluegrass instruments . The band split up nearly twenty years ago, but their individual talents remain as strong as ever. John Cowan will be here in Moore County Friday night. Don't miss him.
1/21/2009
Be There, 7:00, 1/22, Campbell House
7:00 A Crude Awakening, Campbell House, Sou. Pines
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
(2006) NR
Produced by award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, this documentary examines the world's dependency on oil and the impending chaos that's sure to follow when the resource is depleted. Straight from the headlines, this hot-button topic may represent the world's most dire crisis. Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenge we all face and underscores our desperate need for alternative energy.
A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash
(2006) NR
Produced by award-winning filmmakers Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack, this documentary examines the world's dependency on oil and the impending chaos that's sure to follow when the resource is depleted. Straight from the headlines, this hot-button topic may represent the world's most dire crisis. Through expert interviews, the film spells out in startling detail the challenge we all face and underscores our desperate need for alternative energy.
Pastured Eggs and Vitamin D
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Relish/Pastured-Eggs-Vitamin-D-Content.aspx?blogid=1508&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
Lunch With the Legends
Lunch with Legends, March 5*---In honor of Women’s History Month, the League of Women Voters of Moore County is planning ‘Lunch with Legends’ for Thursday, March 5, 2009. After a delicious lunch of chicken cordon bleu, at Belle Meade, attendees will be treated to a wonderful program. The Sweet Adeline’s Quartet, ‘Southern Connection’, will perform. Then three women, dressed in costume, will read from the actual writings of Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt and Carrie Catt. Then there will be a professional rendition of American the Beautiful. Both men and women may reserve a ticket, by calling Ginger Finney, at 673-1330 by February 19. The total cost is $30 each. Funds raised will support voter education efforts of the League. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization with the goal of improving government and impacting public policy through citizen education and advocacy. On 3/5, the doors to the Belle Meade ballroom will open at 11:30; the luncheon will start at noon. The tables seat six to eight, so get a big group together so a whole table can be used.
1/20/2009
Including Non-Believers
January 20, 2009
Center for Inquiry Leaders Applaud Obama's Progressive and Inclusive Vision for America
President Barack Obama in his history-making Inaugural Address today sounded the clarion call for a more inclusive and progressive America. The President’s speech outlined a largely humanistic agenda, promising to “restore science to its rightful place,” as we collectively face the massive challenges facing us as a country in the twenty-first century. Significantly, in affirming the pluralistic character of American society, President Obama expressly included “non-believers” among Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, as part of the body politic.
“It truly is a historic and remarkable achievement of significance that the President of the United States referred to non-believers in recognition of the growing number of Americans—now numbering tens of millions—who hold no religious affiliation. As far as we are aware, this is the first time this has happened,” said Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry. “It is also noteworthy that he called for the restoration of science to its rightful place and the application of technology to the improvement of human life. We applaud his courageous optimism in outlining an audacious program for the future,” said Kurtz.
Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, emphasized the importance of President Obama’s acknowledgment. “For much of American history, agnostics and atheists were denied important civil rights, and in some states, until the early 1960’s, were explicitly forbidden from holding public office. Even after these legal constraints had been removed, nonbelievers were stigmatized or ignored by most politicians. We are encouraged that President Obama has unambiguously indicated he will be the president of all Americans.”
Center for Inquiry Leaders Applaud Obama's Progressive and Inclusive Vision for America
President Barack Obama in his history-making Inaugural Address today sounded the clarion call for a more inclusive and progressive America. The President’s speech outlined a largely humanistic agenda, promising to “restore science to its rightful place,” as we collectively face the massive challenges facing us as a country in the twenty-first century. Significantly, in affirming the pluralistic character of American society, President Obama expressly included “non-believers” among Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, as part of the body politic.
“It truly is a historic and remarkable achievement of significance that the President of the United States referred to non-believers in recognition of the growing number of Americans—now numbering tens of millions—who hold no religious affiliation. As far as we are aware, this is the first time this has happened,” said Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry. “It is also noteworthy that he called for the restoration of science to its rightful place and the application of technology to the improvement of human life. We applaud his courageous optimism in outlining an audacious program for the future,” said Kurtz.
Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, emphasized the importance of President Obama’s acknowledgment. “For much of American history, agnostics and atheists were denied important civil rights, and in some states, until the early 1960’s, were explicitly forbidden from holding public office. Even after these legal constraints had been removed, nonbelievers were stigmatized or ignored by most politicians. We are encouraged that President Obama has unambiguously indicated he will be the president of all Americans.”
1/19/2009
1/18/2009
Advice to Obama
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/7814498.stm
[There are others on the site]
[There are others on the site]
1/17/2009
Skaters! and Great Pic
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/16/europe/skaters.php
[We're waking here in Southern Pines, NC, to 7 degrees. Ouch!!]
[We're waking here in Southern Pines, NC, to 7 degrees. Ouch!!]
1/16/2009
To Take the Heat Out
Farms to take heat out of warming
Selecting certain varieties of some common crops could help curb the rise in global temperatures, research suggests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7831939.stm
Selecting certain varieties of some common crops could help curb the rise in global temperatures, research suggests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7831939.stm
1/15/2009
Growing Small Farms Calendar
Check out the Growing Small Farms Calendar at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/calendar.html
for details on these two events:
February 17: High Tunnel Workshop at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro, NC
February 27-March 1, 2009: Real Food, Real Medicine Conference in Chapel Hill, NC. Sponsored by UNC FLO Foods and the NC Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
for details on these two events:
February 17: High Tunnel Workshop at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) in Goldsboro, NC
February 27-March 1, 2009: Real Food, Real Medicine Conference in Chapel Hill, NC. Sponsored by UNC FLO Foods and the NC Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
1/14/2009
Connect in Aberdeen, Jan. 17
Women Connecting through Film
Films by, for and about Women
2 p.m., Saturday, January 17, 2009
Presented by THE ROOSTERS’S WIFE
to benefit the breast cancer fund
fighting the environmental causes of breast cancer.
Join us for Luna Yoga, Santi Yoga Studio, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines 9 a.m.
$10 suggested donation, call 692-2009 to register
Learn to Hoop it up! Santi Yoga Studio 10:30 $20/class and hoop, suggested donation call 692-2009 to register
House Concert 8:00 p.m.
Suggested donation $15.
Women Connecting through Song
201 Blue St., Aberdeen
featuring:
Laurelyn Dossett Caroline Parsons Sally Spring Tickets available on line : www.theroosterswife.org and at the door.
Donations accepted. (910)944-7502 for more information
Sponsored by : LUNA Bar, Pangea Organics, the Squire’s Pub, Sandhills Feed Supply, Santi Yoga, Blue Street Designs, Aberdeen Parks and Recreation, Taylor David Salon, the Inn at the Bryant House, Heaven on Earth Body Therapies
Films by, for and about Women
2 p.m., Saturday, January 17, 2009
Presented by THE ROOSTERS’S WIFE
to benefit the breast cancer fund
fighting the environmental causes of breast cancer.
Join us for Luna Yoga, Santi Yoga Studio, 250 NW Broad St., Southern Pines 9 a.m.
$10 suggested donation, call 692-2009 to register
Learn to Hoop it up! Santi Yoga Studio 10:30 $20/class and hoop, suggested donation call 692-2009 to register
House Concert 8:00 p.m.
Suggested donation $15.
Women Connecting through Song
201 Blue St., Aberdeen
featuring:
Laurelyn Dossett Caroline Parsons Sally Spring Tickets available on line : www.theroosterswife.org and at the door.
Donations accepted. (910)944-7502 for more information
Sponsored by : LUNA Bar, Pangea Organics, the Squire’s Pub, Sandhills Feed Supply, Santi Yoga, Blue Street Designs, Aberdeen Parks and Recreation, Taylor David Salon, the Inn at the Bryant House, Heaven on Earth Body Therapies
1/10/2009
1/09/2009
1/07/2009
Marine Protection
US vows 'huge' marine protection
The US is to establish "the largest area of protected sea in the world", banning fishing and mining, around its Pacific islands. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7812786.stm
The US is to establish "the largest area of protected sea in the world", banning fishing and mining, around its Pacific islands. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7812786.stm
1/06/2009
Vote Your Top 10 Ideas
Obama's site asks YOU to vote your top 10 ideas for US policy.
http://www.change.org/ideas
http://www.change.org/ideas
1/04/2009
1/03/2009
Great Essay on Finance
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom
12/31/2008
More On "Clean" Coal
Our own Chandra Taylor (Conservation Council of NC) in the news--
updated 8:26 a.m. EST, Wed December 24, 2008
Tennessee sludge spill runs over homes, water
By Samira J. Simone CNN
(CNN) -- A wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from a coal plant in central Tennessee broke this week, spilling more than 500 million gallons of waste into the surrounding area.
