This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite state- or city-based blog you think I should be watching. Here is the May 27 edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents. |
Yellow Dog at Blue in the Bluegrass of Kentucky writes—Happy 225th Birthday, Kentucky - and Shame on 152 Years of Post-War Confederacy:
The Bluegrass State is officially the 15th state of the union, but only because Congress wanted to balance slave states with non-slave states, so it gave the 14th spot to Vermont.
Like fellow border slave states Maryland, Missouri and Delaware, Kentucky never joined the Confederacy or voted to secede. Unlike the other border states, Kentucky responded to being forced to give up its slaves by becoming the only state to join the Confederacy AFTER the Civil War ended.
Treason in Defense of Slavery is so popular in Kentucky still that you can meet many people—even educated ones—who will insist that Kentucky did, indeed, secede from the Union.
Note that Governor "Trump Is Great for Kentucky" never mentions any of that currently relevant history in this press release.
janed at Left in Alabama writes—Confederate Monument Bill Presents New Organizing Opportunity for Alabama:
“Those of us who oppose the veneration of white supremacist propaganda as history can still take some concrete steps.” –John McKerley
On Wednesday, May 24, a spokeswoman for Governor Kay Ivey confirmed that the governor had signed the so-called Memorial Preservation Act. In accordance with the act, the state prohibits “the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of any architecturally significant building, memorial building, memorial street, or monument located on public property which has been in place for 40 or more years.”
The act also creates a Committee on Alabama Monument Protection, to consider petitions for waivers regarding such memorials and monuments less than 40 years old. In the event that “an entity exercising control of public property” fails to comply with the act or the committee’s decisions, the act directs the Alabama attorney general to fine such entity $25,000 for each violation. (The Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance is seeking to raise the fine for Madison County here. )
Although much remains to be determined in how the courts interpret the meaning of “alteration” and “disturbance,” those of us concerned about the role of such monuments in Alabama’s present and future face hard decisions about how to proceed.
If nothing else, one thing should be clear: The vast majority of these monuments—those erected between roughly 1890 and 1930—were intended as the cultural side of the political revolution of white supremacy that swept Alabama and much of the rest of the South during those years.
WillyKay at Show Me Progress of Missouri writes—Trump world is Blunt world when it comes to climate change and big oil money:
Today Donald Trump declared his intention to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. There are lots of pragmatic reasons that this is just dumb, no matter what you think about global warming:
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Under the terms of the agreement, participants can’t effectively withdraw until 2020 – and with luck Trumpy and his oil-love minions will be gone. Meanwhile, there’s no immediate big bang for the buck.
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If anyone really thinks the carbon reduction targets designated by the U.S. – historically one of the biggest contributors to the problem – are unfair, we don’t need to withdraw from the agreement to change them – or even just ignore them. They are voluntary. Of course, they’re also desirable, but that’s another story.
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The U.S. will sacrifice its leadership role in world climate policy by withdrawing from the main forum for world climate policy formation.
- Many businesses, even Exxon-Mobil, oppose the move for many of the foregoing reasons, as well as the fact that many realize that climate change isn’t going to be good for business in the long run. Others are indifferent.
Then there are, of course, the moral reasons. The world is at risk; the agreement represented a collective effort to meet the challenge. Without the U.S. the future of the agreement is unsure. Even if other participants persevere, the loss of cooperation from one of the biggest polluters will hurt. Do we even need to point out that we owe our children a future, one which will be either impossible, or brutish in the extreme, in a ruined earth?
But, still, as they say, elections have consequences, and if one of those consequences is going to be environmental doomsday along with corresponding economic chaos, so be it.
Martha Jackovics at Beach Peanuts of Florida writes—With No Leaders At FEMA, NOAA, Rubio's Hurricane Priority? Relax Regulations:
The 2017 hurricane season began last Thursday, and five months into Donald Trump's presidency,* he has yet to appoint permanent leaders in either the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving the country unprepared in the event of a hurricane in what is predicted to be an above normal active season.
