November 19th, 2010 · Comments Off on $100 billion/year: tax cuts for 1% or solutions for all?
Yes we can
Sadly, no we haven’t. Not that the Obama Administration with the support (and urging) of a Democratic House of Representatives and the drag of a Democratic controlled (???) Senate hadn’t tried to do tremendous things. Note that, for the most part, President Obama has filled the Administration with competent — incredibly competent –, dedicated, and ethical people who are interested in working diligently to solve real problems.
Sadly, since the 2008 election, no we haven’t had the true simplicity and clarity of message that “Yes we can” … “Hope” … “Change” all represented in 2008.
As Chip and Dan Heath put it in Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die, the ability of a message to work relies on SUCCESs: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. Get it right on these six and you are (far) more likely to have SUCCESs in having people hear, absorb, and retain your message.
With some better graphics support, perhaps some (marginal) shifting of the exact examples, and the following would have made the Democratic brand a SUCCESs in the November 2010 elections.
A very simple question:
Hermes bags for the richest 1% or 3 million Americans employed?
A pretty reasonable question, don’t you think?
And one that fills the criteria for message stickiness SUCCESs.
There needs to be a contest about the lamest Congressional Lame Duck action. Today, Harry Reid seeks a vote on a strong candidate for the prize: S3815. From today’s Senate calendar
At 11:00am, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.3815, “The Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act of 2010”, and immediately proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill.
Let’s consider more appropriate names for S3815:
The Dig The Hole Deeper With More Fossil Fuel Subsidies Act
The T Boone Pickens Profitability Act
The WTF Are You Thinking Act?
The United States Congress is in its last days of Democratic control of the House and a large D majority in the Senate. After inadequate (Senate) action to address climate change, lack of action to reduce subsidies to the fossil foolish sector, the closing energy action might just be significant additional subsidies for fossil fuels?
November 2nd, 2010 · Comments Off on 2 Nov 10 in brief: Polluters win again …
As the election results come in, one thing is truly clear: the polluters win again/
The incoming House Republican majority will launch themselves, with enthusiasm, into a virulent anti-science agenda in service of enabling fossil-foolish polluters to continue to damage America’s economy, to sicken Americans, to weaken America’s and Americans’ future prospects.
While the fossil fools won’t win everything on their wish list, the damage that might result from their distorting influence on the election will be serious.
With the advent of now limitless corporate donations polluting the democratic process thanks to the Supreme Court’s insane ruling on Citizens United, dirty energy interests, Wall Street fat cats and lobbyists will run America for the foreseeable future.
Corporations have long enjoyed the advantage of spending a tiny amount (compared to their enormous profits) to influence the entire political system, buying future access and favors that pay off for years to come, simply by driving contributions to their favored candidates in every contest from local zoning board races to governors to U.S. Senators.
But thanks to Citizens United, corporate influence is now far more invasive and impactful. Polluters can freely run attack ads and vicious smear campaigns against climate hawks, deploy their front groups to mislead voters on everything from health care to global warming, sponsor ballot initiatives to kill clean energy progress, and generally play fast and dirty with zero accountability for their actions.
The result: the tragic collapse of American democracy,
And, sadly, Brendan is likely correct …
A lot of the anti-science candidates – whose antics on the campaign trail have made for humorous, if horrifying, spectacle – are about to become anti-science lawmakers with a vote in Congress. That spells disaster for climate and energy policy, and all other legislative efforts that rely on a respect for facts and a willingness to negotiate.
The anti-science caucus is coming to a Congress near you, and we have polluters and wealthy corporate fat cats largely to thank for it.
This guest post comes from the thoughtful DWG about a rally and a local Congressman …
Last night, I had the privilege of seeing John Mellencamp perform in his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. For those unfamiliar with Mellencamp, many of his songs focus on rural and urban decay and the people left in the wake. In the introduction to “Longest Days,” he told the story of a friend that died last year because the health insurance company decided his condition was not severe enough to warrant the treatment recommended by his doctors. His story was interrupted several time by shouts from the Tea Party Klan about “Obamacare.” Since Mellencamp’s message was social (“we have to look out for each other”) rather than political, it was a stark reminder of the callousness and belligerence of Tea Party Republicanism.
The Republican Tea in Indiana is heavily infused with religious fundamentalism. That mixture was recently profiled in the New York Times in a story about climate zombies.