Environmental Protection Agency officials are on the scene and expect the cleanup to to take four to six weeks.
The sludge, a byproduct of ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville, agency officials said.
The retention wall breached early Monday, sending the sludge downhill and damaging 15 homes. All the residents were evacuated, and three homes were deemed uninhabitable, a TVA spokesman told CNN.
The plant sits on a tributary of the Tennessee River called the Clinch River.
"We deeply regret that a retention wall for ash containment at our Kingston Fossil Plant failed, resulting in an ash slide and damage to nearby homes," TVA said in a statement released Tuesday.
TVA spokesman Gil Francis told CNN that up to 400 acres of land had been coated by the sludge, a bigger area than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Video footage showed sludge as high as 6 feet, burying porches and garage doors. The slide also downed nearby power lines, though the TVA said power had been restored to the area.
Francis said Environmental Protection Agency officials were on the scene and estimated the cleanup could take four to six weeks.
Some of the goop spilled into the tributary, but preliminary water quality tests show that the drinking water at a nearby treatment plant meets standards.
"I don't want to drink it. It doesn't look healthy to me," Jody Miles, who fishes in the Clinch River, told CNN affiliate WBIR. "Do you reckon they can bring all this life back that's going to die from all this mess?"
Still, there is the potential for more sludge to enter the water supply through waste runoff.
"We're taking steps to stabilize runoff from this incident," Francis said.
Although video from the scene shows dead fish on the banks of the tributary, he said that "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it toxic."
One environmental attorney called that statement "irresponsible." The ash that gives sludge its thick, pudding-like consistency in this case is known as fly ash, which results from the combustion of coal.
Fly ash contains concentrated amounts of mercury, arsenic and benzine, said Chandra Taylor, staff attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
"These things are naturally occurring, but they concentrate in the burning process and the residual is more toxic than it starts," she told CNN.
Appalachian environmentalists compared the mess with another spill eight years ago in eastern Kentucky, where the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy broke into an abandoned underground mine, oozing more than 300 million gallons of coal waste into tributaries.
The water supply for more than 25,000 residents was contaminated, and aquatic life in the area perished. It took months to clean up the spill.
"If the estimates are correct, this spill is one and a half times bigger," said Dave Cooper, an environmental advocate with the Mountaintop Removal Road Show, a traveling program that explains the effect of an extreme form of mining.
While the full scope of the TVA spill is being determined, coal critics are already concerned about its long-term effects.
Cleaning up the mess, which could fill nearly 800 Olympic-size swimming pools, could take months or years, Taylor said.
"We're very concerned about how long it's going to take" to clean the spill, she told CNN.
Cooper agreed, saying, "It's 4, 5 feet deep. How are you going to scoop it up? Where are you going to put it?"
updated 8:26 a.m. EST, Wed December 24, 2008
Tennessee sludge spill runs over homes, water
By Samira J. Simone CNN
(CNN) -- A wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from a coal plant in central Tennessee broke this week, spilling more than 500 million gallons of waste into the surrounding area.
Environmental Protection Agency officials are on the scene and expect the cleanup to to take four to six weeks.
The sludge, a byproduct of ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville, agency officials said.
The retention wall breached early Monday, sending the sludge downhill and damaging 15 homes. All the residents were evacuated, and three homes were deemed uninhabitable, a TVA spokesman told CNN.
The plant sits on a tributary of the Tennessee River called the Clinch River.
"We deeply regret that a retention wall for ash containment at our Kingston Fossil Plant failed, resulting in an ash slide and damage to nearby homes," TVA said in a statement released Tuesday.
TVA spokesman Gil Francis told CNN that up to 400 acres of land had been coated by the sludge, a bigger area than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Video footage showed sludge as high as 6 feet, burying porches and garage doors. The slide also downed nearby power lines, though the TVA said power had been restored to the area.
Francis said Environmental Protection Agency officials were on the scene and estimated the cleanup could take four to six weeks.
Some of the goop spilled into the tributary, but preliminary water quality tests show that the drinking water at a nearby treatment plant meets standards.
"I don't want to drink it. It doesn't look healthy to me," Jody Miles, who fishes in the Clinch River, told CNN affiliate WBIR. "Do you reckon they can bring all this life back that's going to die from all this mess?"
Still, there is the potential for more sludge to enter the water supply through waste runoff.
"We're taking steps to stabilize runoff from this incident," Francis said.
Although video from the scene shows dead fish on the banks of the tributary, he said that "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it toxic."
One environmental attorney called that statement "irresponsible." The ash that gives sludge its thick, pudding-like consistency in this case is known as fly ash, which results from the combustion of coal.
Fly ash contains concentrated amounts of mercury, arsenic and benzine, said Chandra Taylor, staff attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.
"These things are naturally occurring, but they concentrate in the burning process and the residual is more toxic than it starts," she told CNN.
Appalachian environmentalists compared the mess with another spill eight years ago in eastern Kentucky, where the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy broke into an abandoned underground mine, oozing more than 300 million gallons of coal waste into tributaries.
The water supply for more than 25,000 residents was contaminated, and aquatic life in the area perished. It took months to clean up the spill.
"If the estimates are correct, this spill is one and a half times bigger," said Dave Cooper, an environmental advocate with the Mountaintop Removal Road Show, a traveling program that explains the effect of an extreme form of mining.
While the full scope of the TVA spill is being determined, coal critics are already concerned about its long-term effects.
Cleaning up the mess, which could fill nearly 800 Olympic-size swimming pools, could take months or years, Taylor said.
"We're very concerned about how long it's going to take" to clean the spill, she told CNN.
Cooper agreed, saying, "It's 4, 5 feet deep. How are you going to scoop it up? Where are you going to put it?"
End-Of-Year Personal Message from Maureen
On this last day of 2008 I want to thank you for your continued friendship and support and to tell you some of the aspects of my last year of public work. Yes, I’m retired and eager to attend to my home and urban farm—I hope—my only base of operations for the next thirty years!
Retired, I’m better able to attend to my duties with The Conservation Council of North Carolina, Sustainable Sandhills, and Save Our Sandhills, and I’ve recently joined the board of The Moore County Historical Association, where I’ll focus upon sustainable, heritage gardens at The Shaw House here in Southern Pines. Once I’ve gotten this urban farm up and running and have more time, I’ll join the volunteer gardeners at The Weymouth Center, where I’ve enjoyed being writer-in-residence off and on for the past twenty years. Who knows? Poetry skills may resurface once the jargon/babel of educationese subsides. . .
I’ve had a 12’x12’ Carolina room/greenhouse built on the deck, and my good friend Lyuba is designing a workable plan in the gardens. A language teacher from Russia, she is smart, strong as a horse, and so opinionated that she convinces me to clear mountains of useless furniture, books and files OUT of my house. The assault continues, she liking nothing so much as extracting order from chaos. Her daughter needed a project for high school graduation and has adopted my Farm Up the Street, will continue to work with her mom on my environs ‘til March, then turn in her portfolio. Marvelous to have two hard-working women in my gardens!
Son Gray completes Alexander Technique studies in June, when his girlfriend, Jessica Burns, also finishes her degree in Environmental Science at East Illinois U. They will return from Urbana to North Carolina to see what’s next. Most interested right now in soil rejuvenation using mycelia and compost, they will set up mushroom experiments in my backyard using cultures from Fungi Perfecti. See Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets.
Daughter Carley is married and living with husband Steve Lucci in Durham, NC, where she works and attends The Whole You Institute from which she’ll graduate in the spring. She has great hands, has worked on me with reiki, Swedish massage, aromatherapies and spinal alignments. See www.rwnaturalhealing.com for her product line. Her studies include nutrition, and, while perusing her books, I read Alkalize or Die by Baroody. I’ve ordered a copy and have started its dietary suggestions.
With nine or ten extra hours in a work day, I’m excited as a child in a candy shop. This town and this farm are all I need to stay busy and useful. I’ll continue vending at the Moore County Farmers Market, April-September, also leaving plants on consignment at the local seed/feed, where my worm tea—not for drinking, rather, a fertilizer--is a big seller. I have a bee hive for pollination, three Guinea hens wandering and keeping fleas, ticks, and such off the property, my cats and strays to keep rabbits and voles contained, ten laying hens—gorgeous Black Australorps—who give me about six eggs a day, various fruit trees, and long beds for vegetables and cut flowers. Drip lines and rain barrels supplement water for so many plantings and heavy composting keeps soils in place and full of nutrient, everything organic.
