Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

 

Aaaahhh, Turkey Day!

Will this writing be the inevitable "what I am thankful for this year" speach?  We shall see... 

 

Looks like it...

 

For living in a country where disputed elections are confronted peacefully and both sides of the political spectrum recognize the need for improvement.

 

For the continued health of my parents who, despite accumulating problems, are well.

 

For all the John Lewis, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Vendanna Shiva and others who inspire activists and make sure they will never feel alone. 

 

For media such as DemocracyNow, the Nation, Air America Radio and Nightline, who spread the word.  For PBS shows like Frontline an NOW and smaller productions that educate us so well.

 

For the Internet as a tool for political action, and how it is changing the world.

 

For a steady job that provides a roof, food, clothing and heat.

 

For the inner drive that someday I will be an agent of significant change.

 

Thanks.

Sustainable Government

Sustainable Government

 

One of my interests is the application of sustainable development and smart growth principles in Connecticut. 

These terms may not be familiar or their meanings may be seen as out in the ether.  I use the Bruntland definition of sustainable development, roughly, carefully considered development which does not exhaust resources that should be left for future generations.  Try www.smartgrowth.org for more information.  Later, my own website will bring it all home.

 

Washington, Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts are all significant states in the groundswell of smart growth public policy.  In Connecticut, the number of organizations talking about the subject, adopting principles in their decision-making and educating the public on not only technicalities but the need for engaged public decision-making has blossomed in the last few years.

 

Here are some initiatives you can keep and ear out for.  I encourage you to attend a local public meeting.

 

CenterEdge Coalition, founded by the Archdiocese of Hartford, presenting the results of the Myron Orfield study of demographic trends in Connecticut at public forums where political leaders and experts in this science converse with citizens.

 

Planning offices, Development officers, Housing developer and Chief Elected officials in cities and towns all across Connecticut are introducing principles of smart growth and sustainable development to their planning and development activities.

 

A number of commissions, studies and reports have been undertaken, sponsored by the State, by regional planning organizations and by private foundations.  In the coming months I will be attempting to catalog and address them at www.sustainableconnecticut.org

 

What made the states mentioned earlier noteworthy in the field of Smart Growth was the strong leadership of a Governor with a vision in this area.  That leadership is yet to emerge in Connecticut.  But I and many like me are hopeful that the groundswell of public interest and clamor has begun and the vision will emerge from our current or a future Governor.

 

 

A Knock Off Day

To Blog with Little Effort Today, I am Copying Here Governor Howard Dean's Message of Success From the DFA Website the Day After the Election 2004, www.democracyforamerica.com :

 

What You Won't Hear on TV Today

Wednesday, November 3

Governor Howard Dean sent this message to Democracy for America supporters on November 3, 2004.

Montana, one of the reddest states, has a new Democratic governor.

First-time candidates for state legislatures from Hawaii to Connecticut beat incumbent Republicans.

And a record number of us voted to change course?more Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history.

Today is not an ending.

Regardless of the outcome yesterday, we have begun to revive our democracy. While we did not get the result we wanted in the presidential race, we laid the groundwork for a new generation of Democratic leaders.

Democracy for America trained thousands of organizers and brought new leadership into the political process. And down the ballot, in state after state, we elected Dean Dozen candidates who will be the rising stars of the Democratic Party in years ahead.

Tens of millions of us are disappointed today because we put so much of ourselves into this election. We donated money, we talked to friends, we knocked on doors. We invested ourselves in the political process.

That process does not end today. These are not short-term investments. We will only create lasting change if that sense of obligation and responsibility becomes a permanent part of our lives.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

We will not be silent.

Thank you for everything you did for our cause in this election. But we are not stopping here.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Should Helping Hands Be Unseen

A fire over the weekend destroyed a medium sized apartment building across the street from my office.  The City demolished the building Sunday, the owner announced intent to sue the City Monday, and Tuesday the pile got covered by the biggest sheet of clear plastic I have ever seen.  Apparently, the mess has only started.

 

Three of us stood at a fourth floor window today, looking down at the seen, wondering if the building owner would fulfill obligations to house his tenants.  When one of us says "I hear they had a lot of Section 8", please understand that we work for a public housing agency, and our livelihoods, the roofs over our heads come from laboring for years on projects before the public is helped.  We could look at the pile and know the tenants needed immediate help and the owner's rebuilding promises were not going to touch their problems. 

 

I said I had just read that the Red Cross was housing the people in the recreation center of a city park and it could cost $20,000.  Another said she heard that shelter would only last a few days. 

 

"We should do something to help them", my coworker said. 

 

I suggested we can give to the Red Cross, I just emailed our blood drive coordinator to see if she is interested in taking this on or if the Red Cross might send a representative here. 

 

"Can't we do something to help those people, the tenants who lost their homes?"

 

Well, I am sure in a big situation like this, if we give to the Red Cross we can designate it for them.  They will get vouchers to shop for clothes and household goods.

 

Later, I was struck by the difference in approach.  Thus, this first real post to my new Blog:

 

I was interested in helping the helpers, offsetting the $20,000 Red Cross expenses to house the people and boosting the emergency fund by which the tenants could get replacement goods.

 

I felt my coworker, if she thought she could, would collect some money and pick up a family and take them to a store where they could meet their needs.

 

Did I feel the need to be more anonymous?

Do I trust a relief institution to make better decisions than those being helped?

Would her way have made for more of a warm fuzzy feeling?

 

 

Blog Inspired Blog

Just hours after Larkspur sent out notice of her RFK inspired www.tinyrippleofhope.blogspot.com I was driven to create my own FDR and others inspired Blog. I expect to write on themes such as Progressive Politics, Democratic Principles, Social Justice Christianity, Smart Growth, Sustainable Development and Particiapatory Democracy.

The Four Freedoms. Delivered to Congress by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on January 6, 1941.
www.libertynet.org/~edcivic/fdr.html
This first post is a test of the format of the Four Freedoms In the 21st Century Blog. Others will have normal sized text.