Bloomington is in the 9th congressional district, currently represented by Democrat Baron Hill, who is facing off against climate zombie Todd Young. Young promotes himself as a conservative Christian that opposes everything from pollution regulations to minimum wages to worker safety laws. Jesus apparently taught that corporations were put on earth to dispense blessings and despair in service of the almighty profit margin. Young proclaims that “climate change is a hoax perpetrated by leftist ideologues.”
October 31st, 2010 · Comments Off on Slay Vampires for Halloween … and help defeat the Climate Zombie Invasion
Vampires are among us. When you aren’t looking (or, when you are looking but not seeing), when you are sleeping, when you aren’t paying attention, Vampires are sucking up vital juices, threatening our very existence.
October 31st, 2010 · Comments Off on Stupid Goes Viral: The Last Stand of the Climate Zombies?
R L Miller— building on tremendous work by Brad Johnson — has done a real service by seeking to track down every single Republican candidate for Federal Office to determine whether they
agree with the science and believe in action (Climate Hawk / Hero),
sort of agree with the science but don’t really do anything to enable action (Climate Peacock), or
simply reject the science (Climate Zombie).
The vast majority of Republican candidates are Climate Zombies — including 100% of the Senate candidates — and there are zero “climate heroes” among the R candidates for Federal Office.
In fact, in her work, RL Miller has found zero (0) R candidates who, in recent years, have become more serious about climate change while there are many examples of candidates / R politicians who have moved from calling for serious action on climate change to becoming zombies questioning the science (McCain is the leading, but far from only, example).
Politically — and otherwise — most Democratic Party politicians and progressive institutions have made a political mistake by not engaging with this systematic and virulent anti-science attitude They should (could) have Engaged the Climate Zombies! After all, science / scientists poll very positively among Americans — especially in comparison with Rs. This is a prominent example where the Rs are simply divorced from reality and too many of us seem to have let them slide on this.
This guest post is part of a series highlighting the anti-science syndrome suffering hatred of a livable economic system that is prevalent in the new wave of Republican candidates for Congress. An utter disdain for science, openly using truthiness-laden talking points that are simply false. To paraphrase a famous question, “Have you no shame, political candidate, no shame at all?”
With this in mind, here is R L Miller’s summary post of her work on Climate Zombies in this election cycle
They roam the sands of the Golden State’s shoreline, moaning for caaasshh.
Their stupid has gone viral.
And if they win, humanity loses.
I’m tracking Climate Zombies: every Republican candidate for House, Senate, and Governor who doubts, denies, or derides the science of climate change. Today, I finish the series in California. Although California is just as badly infected with Teh Stoopid as every other state, it’s also the birthplace of the resistance: Climate Hawks who confront the crisis head on.
October 29th, 2010 · Comments Off on Vote Sanity … because you might be mad, but they are CRAZY!
A new website went up: Vote Sanity! Vote Sanity calls attention to how so many candidates’ views are not extreme but, well, simply leave the reservation.
As if you aren’t already aware, the vast majority of Republican candidates for Federal office are “climate zombies”: people who reject the scientific method, falsely accuse the leading scientific institutions and scientists around the world of fraud, and who embrace service to fossil-foolish interests over service to the American people (both today’s and the yet-to-be-born).
With all their talk of being “Pro-Life”, the Anti-Science Syndrome Hatred Of a Livable Environment tendencies of these leading Republicans is yet another nail in the coffin proving their utter hypocrisy. These people care about life? Fossil Foolish practices and Climate Chaos devastation has killed, are killing, and will kill people around the globe. A lot of people …
Sadly, however, far too few Democratic politicians and Democratic institutions are calling out these climate zombies for their (proud) anti-science stance.
R L Millercomes to the table with thoughtful, informed, insightful, and passionate writing. This guest post is part of a series highlighting the anti-science syndrome suffering hatred of a livable economic system that is prevalent in the new wave of Republican candidates for Congress. An utter disdain for science, openly using truthiness-laden talking points that are simply false. To paraphrase a famous question, “Have you no shame, political candidate, no shame at all?”
They roam the once-pristine shores of Chesapeake Bay, moaning for caaasshh.
Their stupid has gone viral.
And if they win, humanity loses.
I’m tracking Climate Zombies: every Republican candidate for House, Senate, and Governor who doubts, denies, or derides the science of climate change. Today, I visit Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, where I also stumble upon a ResistNet member running for Congress: Rick Hellberg in PA-02.
— building on tremendous work by