So! Having a good time here in Southern Pines, NC, with many progressive, like-minded friends to keep me focused. Maybe you noticed that NC turned Blue in the presidential elections, almost as exciting as having Obama elected. Expecting big changes! But we know that we must BE the changes we wish to see.
Retired, I’m better able to attend to my duties with The Conservation Council of North Carolina, Sustainable Sandhills, and Save Our Sandhills, and I’ve recently joined the board of The Moore County Historical Association, where I’ll focus upon sustainable, heritage gardens at The Shaw House here in Southern Pines. Once I’ve gotten this urban farm up and running and have more time, I’ll join the volunteer gardeners at The Weymouth Center, where I’ve enjoyed being writer-in-residence off and on for the past twenty years. Who knows? Poetry skills may resurface once the jargon/babel of educationese subsides. . .
I’ve had a 12’x12’ Carolina room/greenhouse built on the deck, and my good friend Lyuba is designing a workable plan in the gardens. A language teacher from Russia, she is smart, strong as a horse, and so opinionated that she convinces me to clear mountains of useless furniture, books and files OUT of my house. The assault continues, she liking nothing so much as extracting order from chaos. Her daughter needed a project for high school graduation and has adopted my Farm Up the Street, will continue to work with her mom on my environs ‘til March, then turn in her portfolio. Marvelous to have two hard-working women in my gardens!
Son Gray completes Alexander Technique studies in June, when his girlfriend, Jessica Burns, also finishes her degree in Environmental Science at East Illinois U. They will return from Urbana to North Carolina to see what’s next. Most interested right now in soil rejuvenation using mycelia and compost, they will set up mushroom experiments in my backyard using cultures from Fungi Perfecti. See Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets.
Daughter Carley is married and living with husband Steve Lucci in Durham, NC, where she works and attends The Whole You Institute from which she’ll graduate in the spring. She has great hands, has worked on me with reiki, Swedish massage, aromatherapies and spinal alignments. See www.rwnaturalhealing.com for her product line. Her studies include nutrition, and, while perusing her books, I read Alkalize or Die by Baroody. I’ve ordered a copy and have started its dietary suggestions.
With nine or ten extra hours in a work day, I’m excited as a child in a candy shop. This town and this farm are all I need to stay busy and useful. I’ll continue vending at the Moore County Farmers Market, April-September, also leaving plants on consignment at the local seed/feed, where my worm tea—not for drinking, rather, a fertilizer--is a big seller. I have a bee hive for pollination, three Guinea hens wandering and keeping fleas, ticks, and such off the property, my cats and strays to keep rabbits and voles contained, ten laying hens—gorgeous Black Australorps—who give me about six eggs a day, various fruit trees, and long beds for vegetables and cut flowers. Drip lines and rain barrels supplement water for so many plantings and heavy composting keeps soils in place and full of nutrient, everything organic.
So! Having a good time here in Southern Pines, NC, with many progressive, like-minded friends to keep me focused. Maybe you noticed that NC turned Blue in the presidential elections, almost as exciting as having Obama elected. Expecting big changes! But we know that we must BE the changes we wish to see.
GM Bt Corn vs. Honey Bees
Bee Learning Behavior Affected by Eating Toxin from GE Corn
By Ken Roseboro, ed.
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, December 2008
A recent study found that honey bees fed on the active form of purified Cry1Ab protein, the genetically modified protein found in GM Bt corn, can be affected in the learning responses necessary to associate nectar sources with odorants.
The scientists wanted to determine if GM Bt is one of the causes for colony collapse disorder, a mysterious affliction that is killing honeybees worldwide.
In this study bees consuming artificial nectar containing 5000ppb of Cry1Ab continued to respond positively to a learned odor even in the absence of a food reward, while normal bee behavior is to become discouraged and seek more abundant food sources.
This learning response is important in bee foraging behavior and it has attracted the attention of CCD researchers since it is known to be inhibited by the insecticide imidacloprid.
The new finding is particularly interesting since it lends weight to a previous suggestion that Bt toxins may have other, non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the normal (i.e. lethal) effect is absent. If there were to be multiple modes of Bt action then many more non-target organisms would likely be at risk from GM Bt corn. Bt Researcher Angelika Hilbeck says that more research is needed that looks at the impacts of both the Bt toxin and imidaclopid on bee behavior.
From Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping
www.BeeCulture.com
By Ken Roseboro, ed.
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, December 2008
A recent study found that honey bees fed on the active form of purified Cry1Ab protein, the genetically modified protein found in GM Bt corn, can be affected in the learning responses necessary to associate nectar sources with odorants.
The scientists wanted to determine if GM Bt is one of the causes for colony collapse disorder, a mysterious affliction that is killing honeybees worldwide.
In this study bees consuming artificial nectar containing 5000ppb of Cry1Ab continued to respond positively to a learned odor even in the absence of a food reward, while normal bee behavior is to become discouraged and seek more abundant food sources.
This learning response is important in bee foraging behavior and it has attracted the attention of CCD researchers since it is known to be inhibited by the insecticide imidacloprid.
The new finding is particularly interesting since it lends weight to a previous suggestion that Bt toxins may have other, non-lethal effects which become apparent only when the normal (i.e. lethal) effect is absent. If there were to be multiple modes of Bt action then many more non-target organisms would likely be at risk from GM Bt corn. Bt Researcher Angelika Hilbeck says that more research is needed that looks at the impacts of both the Bt toxin and imidaclopid on bee behavior.
From Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping
www.BeeCulture.com
12/30/2008
From BBC
Artistic clues to coastal change *How 200-year-old paintings can help modern engineers deal with coastal erosion, a study shows.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7790416.stm
Smiles and scowls 'in our genes' *The facial expressions we make to show or hide our emotions are hardwired into our brains, a study concludes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/health/7798687.stm
'Huge year for natural disasters' *Losses from natural disasters rose by 50% in 2008, underlining need for action on climate change, re-insurers Munich Re say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/business/7803624.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7790416.stm
Smiles and scowls 'in our genes' *The facial expressions we make to show or hide our emotions are hardwired into our brains, a study concludes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/health/7798687.stm
'Huge year for natural disasters' *Losses from natural disasters rose by 50% in 2008, underlining need for action on climate change, re-insurers Munich Re say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/business/7803624.stm
12/19/2008
Climate Hangs on Coal
Climate outcome 'hangs on coal' *If the growth in CO2 emissions is to be constrained, the world cannot afford a coal renaissance, a major scientific meeting is told.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7789249.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7789249.stm
12/18/2008
Most Important Number on Earth
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/11/the-most-important-number-on-earth.html?welcome=true
12/16/2008
12/10/2008
12/03/2008
Sustainable Ag at USDA, Please!
The Obama Administration will be appointing a lot of positions at the US Dept. of Agriculture, and this creates a great opportunity for the incoming President to make good on his pledge of change. Putting people who care about sustainable ag at the top in USDA would be a welcome change indeed.
The website below provides information on some strong candidates for key USDA posts, and has a sample letter for use in submitting your suggestions to both the Obama transition team and the NC and SC congressional delegations. Please review these candidates and considering weighing in on this highly important subject.
http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/members/rebeccaroach/citizen-groups-lobby-to-shape-obamas-usda-posts/
The site has a link for submitting your letter to the Obama transition team. Contact info and/or links for Carolina Senators and Congresspeople is below.
You will find several past CFSA Sustainable Agriculture Conference keynote speakers on the list. In addition, we are aware that Jim Riddle, a frequent SAC speaker and friend to family-scale organic farmers, is a candidate for an appointed position with the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the National Organic Program.
Please take time to help our community influence these critical personnel decisions.
Thanks
Roland
PS: Although Michael Pollan’s name has been floated for the position of Secretary of Agriculture, he has said publicly that he would not accept the appointment.
Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC, 2d Dist) Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC, 7th Dist)
Phone: 202-225-4531 Phone: 202-225-2731
Fax: 202-225-5662 Fax: 202-225-5773
Ag Aide: Benjamin Bell Ag Aide: Kim
Sega
Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC)
Phone: 202-224-5972
Fax: 202-224-3808
Ag Aide: Laura Bauld
For contact info for other Members of the NC and SC Congressional Delegations, visit:
North Carolina: Senate Members
Kay Hagan, D- North Carolina, http://www.kayhagan.com/pages/contact
Burr, Richard R- North Carolina
Representatives
Butterfield, G.K., D-North Carolina, 1st
Jones, Walter B., R-North Carolina, 3rd
Price, David, D-North Carolina, 4th
Foxx, Virginia, R-North Carolina, 5th
Coble, Howard, R-North Carolina, 6th
Myrick, Sue, R-North Carolina, 9th
McHenry, Patrick T., R-North Carolina, 10th
Shuler, Heath, D-North Carolina, 11th
Watt, Mel, D-North Carolina, 12th
Miller, Brad, D-North Carolina, 13th
Larry Kissell, D-North Carolina, 8th, http://www.larrykissell.com/
South Carolina: Senate Members
DeMint Jim R- South Carolina
Representatives
Brown, Henry, R-South Carolina, 1st
Wilson, Joe, R-South Carolina, 2nd
Barrett, J.Gresham, R-South Carolina, 3rd
Inglis, Bob, R-South Carolina, 4th
Spratt, John, D-South Carolina, 5th
Clyburn, James E., D-South Carolina, 6th
Roland McReynolds, Esq
CFSA Executive Director
PO Box 448
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Ph: 919-542-2402
Fax: 919-542-7401
www.carolinafarmstewards.org
The website below provides information on some strong candidates for key USDA posts, and has a sample letter for use in submitting your suggestions to both the Obama transition team and the NC and SC congressional delegations. Please review these candidates and considering weighing in on this highly important subject.
http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/members/rebeccaroach/citizen-groups-lobby-to-shape-obamas-usda-posts/
The site has a link for submitting your letter to the Obama transition team. Contact info and/or links for Carolina Senators and Congresspeople is below.
You will find several past CFSA Sustainable Agriculture Conference keynote speakers on the list. In addition, we are aware that Jim Riddle, a frequent SAC speaker and friend to family-scale organic farmers, is a candidate for an appointed position with the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the National Organic Program.
Please take time to help our community influence these critical personnel decisions.
Thanks
Roland
PS: Although Michael Pollan’s name has been floated for the position of Secretary of Agriculture, he has said publicly that he would not accept the appointment.
Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC, 2d Dist) Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC, 7th Dist)
Phone: 202-225-4531 Phone: 202-225-2731
Fax: 202-225-5662 Fax: 202-225-5773
Ag Aide: Benjamin Bell Ag Aide: Kim
Sega
Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC)
Phone: 202-224-5972
Fax: 202-224-3808
Ag Aide: Laura Bauld
For contact info for other Members of the NC and SC Congressional Delegations, visit:
North Carolina: Senate Members
Kay Hagan, D- North Carolina, http://www.kayhagan.com/pages/contact
Burr, Richard R- North Carolina
Representatives
Butterfield, G.K., D-North Carolina, 1st
Jones, Walter B., R-North Carolina, 3rd
Price, David, D-North Carolina, 4th
Foxx, Virginia, R-North Carolina, 5th
Coble, Howard, R-North Carolina, 6th
Myrick, Sue, R-North Carolina, 9th
McHenry, Patrick T., R-North Carolina, 10th
Shuler, Heath, D-North Carolina, 11th
Watt, Mel, D-North Carolina, 12th
Miller, Brad, D-North Carolina, 13th
Larry Kissell, D-North Carolina, 8th, http://www.larrykissell.com/
South Carolina: Senate Members
DeMint Jim R- South Carolina
Representatives
Brown, Henry, R-South Carolina, 1st
Wilson, Joe, R-South Carolina, 2nd
Barrett, J.Gresham, R-South Carolina, 3rd
Inglis, Bob, R-South Carolina, 4th
Spratt, John, D-South Carolina, 5th
Clyburn, James E., D-South Carolina, 6th
Roland McReynolds, Esq
CFSA Executive Director
PO Box 448
Pittsboro, NC 27312
Ph: 919-542-2402
Fax: 919-542-7401
www.carolinafarmstewards.org
12/02/2008
Job Opening with Conservation Council of NC
GLOBAL WARMING PROJECT COORDINATOR
The Conservation Council of North Carolina (CCNC) seeks an experienced organizer to serve as the full-time Project Coordinator for their joint partnership with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Global Warming Project.
In 2007, LCVEF, in partnership with state partners, launched a major campaign to elevate global warming in the 2008 presidential primaries. The Heat Is On campaign (www.heatison.org) was active in the early-voting states for more than a year. In 2008-2009, LCVEF & CCNC plan to work to make global warming a top priority for citizens, and particularly for North Carolina’s congressional delegation.
The Project Coordinator will oversee the day-to-day planning and implementation of our program.
The Project Coordinator will work closely with CCNC’s staff and coalition partners to coordinate state-level activities, conduct outreach to opinion leaders, generate earned media, and engage voters and the congressional delegation about the urgency and importance of global warming.
Responsibilities:
• Work with CCNC staff and LCVEF staff to develop and implement a year-long plan to elevate global warming as a top-tier priority in North Carolina
• Work with coalition partners to coordinate outreach and organizing efforts
• Meet with opinion leaders (reporters, editorial boards, state elected officials, donors, etc.) to engage them on the threats and opportunities associated with climate change
• Conduct outreach to non-traditional allies concerned about global warming
Qualifications:
The ideal candidates will have a college degree and several years experience in organizing and advocacy. Skills should include:
• Strong communication skills including public speaking and advocacy writing
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced campaign environment
• Familiarity with the issue of global warming an asset
• Strong leadership skills to build and maintain a team
• Basic computer skills
Position:
The Project Coordinator is a full-time position starting January and running through 2009. The position will be based in Raleigh, NC.
Interested Applicants: Please submit a letter of interest and resume to:
ccnc@conservationcouncilnc.org with the subject heading: NC Project Coordinator
Deadline: Applications will be accepted through December 12th, 2008
http://www.conservationcouncilnc.org
http://www.heatison.org
Conservation Council of North Carolina is an equal opportunity employer
The Conservation Council of North Carolina (CCNC) seeks an experienced organizer to serve as the full-time Project Coordinator for their joint partnership with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Global Warming Project.
In 2007, LCVEF, in partnership with state partners, launched a major campaign to elevate global warming in the 2008 presidential primaries. The Heat Is On campaign (www.heatison.org) was active in the early-voting states for more than a year. In 2008-2009, LCVEF & CCNC plan to work to make global warming a top priority for citizens, and particularly for North Carolina’s congressional delegation.
The Project Coordinator will oversee the day-to-day planning and implementation of our program.
The Project Coordinator will work closely with CCNC’s staff and coalition partners to coordinate state-level activities, conduct outreach to opinion leaders, generate earned media, and engage voters and the congressional delegation about the urgency and importance of global warming.
Responsibilities:
• Work with CCNC staff and LCVEF staff to develop and implement a year-long plan to elevate global warming as a top-tier priority in North Carolina
• Work with coalition partners to coordinate outreach and organizing efforts
• Meet with opinion leaders (reporters, editorial boards, state elected officials, donors, etc.) to engage them on the threats and opportunities associated with climate change
• Conduct outreach to non-traditional allies concerned about global warming
Qualifications:
The ideal candidates will have a college degree and several years experience in organizing and advocacy. Skills should include:
• Strong communication skills including public speaking and advocacy writing
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced campaign environment
• Familiarity with the issue of global warming an asset
• Strong leadership skills to build and maintain a team
• Basic computer skills
Position:
The Project Coordinator is a full-time position starting January and running through 2009. The position will be based in Raleigh, NC.
Interested Applicants: Please submit a letter of interest and resume to:
ccnc@conservationcouncilnc.org with the subject heading: NC Project Coordinator
Deadline: Applications will be accepted through December 12th, 2008
http://www.conservationcouncilnc.org
http://www.heatison.org
Conservation Council of North Carolina is an equal opportunity employer
11/30/2008
11/29/2008
11/23/2008
The Family Farm and the G D
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/22-1 [indicates that family farms, not the war effort, are what lifted us from the Great Depression.]
Counting to Twelve
Counting to Twelve
KEEPING QUIET
Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about.....
If we were not so single minded about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us,
as when everything seems dead in winter and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
Pablo Neruda
KEEPING QUIET
Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about.....
If we were not so single minded about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us,
as when everything seems dead in winter and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
Pablo Neruda
11/22/2008
11/20/2008
Edible Landscape, Afton, VA
http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/
[to order fruit trees, shrubs, more edibles for your backyard farm]
[to order fruit trees, shrubs, more edibles for your backyard farm]
Sweet Potato Doughnuts, Carrboro FM
Did someone say fresh, local doughnuts this Saturday at the market?