If Trump were any kind of leader rather than a clueless buffoon and a walking disaster all on his own who merely uses "keeping America safe" as an empty slogan, disaster preparedness would be a priority. But Trump is no leader, and if past is prologue, those in the potential path of a hurricane this year have reason to worry. Last month he kicked Hurricane Matthew victims in North Carolina to the curb when he gave them a mere 1 percent of the disaster funds they requested.
So, in the absence of leadership at NOAA and FEMA, not to mention Trump's proposed cuts to those agencies as well as the Coast Guard, you would think that Florida's elected officials in Washington would sound the alarm and appeal to Trump how important filling those positions are.
But as always, if you're looking to Sen. Marco Rubio to voice your concerns, you'll be disappointed. Not that Rubio hasn't noticed things are amiss in Trump's lack of attention to the problem, he has. He just has different priorities than preparedness. He's more concerned with relaxing regulations after the storm hits.
Juanita Jean Herownself at Juanita Jean’s of Texas writes—Eric the Fredo:
I’ve always thought that Eric was the Fredo of the Trump family but I’m afraid I’ve given him too many IQ points.
Eric thinks all the name-calling in Washington, DeeCee, is way outta hand. And the problem, according to Eric, is not his Dad but you.
Eric Trump appeared on Sean Hannity’s show Tuesday night and lashed out at those who oppose his father’s administration, saying they’re “not even people.”
“Not even people.” What is that? About second grade?
Yeah, and then he called Tom Perez “a total whack job.” I wonder where he heard that?
Hey, Eric, what’s up with your charity?
Rosi Efthim at Blue Jersey writes—Pascrell’s No Russian DACHA Act:
Well, it’s convenient that Rep. Bill Pascrell’s latest legislation features a nifty acronym; one that will have less educated readers than you hitting up their dictionaries. Today, Pascrell introduced the No Russian DACHA Act. A dacha, as you know from your reading of Alexander Pushkin and Anton Chekhov, is a Russian cottage for getaways and summer vacays. Pascrell’s bill is No Russian DACHA (Diplomatic Access to Compounds Here in America) Act.
See what he did there?
As you know, the Obama administration – on its way out in late-late 2016 – decided to shut down Russian compounds in New York and Maryland following confirmation from all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russian government meddled in our presidential election (instead of, you know, letting us do that ourselves). Additional complaints include the harassment of members of our diplomatic corps in Moscow (and uh, this – yikes) and allegations that the Russians were using the properties for intelligence purposes. Suspicions, by the way, that have been around since Ronald Reagan’s day. Obama gave the Russians just 24 hours to pack up and get out.
Trump, prioritizing affiliations and/or obligations that are a bit different from Obama’s, is making noises like he plans to give them back. Pascrell:
“The U.S. government shuttered these compounds because of Russian interference in the 2016 election. It makes no sense to give these facilities back without assurances that these properties were not used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes. While investigations trying to answer that very question are still ongoing, returning these compounds to Russia is premature at best and foolish at worst. Confounding actions taken by the administration are becoming the new normal, so this legislation allows Congress to step in. Let’s show the American people that there can be reasonable decision-makers still at the helm in Washington.”
Trump can’t be counted on to require confirmation that these properties won’t again be turned into spy factories, so Pascrell’s bill addresses those concerns.
John Michael Spinelli at Plunderbund of Ohio writes—Gov. Moonbeam Out Shines Gov. Hugs After Trump Dumps Paris Climate Accords:
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s ignorant, selfish and destructive decision last week to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords all nations but two are party to, the wackadoodle governor of the wackadoodle State of California has shown the Buckeye State’s governor what real leadership looks like when it comes to combating climate change.
Gov. Jerry Brown, dubbed “Governor Moonbeam” decades ago when he first became the Golden State’s leader in 1975, is resisting the White House in spectacular fashion, compared to other state leaders who sit idly by or mouth mush for fear of being seen agreeing with former President Barack Obama and other world leaders who signed on to the Paris climate accords.