On Saturday, November 22nd, Ricky Moore, executive chef from Glass Halfull Restaurant, cooks homemade sweet potato doughnuts drizzled with a local apple cider cinnamon glaze. Hungry yet? This is a morning not to miss! Bring the family and friends because this breakfast will be devoured by people of all ages! To learn more about Chef Ricky Moore and Glass Halfull, visit their website at http://glasshalfullcarrboro.com.
On Saturday, November 22nd, Ricky Moore, executive chef from Glass Halfull Restaurant, cooks homemade sweet potato doughnuts drizzled with a local apple cider cinnamon glaze. Hungry yet? This is a morning not to miss! Bring the family and friends because this breakfast will be devoured by people of all ages! To learn more about Chef Ricky Moore and Glass Halfull, visit their website at http://glasshalfullcarrboro.com.
11/19/2008
11/18/2008
11/13/2008
Bush Adm. Pushes More Deregs
* Bush Admin Pushes Through Last-Minute Deregulation that May Be Hard to Undo * The Bush administration is quietly trying to push through a wide array of federal regulations before President Bush leaves office in January. Up to ninety proposed regulations could be finalized, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.
We speak to Matthew Madia of the watchdog group OMB Watch.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/13/bush_admin_pushing_through_last
We speak to Matthew Madia of the watchdog group OMB Watch.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/13/bush_admin_pushing_through_last
11/12/2008
11/11/2008
Where's Help For the Rest of Us?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/opinion/11herbert.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
11/10/2008
11/09/2008
Gore on Election, Climate
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin
http://www.ondayone.org/node/661
http://www.ondayone.org/node/661
Bring sustainable gardening to The White House! Encourage Obama to model the changes we need to see! Blog it! Write him at change.gov!
And even if your space is small, check out Pimp My Patio!)
Bring sustainable gardening to The White House! Encourage Obama to model the changes we need to see! Blog it! Write him at change.gov!
And even if your space is small, check out Pimp My Patio!)
11/08/2008
Benefits of Organic Growing, Nov 17
The Organic Market, Organic Certification, Benefits of Organic
Monday, Nov 17, 5 - 6:00 dinner, 6 - 8:00 progam
Moore County Agriculture Center, 707 Pinehurst, Ave., Carthage
Tony Klesse, Production Manager, Eastern Carolina Organics, is the presenter. Also hear from current Eco farmers about selling for organic markets.
$10 registration fee, contact 910 947 3188 by Nov. 14 to reserve a space.
Monday, Nov 17, 5 - 6:00 dinner, 6 - 8:00 progam
Moore County Agriculture Center, 707 Pinehurst, Ave., Carthage
Tony Klesse, Production Manager, Eastern Carolina Organics, is the presenter. Also hear from current Eco farmers about selling for organic markets.
$10 registration fee, contact 910 947 3188 by Nov. 14 to reserve a space.
Conservation Insider Bulletin, Nov 7
Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
November 7, 2008—ELECTIONS RESULTS EDITION
That cheering you hear is conservationists nationwide celebrating the end of the Bush Reign of Error, as change sweeps the electorate. We review key results nationally and in North Carolina, this week in CIB:
Campaign Watch: Green Day
Of course, our lead story of the week (the year?) is the Obama victory and the change it portends for national environmental policy. This week we include notes on the environmental role in that victory. Looking beyond the presidential contest, we also review a raft of Election Day results of critical environmental significance.
LCV Celebrates Big Day at the Polls: The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) held a nationwide telephone briefing on Thursday to review environmental successes in the 2008 elections. LCV was an early and enthusiastic backer of the historic Barack Obama candidacy. LCV staff reported that its paid and volunteer voter contact efforts targeted green-leaning voters in six swing states (including North Carolina); Obama won all six.
In Congressional contests, LCV is also celebrating a strong performance by its endorsed candidates. Of 116 Congressional candidates endorsed by LCV or its associated state groups, 92 won and only 18 lost. As of Thursday afternoon, six contests (including both the Alaska Senate and House races) were still too close to call. Winners included seven of the 13 contests involving incumbents designated among the anti-environmental "Dirty Dozen" non-honorees. (Two of the other six were the Alaska races.) Full details are at www.lcv.org.
LCV noted that overall it and its 35 state partner groups spent a cumulative $13 million in supporting or opposing candidates in this 2008 election cycle, and that 78% of the supported candidates (Congress and state legislatures) won. Representative of the kind of candidates LCV supported is Gary Peters, who defeated "Dirty Dozen" member Rep. Joe Knollenberg to take Michigan's 9th Congressional District seat. Peters, who was known for his work at the state level to protect the Great Lakes, campaigned for Congress on the issue of reviving the domestic auto industry through investment in production of cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
In North Carolina, LCV went three for five, backing winners Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate race, newly elected Larry Kissell (8th Congressional District), and re-elected Rep. Heath Shuler (11th District). Unfortunately, underdog Congressional contenders Roy Carter (5th District) and Daniel Johnson (10th District) fell short in very tough districts. LCV was particularly jazzed up about its statewide efforts on behalf of the Obama and Hagan campaigns. LCV noted that it spent more than $500,000 in North Carolina to contact voters here over 188,000 times via mail, phone, and canvass. Obama won North Carolina by a razor-thin margin of about 14,000 votes. LCV's ranking of Elizabeth Dole (defeated by Hagan) among its "Dirty Dozen" targets helped to frame Dole's image as an advocate for Big Oil.
CCNC Picks Do Well Statewide: CCNC enjoyed a similarly successful campaign in its statewide and state legislature efforts in 2008. Overall, CCNC's endorsed statewide candidates for governor (Bev Perdue), attorney general (Roy Cooper), and treasurer (Janet Cowell) swept to wins. In legislative races (CCNC's primary campaign focus), all 22 endorsed Senate candidates and 44 of its 48 endorsed House candidates won. (Two House races, one win and one loss, were close enough that recounts are possible.) For more details, here is the legislative contest summary from CCNC political director Brownie Newman:
There is much to report on the positive front from the Legislature. First and foremost, all but one of our pro-environmental candidates were re-elected on Tuesday. Wins include our six state Senators who occupy tough swing districts:
· Donald Davis (D-Greene), District 5 won the open seated created by the retirement of John Kerr. He defeated state Rep. Louis Pate for the position. The CPAC should feel good about supporting Davis in a tough five candidate primary as well as in the General Election. He should be a strong leader on our issues.
· Neal Hunt (R-Wake), District 15 survived the blue wave that washed across much of the urban and suburban areas of the state, winning over Democratic challenger Chris Mintz.
· Josh Stein (D-Wake), District 16 picked up the seat created by Janet Cowell’s run for State Treasurer. Stein was expected to win in the General, but as with Donald Davis, the Conservation PAC can feel good to have supported Stein where it counted in the tough Primary Election as well.
· Steve Goss (D-Watauga), District 45 still stands where lightning has now struck twice. He again won a district that by all objective measures should not be held by a Democrat. Two years ago, the Senate Republicans could be forgiven for overlooking this sleeper race but this year have no such excuse. Goss won re-election in this heavily Republican district by a margin of 53-46.
· Joe Sam Queen (D-Haywood), District 47 won his re-match with Keith Pressnell. For the first time, the race was not a complete squeaker with Queen achieving a 53-46 spread.
· John Snow (D-Cherokee), District 50 cruised to victory in his far western district by a 57-42 margin. Since Snow’s upset win in 2004, the Republicans have so far failed to recruit a strong candidate to run against Snow in a district where they should be highly competitive.
Conservation Council endorsed candidates also fared well in the NC House. Environmental champion and Speaker of the House Joe Hackney will return to the chamber with a strong hand as his Democratic majority retained their overall position in the chamber, offsetting a couple of losses with several pickups. Before outlining our long list of wins in tough districts, let me note the races where our endorsed candidates did not win:
· Barbara Garrity-Blake (D-Carteret) lost her bid to unseat Rep. Pat McElraft in District 13 by a 56-43 margin. Garrity-Blake ran a strong campaign but was swimming upstream in this Republican-leaning district.
· Al Swanstrom came up just short in his effort to unseat Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) in District 36. He lost by the smallest of margins with a 50-49 spread.
· Ed Ridpath lost his race against Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) in District 37 by a 53-46 margin.
· The one CPAC-endorsed incumbent to lose on election night is apparently Jim Harrell (D-Alleghany) who is behind in the vote total by a tiny number of votes.
On the plus side, we have a large number of strong environmental legislators who occupy tough swing districts who retained their seats on election day. Here are races we consider to be of particular note:
· Alice Underhill (D-Craven) retained her seat in House District 3 by a margin of 49-47. Many people continue to believe that Underhill may be the only Democrat that has the capacity to retain this seat.
· Grier Martin (D-Wake) held District 34 by a healthy margin.
· Ty Harrell (D-Wake) won re-election to House District 41 in what was one of the most targeted districts in the state by both parties.
· Alice Borden (D-Alamance) won a blowout in District 63 despite earlier nervousness among Democrats that this seat may be tough to hold this cycle.
· Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga) won re-election to the seat (District 93) he captured two years ago in the Boone area.
· Jane Whilden (D-Buncombe) picked up the District 116, which was vacated by environmental Freshman of the Year Charles Thomas.
· Phil Haire (D-Jackson) won an easy victory in House District 119 although he only narrowly held the seat two years ago.
Complete 2008 CCNC endorsements are posted at www.ccnccpac.org and complete results will be available there soon.
Smart Growth Candidate Prevails in Wake County Voting: In addition to the national and state-level races, there were local elections with environmental ramifications across North Carolina, including both county officials and bond issues. We're not ready yet to provide a survey of noteworthy local results, but we do want to mention one, highlighted a week ago in the last 2008 pre-election CIB.
In a bellweather contest for Wake County Commissioner, smart growth advocate Stan Norwalk defeated incumbent Commissioner Kenn Gardner by a margin of 55-45 out of over 400,000 votes cast. Norwalk, a founding leader of the local planned-growth advocacy group WakeUp Wake County, won despite heavy spending on attacks against him. A group called the "N.C. Homeowners Alliance" tried to paint Norwalk as a kind of Mad Taxer because of his support for the use of land transfer taxes to help pay for the costs of public infrastructure required by new development. This so-called "Homeowners Alliance" was financially underwritten by realtor organization contributions in its campaign of anti-Norwalk mailers and robocalls. Their failure in this contest may indicate that voters are beginning to lose patience with such fulminations.
Washington Watch: Transition Team and EPA Rumors
This is the first presidential election which we can recall in which the prevailing candidate has made a major environmental issue one of the centerpieces of his campaign. For Obama, clean energy has not been a secondary topic or a minor commitment. It has been at the heart of his economic action package—in fact, his centerpiece economic proposal is a ten-year, $150 billion plan for investment in solar, wind, biofuels, and efficient vehicles to address oil dependency, fight global warming, and create enduring jobs.
Given that emphasis, it should come as no surprise that environmental leaders are playing a prominent role in the very earliest acts of Obama's transition from campaign to governance. In fact, the head of Obama's transition team, John D. Podesta, is a member of the League of Conservation Voters' (LCV) national board of directors. Podesta is a former chief of staff for the Clinton White House, who currently heads a major progressive policy research foundation, the Center for American Progress. Another member of the Obama transition team, Carol Browner, is former EPA head under Clinton and also a current member of the LCV board of directors. (By the way, CCNC executive director Carrie Clark is another of the 30-member LCV board. Pretty rarified company...)
Obama's emphasis on environmental policy means that the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency is likely to have real influence within his administration. Therefore, we take note of the early rumors on who may be in line for that post. Among the supposed candidates: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance and a leading environmental activist. Other names making the list of rumored possibilities include Lisa Jackson, head of New Jersey's Dept. of Environmental Protection; Robert Sussman, former deputy administrator of the EPA under Clinton; Kathleen McGinty, who has been an aide to Al Gore, chair of the Clinton Office of Environmental Policy, and head of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection; Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board; and Dan Esty, a leading Obama energy advisor who heads Yale's Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org
November 7, 2008—ELECTIONS RESULTS EDITION
That cheering you hear is conservationists nationwide celebrating the end of the Bush Reign of Error, as change sweeps the electorate. We review key results nationally and in North Carolina, this week in CIB:
Campaign Watch: Green Day
Of course, our lead story of the week (the year?) is the Obama victory and the change it portends for national environmental policy. This week we include notes on the environmental role in that victory. Looking beyond the presidential contest, we also review a raft of Election Day results of critical environmental significance.
LCV Celebrates Big Day at the Polls: The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) held a nationwide telephone briefing on Thursday to review environmental successes in the 2008 elections. LCV was an early and enthusiastic backer of the historic Barack Obama candidacy. LCV staff reported that its paid and volunteer voter contact efforts targeted green-leaning voters in six swing states (including North Carolina); Obama won all six.
In Congressional contests, LCV is also celebrating a strong performance by its endorsed candidates. Of 116 Congressional candidates endorsed by LCV or its associated state groups, 92 won and only 18 lost. As of Thursday afternoon, six contests (including both the Alaska Senate and House races) were still too close to call. Winners included seven of the 13 contests involving incumbents designated among the anti-environmental "Dirty Dozen" non-honorees. (Two of the other six were the Alaska races.) Full details are at www.lcv.org.
LCV noted that overall it and its 35 state partner groups spent a cumulative $13 million in supporting or opposing candidates in this 2008 election cycle, and that 78% of the supported candidates (Congress and state legislatures) won. Representative of the kind of candidates LCV supported is Gary Peters, who defeated "Dirty Dozen" member Rep. Joe Knollenberg to take Michigan's 9th Congressional District seat. Peters, who was known for his work at the state level to protect the Great Lakes, campaigned for Congress on the issue of reviving the domestic auto industry through investment in production of cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
In North Carolina, LCV went three for five, backing winners Kay Hagan in the U.S. Senate race, newly elected Larry Kissell (8th Congressional District), and re-elected Rep. Heath Shuler (11th District). Unfortunately, underdog Congressional contenders Roy Carter (5th District) and Daniel Johnson (10th District) fell short in very tough districts. LCV was particularly jazzed up about its statewide efforts on behalf of the Obama and Hagan campaigns. LCV noted that it spent more than $500,000 in North Carolina to contact voters here over 188,000 times via mail, phone, and canvass. Obama won North Carolina by a razor-thin margin of about 14,000 votes. LCV's ranking of Elizabeth Dole (defeated by Hagan) among its "Dirty Dozen" targets helped to frame Dole's image as an advocate for Big Oil.
CCNC Picks Do Well Statewide: CCNC enjoyed a similarly successful campaign in its statewide and state legislature efforts in 2008. Overall, CCNC's endorsed statewide candidates for governor (Bev Perdue), attorney general (Roy Cooper), and treasurer (Janet Cowell) swept to wins. In legislative races (CCNC's primary campaign focus), all 22 endorsed Senate candidates and 44 of its 48 endorsed House candidates won. (Two House races, one win and one loss, were close enough that recounts are possible.) For more details, here is the legislative contest summary from CCNC political director Brownie Newman:
There is much to report on the positive front from the Legislature. First and foremost, all but one of our pro-environmental candidates were re-elected on Tuesday. Wins include our six state Senators who occupy tough swing districts:
· Donald Davis (D-Greene), District 5 won the open seated created by the retirement of John Kerr. He defeated state Rep. Louis Pate for the position. The CPAC should feel good about supporting Davis in a tough five candidate primary as well as in the General Election. He should be a strong leader on our issues.
· Neal Hunt (R-Wake), District 15 survived the blue wave that washed across much of the urban and suburban areas of the state, winning over Democratic challenger Chris Mintz.
· Josh Stein (D-Wake), District 16 picked up the seat created by Janet Cowell’s run for State Treasurer. Stein was expected to win in the General, but as with Donald Davis, the Conservation PAC can feel good to have supported Stein where it counted in the tough Primary Election as well.
· Steve Goss (D-Watauga), District 45 still stands where lightning has now struck twice. He again won a district that by all objective measures should not be held by a Democrat. Two years ago, the Senate Republicans could be forgiven for overlooking this sleeper race but this year have no such excuse. Goss won re-election in this heavily Republican district by a margin of 53-46.
· Joe Sam Queen (D-Haywood), District 47 won his re-match with Keith Pressnell. For the first time, the race was not a complete squeaker with Queen achieving a 53-46 spread.
· John Snow (D-Cherokee), District 50 cruised to victory in his far western district by a 57-42 margin. Since Snow’s upset win in 2004, the Republicans have so far failed to recruit a strong candidate to run against Snow in a district where they should be highly competitive.