Casting his opposition to Trump pulling out of the voluntary agreement last week as being on the “side of the angels,” Brown – now the longest serving governor in California history, with nearly four 4-year terms under his belt – said he’s “going to do everything I can, and people are going to join with me” as he marches forward with his own plans to tackle climate change.
Brown goes where Ohio Gov. John Kasich fears to tread, calling climate change the “existential threat” to humanity, a position he made clear last year campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Had she won the Electoral College instead of the popular vote, Clinton would have kept America a partner in the Paris Climate Accords, thereby avoiding all the time and effort smart, determined leaders like Brown are investing now to craft other ways to partner following Trump’s dump of the world’s plan to make Earth great again.
Larry Bodine at Blog for Arizona writes—6 Surprising Democratic Candidates Vow to Oust Martha Motormouth McSally:
The mission to oust right-winger Martha “Motormouth” McSally from her Congressional seat launched this week as a suprising array of Democratic candidates made their pitches to progressive loyalists.
The first candidates’ forum was sponsored by the brand-new McSally Take a Stand PAC. The registration of the PAC, with 1,150 members, is exciting because there is no limit to the donations you can make to it.
Inspiring the attendees, most of the candidates supported Medicare for All. The Arizona Democratic Party State Committee has united in support of HR-676 -Medicare For All — single-payer health care.
Here’s my scorecard [...] #1 Alison Jones, a water scientist, hydrogeologist and past president of the Arizona Geological Society. The political newbie was articulate, smart and organized. She was only candidate with handout materials — hitting all the progressive notes about climate change, humane immigration, sustainable water policy, pro-choice, support the middle class, LGBT rights and sensible gun laws.
I love scientists and she’s assembling a team of them to advise her. It will take a woman to beat McSally. I wish Alison had elected office experience and an existing base.
Best line: “Martha, how can you sleep at night?” [...]
[Five other candidates also showed, and four, including former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.]
Rev. Jim Conn at Capital & Main of California writes—Who’ll Take San Onofre’s Nuclear Trash?
Our grandchildren moved to San Clemente earlier this year. They’re a stone’s throw over the county line from San Diego County. More important, they can walk to their favorite surf spot – “Trestles.” Disturbingly, they now live about three miles from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. It no longer produces electricity, but a pile of radioactive waste sits there waiting to be moved somewhere.
From its construction, San Onofre had a checkered history. The huge Bechtel Corporation embarrassed itself by constructing one unit backwards. Then, a little over three decades later, the project installed a flawed Japanese-built unit. That led to closure. In the meantime, Southern California Edison’s parent company bought 75 percent of the plant and wants rate-payers instead of investors to foot the bill for its bad business decision. In 2015 the Coastal Commission granted a permit to bury the 3.6 million pounds of highly radioactive material onsite, along the coastline, right next to Trestles. Since then environmentalists have been urging the commission to reverse itself, insisting that the stuff must get hauled away.
There’s good reason. Radioactive leakage threatens human life in two ways. For 10 miles, wind-blown radiation can poison people and everything in its wake. For 50 miles – home to about 8.6 million people – it can contaminate food and liquids. My grandchildren’s new home sits well inside both those zones. [...]
The problem for all of us is where to put waste that’s safe and secure for a few thousand years. Hanford obviously fails the test. Another location identified by the Energy Department (DOE) is in southeast New Mexico. Called Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), it calls for burying high-level radioactive waste in underground salt mines. The project sounded good until 2014, when a waste-storage drum burst, sending engineers back to their drawing boards. Officials minimize the danger from leakage, but the threat underscores the dilemma. A DOE report blamed the $2 billion snafu on kitty litter. High-risk technology undone by the mundane.
scharrison at BlueNC writes—Carrying the Millennial banner a little too far:
You'd have better luck getting oil & vinegar to mix than some of these folks:
A nonprofit, the Millennial Action Project, has organized the caucus along with similar groups in other states and in Congress. The North Carolina caucus is co-led by Rep. Chaz Beasley, a Charlotte Democrat, Rep. Kyle Hall, a King Republican, Sen. Chad Barefoot, a Wake Forest Republican, and Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Raleigh Democrat. Beasley, Hall and Chaudhuri kicked off their outreach effort Wednesday with a news conference at the Legislative Building.