Conservation Council endorsed candidates also fared well in the NC House. Environmental champion and Speaker of the House Joe Hackney will return to the chamber with a strong hand as his Democratic majority retained their overall position in the chamber, offsetting a couple of losses with several pickups. Before outlining our long list of wins in tough districts, let me note the races where our endorsed candidates did not win:
· Barbara Garrity-Blake (D-Carteret) lost her bid to unseat Rep. Pat McElraft in District 13 by a 56-43 margin. Garrity-Blake ran a strong campaign but was swimming upstream in this Republican-leaning district.
· Al Swanstrom came up just short in his effort to unseat Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake) in District 36. He lost by the smallest of margins with a 50-49 spread.
· Ed Ridpath lost his race against Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) in District 37 by a 53-46 margin.
· The one CPAC-endorsed incumbent to lose on election night is apparently Jim Harrell (D-Alleghany) who is behind in the vote total by a tiny number of votes.
On the plus side, we have a large number of strong environmental legislators who occupy tough swing districts who retained their seats on election day. Here are races we consider to be of particular note:
· Alice Underhill (D-Craven) retained her seat in House District 3 by a margin of 49-47. Many people continue to believe that Underhill may be the only Democrat that has the capacity to retain this seat.
· Grier Martin (D-Wake) held District 34 by a healthy margin.
· Ty Harrell (D-Wake) won re-election to House District 41 in what was one of the most targeted districts in the state by both parties.
· Alice Borden (D-Alamance) won a blowout in District 63 despite earlier nervousness among Democrats that this seat may be tough to hold this cycle.
· Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga) won re-election to the seat (District 93) he captured two years ago in the Boone area.
· Jane Whilden (D-Buncombe) picked up the District 116, which was vacated by environmental Freshman of the Year Charles Thomas.
· Phil Haire (D-Jackson) won an easy victory in House District 119 although he only narrowly held the seat two years ago.
Complete 2008 CCNC endorsements are posted at www.ccnccpac.org and complete results will be available there soon.
Smart Growth Candidate Prevails in Wake County Voting: In addition to the national and state-level races, there were local elections with environmental ramifications across North Carolina, including both county officials and bond issues. We're not ready yet to provide a survey of noteworthy local results, but we do want to mention one, highlighted a week ago in the last 2008 pre-election CIB.
In a bellweather contest for Wake County Commissioner, smart growth advocate Stan Norwalk defeated incumbent Commissioner Kenn Gardner by a margin of 55-45 out of over 400,000 votes cast. Norwalk, a founding leader of the local planned-growth advocacy group WakeUp Wake County, won despite heavy spending on attacks against him. A group called the "N.C. Homeowners Alliance" tried to paint Norwalk as a kind of Mad Taxer because of his support for the use of land transfer taxes to help pay for the costs of public infrastructure required by new development. This so-called "Homeowners Alliance" was financially underwritten by realtor organization contributions in its campaign of anti-Norwalk mailers and robocalls. Their failure in this contest may indicate that voters are beginning to lose patience with such fulminations.
Washington Watch: Transition Team and EPA Rumors
This is the first presidential election which we can recall in which the prevailing candidate has made a major environmental issue one of the centerpieces of his campaign. For Obama, clean energy has not been a secondary topic or a minor commitment. It has been at the heart of his economic action package—in fact, his centerpiece economic proposal is a ten-year, $150 billion plan for investment in solar, wind, biofuels, and efficient vehicles to address oil dependency, fight global warming, and create enduring jobs.
Given that emphasis, it should come as no surprise that environmental leaders are playing a prominent role in the very earliest acts of Obama's transition from campaign to governance. In fact, the head of Obama's transition team, John D. Podesta, is a member of the League of Conservation Voters' (LCV) national board of directors. Podesta is a former chief of staff for the Clinton White House, who currently heads a major progressive policy research foundation, the Center for American Progress. Another member of the Obama transition team, Carol Browner, is former EPA head under Clinton and also a current member of the LCV board of directors. (By the way, CCNC executive director Carrie Clark is another of the 30-member LCV board. Pretty rarified company...)
Obama's emphasis on environmental policy means that the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency is likely to have real influence within his administration. Therefore, we take note of the early rumors on who may be in line for that post. Among the supposed candidates: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance and a leading environmental activist. Other names making the list of rumored possibilities include Lisa Jackson, head of New Jersey's Dept. of Environmental Protection; Robert Sussman, former deputy administrator of the EPA under Clinton; Kathleen McGinty, who has been an aide to Al Gore, chair of the Clinton Office of Environmental Policy, and head of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection; Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board; and Dan Esty, a leading Obama energy advisor who heads Yale's Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
11/06/2008
Ditto, Michael
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Friends,
Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.
In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.
There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.
It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.
But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.
An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.
We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.
I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.
But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com
Friends,
Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.
In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.
There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.
It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.
But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.
We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.
An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.
We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.
I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.
But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com
Dem Women, Moore County, Nov. 8
The Democratic Women of Moore County will be meeting this Saturday, at 10 AM November 8 at Democratic Headquarters in Carthage. Tessie Taylor will be the guest speaker. Tessie was the Moore County delegate to the Democratic Convention in Denver last August. She will be talking about her experience as a delegate and her highlights of the convention. We will also be celebrating our election day victories!! See you Saturday
11/05/2008
Hopes and Stocks Rise
Obama wins historic US election *Democratic Senator Barack Obama says "change has come to America", after being elected the first black president of the United States.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7709978.stm
Obama makes victory speech *President elect Barack Obama has addressed supporters in Chicago after beating John McCain to become the next US president.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710040.stm
Democrats score huge Congress win *Republicans lose ground in the race for Congress, projections indicate, with Democrats taking five Senate seats.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7707760.stm
Stocks rise after Obama victory *Shares in Asia make gains following the election of Democrat Barack Obama as the next US president.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/business/7710106.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7709978.stm
Obama makes victory speech *President elect Barack Obama has addressed supporters in Chicago after beating John McCain to become the next US president.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710040.stm
Democrats score huge Congress win *Republicans lose ground in the race for Congress, projections indicate, with Democrats taking five Senate seats.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7707760.stm
Stocks rise after Obama victory *Shares in Asia make gains following the election of Democrat Barack Obama as the next US president.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/business/7710106.stm
11/03/2008
Curiosity, Studs Terkel
Pioneering Radio Broadcaster Studs Terkel, 96, Dies
And the legendary radio broadcaster, writer, oral historian, raconteur and chronicler of our times, Studs Terkel, died Friday at the age of ninety-six in his home town of Chicago. Over the years, he has worked as an activist, a civil servant, a labor organizer, a radio DJ, an ad writer and a television actor. In 2005, he appeared on Democracy Now! just weeks after undergoing open-heart surgery. Doctors said Studs Terkel, at ninety-three, was the oldest patient known to have undergone such a procedure. He talked about how he survived it.
Studs Terkel: “My curiosity is what saw me through. What would the world be like, or will there be a world? And so, that’s my epitaph. I have it all set. Curiosity did not kill this cat. And it’s curiosity, I think, that has saved me thus far.”
And the legendary radio broadcaster, writer, oral historian, raconteur and chronicler of our times, Studs Terkel, died Friday at the age of ninety-six in his home town of Chicago. Over the years, he has worked as an activist, a civil servant, a labor organizer, a radio DJ, an ad writer and a television actor. In 2005, he appeared on Democracy Now! just weeks after undergoing open-heart surgery. Doctors said Studs Terkel, at ninety-three, was the oldest patient known to have undergone such a procedure. He talked about how he survived it.
Studs Terkel: “My curiosity is what saw me through. What would the world be like, or will there be a world? And so, that’s my epitaph. I have it all set. Curiosity did not kill this cat. And it’s curiosity, I think, that has saved me thus far.”
Because He's Black
Vote for him - because he's Black
by Greg Palast for HuffingtonPost.com
No question, Mr. Bruce was my favorite teacher in junior high.
I went to this Loser-ville school in the San Fernando Valley. It was all Chicano kids and working class white losers like me. Everyone had to take 'metal shop' so we could work the bottom-end jobs in the Chevy plant.
My brain was dying - until Mr. Bruce showed up, the new science teacher. DOCTOR Bruce, actually - the only Ph.d teacher in the place.
At lunch hour, instead of hanging out in the teachers' lunchroom, Mr. Bruce would invite me and my friends into his classroom. Over coffee made on a Bunsen burner, he would talk about topics from Einstein to Buddha while munching on this strange stuff called "organic" food.
He was simply like no adult I'd ever met - an exceptional guy who could make us dull-brained students sizzle.
My parents had him over for Sunday brunch and he talked about his work as a 'honey-dipper' in the Deep South where he grew up. The honey-dipper was the guy who hunted for lost glasses and whatever else was dropped in outhouse cesspools. Dr. Bruce said he enjoyed the work because it taught him pleasures of quiet grace, of dignified acceptance.
The kids were crazy about him, but not all the parents. Some called to complain about the school hiring him.
So he left. Months later, Mr. Bruce mailed me a letter from Japan where he'd taken a university post.
It's odd, but it was only this year that I put it all together: his exclusion by the other teachers, his job as a honey-dipper, his need to escape America.
Dr. Bruce, of course, is Black.
So, I'm going to do something that Dr. Bruce would think little of. I'm going to vote for the Black man. Because he's Black.
The truth is, I'm wary of Barack Obama. His cozy relations with the sub-prime loan sharks who funded his early campaign; his vote, at the behest of his big donor ADM corporation, for the horrific Bush energy bill.
But there's one thing that overshadows policy positions, one thing he cannot change once in office: the color of his skin. The same as Mr. Bruce's.
I'm going to say something that I know the Obama campaign will just hate; but that many others are feeling but won't say out loud. We must vote for Barack Obama because he's Black.
For four centuries, our nation has poisoned itself with the corrosive venom of racism. From the slave trade, to our still-segregated schools, to the Bush family stealing the White House by cynically, and sinfully, calling Florida Black voters felons; to the exile of a brilliant science teacher four decades ago.
The time has come to cleanse the wound that will not heal.
********
Greg Palast's investigative reports appear on BBC Television and in Rolling Stone Magazine. Palast is the co-author, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of "Steal Back Your Vote," the investigative comic book available for no charge at StealBackYourVote.org and www.GregPalast.com
Palast is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Fellow for investigative reporting.
by Greg Palast for HuffingtonPost.com
No question, Mr. Bruce was my favorite teacher in junior high.
I went to this Loser-ville school in the San Fernando Valley. It was all Chicano kids and working class white losers like me. Everyone had to take 'metal shop' so we could work the bottom-end jobs in the Chevy plant.
My brain was dying - until Mr. Bruce showed up, the new science teacher. DOCTOR Bruce, actually - the only Ph.d teacher in the place.
At lunch hour, instead of hanging out in the teachers' lunchroom, Mr. Bruce would invite me and my friends into his classroom. Over coffee made on a Bunsen burner, he would talk about topics from Einstein to Buddha while munching on this strange stuff called "organic" food.
He was simply like no adult I'd ever met - an exceptional guy who could make us dull-brained students sizzle.
My parents had him over for Sunday brunch and he talked about his work as a 'honey-dipper' in the Deep South where he grew up. The honey-dipper was the guy who hunted for lost glasses and whatever else was dropped in outhouse cesspools. Dr. Bruce said he enjoyed the work because it taught him pleasures of quiet grace, of dignified acceptance.
The kids were crazy about him, but not all the parents. Some called to complain about the school hiring him.
So he left. Months later, Mr. Bruce mailed me a letter from Japan where he'd taken a university post.
It's odd, but it was only this year that I put it all together: his exclusion by the other teachers, his job as a honey-dipper, his need to escape America.
Dr. Bruce, of course, is Black.
So, I'm going to do something that Dr. Bruce would think little of. I'm going to vote for the Black man. Because he's Black.
The truth is, I'm wary of Barack Obama. His cozy relations with the sub-prime loan sharks who funded his early campaign; his vote, at the behest of his big donor ADM corporation, for the horrific Bush energy bill.
But there's one thing that overshadows policy positions, one thing he cannot change once in office: the color of his skin. The same as Mr. Bruce's.
I'm going to say something that I know the Obama campaign will just hate; but that many others are feeling but won't say out loud. We must vote for Barack Obama because he's Black.
For four centuries, our nation has poisoned itself with the corrosive venom of racism. From the slave trade, to our still-segregated schools, to the Bush family stealing the White House by cynically, and sinfully, calling Florida Black voters felons; to the exile of a brilliant science teacher four decades ago.
The time has come to cleanse the wound that will not heal.
********
Greg Palast's investigative reports appear on BBC Television and in Rolling Stone Magazine. Palast is the co-author, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of "Steal Back Your Vote," the investigative comic book available for no charge at StealBackYourVote.org and www.GregPalast.com
Palast is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Fellow for investigative reporting.
Mud Eruption From Drilling
Mud eruption 'caused by drilling'
Leading geologists from around the world decide that a mud volcano disaster in Indonesia was triggered by oil and gas exploration.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7699672.stm
Leading geologists from around the world decide that a mud volcano disaster in Indonesia was triggered by oil and gas exploration.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7699672.stm
11/02/2008
You Know This Election Is Important
[from Dan Besse]
Fellow conservationists,
I was out early yesterday afternoon working an early-voting line. By late afternoon, I was canvassing door-to-door for Obama. I'm going back out again later this afternoon.
You already know why this election is important. It pits the ticket of drill-baby-drill, double-the-nukes, and follow-the-Bush against leaders who understand what we have to do to fix climate change and save our planet for our children.
The early voting numbers are in, and early turnout was extraordinary. More than one-third of registered voters in North Carolina have already voted. Based on the makeup of the turnout so far, best estimates are that Obama is ahead by as much as six points among those who have already voted in our state.
But the other side has just kicked off its famed 72-hour get-out-the-vote machine. They're starting their "surge" (and by now, I'm sick and tired of that word). The outcome of the election for president (and senator, and governor, and on down the line) hangs in the balance of what we do between now and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
That's what WE do to get out our own voters. Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday--please take two hours--or more, if you can--to help get out the vote. Call your local Obama office to sign up for a shift on the phones, on the doors, or at the polls. And if you don't have your local office contact info, here's a link where you can get it:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nchome
I wouldn't be pestering you two days before the vote if I didn't know that this is both the most important and the closest election in North Carolina in my lifetime. And that what we do now will decide the outcome.
A lot of folks are arguing about whether North Carolina will be red or blue come Tuesday night. Well, I want it to be green! Let's make it happen. Thanks! Dan
Fellow conservationists,
I was out early yesterday afternoon working an early-voting line. By late afternoon, I was canvassing door-to-door for Obama. I'm going back out again later this afternoon.
You already know why this election is important. It pits the ticket of drill-baby-drill, double-the-nukes, and follow-the-Bush against leaders who understand what we have to do to fix climate change and save our planet for our children.
The early voting numbers are in, and early turnout was extraordinary. More than one-third of registered voters in North Carolina have already voted. Based on the makeup of the turnout so far, best estimates are that Obama is ahead by as much as six points among those who have already voted in our state.
But the other side has just kicked off its famed 72-hour get-out-the-vote machine. They're starting their "surge" (and by now, I'm sick and tired of that word). The outcome of the election for president (and senator, and governor, and on down the line) hangs in the balance of what we do between now and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
That's what WE do to get out our own voters. Today, tomorrow, and Tuesday--please take two hours--or more, if you can--to help get out the vote. Call your local Obama office to sign up for a shift on the phones, on the doors, or at the polls. And if you don't have your local office contact info, here's a link where you can get it:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nchome
I wouldn't be pestering you two days before the vote if I didn't know that this is both the most important and the closest election in North Carolina in my lifetime. And that what we do now will decide the outcome.
A lot of folks are arguing about whether North Carolina will be red or blue come Tuesday night. Well, I want it to be green! Let's make it happen. Thanks! Dan
11/01/2008
Today, Saturday Is Last Day to Vote Early
The Moore County Board of Elections decided to extend the hours during which you can early-vote Saturday. All three early voting locations--the Agricultural Center in Carthage, the new Recreation Center in Aberdeen, and the Old West End Gym-- will be open until 5 pm.
If you have not early-voted already, please consider voting today.
If you need directions to one of the voting locations, or should you need any information about candidates, please call the Moore County Democratic Party HQ between 9 am and 1 pm. The number is 947-1933.
Races for President and the Senate are going to be close in North Carolina. Every single Democratic vote is extremely important. Please make sure your voice is heard!
If you have not early-voted already, please consider voting today.
If you need directions to one of the voting locations, or should you need any information about candidates, please call the Moore County Democratic Party HQ between 9 am and 1 pm. The number is 947-1933.
Races for President and the Senate are going to be close in North Carolina. Every single Democratic vote is extremely important. Please make sure your voice is heard!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)