“It is important to confront the issues that are important to our youngest citizens,” Chaudhuri said, suggesting that lawmakers may hold public forums on college campuses.
It's also important not to waste time and effort trying to build bridges to nowhere. Or to have your message diluted by a fellow caucus member whose views are diametrically opposed to your own. Chad Barefoot was a Primary Sponsor of the bill (now law) wresting control of our Boards of Election from Governor Cooper, and he's also trying to strip a lot more funding from our traditional public schools and give it to charters. [...]
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of finding common ground on common-sense policies that will bring about progress. I do not subscribe to the idea that all Republicans are equally wrong; there are varying degrees on both sides of the aisle. That being said, my bar is pretty damn high, and Republicans like Chad Barefoot can't even see it, much less reach it. He may not be the worst, but he's far from the best, and joining with him just because of his age does not make me believe Millennials can "chart the way forward" or whatever it is this organization is trying to promote.
Sally Jo Sorensen at Bluestem Prairie of Minnesota writes—Willmar guy who wrote 1/11 LTE asking folks to stop complaining about Trump retracts request:
One small indication crosses our path that not everyone in Willmar celebrates Trump. The January 11, 2017 West Central Tribune carried this letter to the editor by Willmar reader Kent Syverson, No point in griping about Trump:
In some of my previous letters, I expressed my opinions about our recent election. Like some people, I wasn't very happy when Donald Trump won. But now we are just days away from the inauguration.Like it or not, barring something unusual, Trump will become our next president. I heard somebody say that Trump just might surprise us. He might turn out to be a better leader than we anticipated. I hope so. The only thing we can do now is accept the fact that the change of command is coming. There's no use complaining about it now.
A letter published Monday, Is history repeating itself?, suggests recent events and news have caused him to reconsider:
Before Donald Trump officially became president, I wrote a letter that was printed Jan. 11 saying that there was no use in complaining about it, because he would be our president no matter what.I am now officially retracting that statement, since there is now plenty to complain about. [...]
Syverson is a frequent letter writer; the tone of his letters can be discerned here.
Bluestem thinks that a Trump resignation or impeachment is unlikely in the near future, but we've been wrong before.
Chris Savage at Eclectablog of Michigan writes—American workers left behind: Trump’s trade stances will lead to even more “robots taking our jobs”:
Reducing labor costs has, of course, long been the goal of manufacturers. Their duty is to their owners and shareholders, to increase their wealth to the greatest extent possible. Because providing employment to their fellow citizens is never taken into account in the calculus of their decision making, driving down labor costs through automation as well as by reducing the influence of organized workers is a top priority.
What’s interesting in this conversation is the unintended impact of Donald Trump’s protectionism. Though he spews the rhetoric of “bringing jobs back to America”, there’s little likelihood that will happen. Between the decades-long effort to destroy labor unions and a concerted effort on the part of corporate leaders to automate every single part of manufacturing that can be automated, workers are left behind and enriching society in general takes a back seat to enriching those who profit most from manufacturing corporations. The result of Trump’s actions won’t do much to help the plight of the blue collar workers in America and will, in fact, be more likely to jump start an even greater push to automate workers right out of their jobs.
This is an opportunity for Democrats, should they decide to take it. Now is the time for them to begin pushing programs that will provide incentives to retain and hire more blue collar workers, not fewer. They should be promoting training and employment assistance to make these workers more competitive in the new, ever more automated economy. Without an “automation tax”, something that will never be enacted, the only answer to “robots taking our jobs” is to train people to build, program, and maintain those robots and the facilities in which they operate. In the meantime, they need to keep informing American workers that Trump’s promises are hollow and that, like their cousins in the coal mining industry who have been replaced by automation, his policies will lead to MORE automation to replace cheap foreign labor. Democrats need to find a way to help those workers and with more than just rhetoric. If they can do that, their fortunes will change.