suffragette
suffragette's JournalOn the topic of the movement bringing forth leadership.
I'd like to point out a bright spot that fits here - the election of Pramila Jayapal to McDermott's Washington State House seat.
She comes from a grass roots and community organizing background and I think she will be one to watch and support in 2017.
During the dark years of Bush Jr., she organized and advocated for immigrant rights. She pulled people together to advocate for rights during that challenging and dark time of edicts like the Patriot Act and the push into the Iraq war.
She didn't give up, but instead organized and built an organization that continues that fight.
https://weareoneamerica.org/pramila-jayapal-leaving-oneamerica
Ten years ago, in the wake of 9/11, Pramila gathered some concerned community members to address the backlash against immigrant communities of color. A decade later, OneAmerica has grown into the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State and a leading force for immigrant rights nationally.
OneAmerica board and staff thank Pramila for providing her visionary leadership and unyielding commitment to social justice in helping create a powerful, sustainable, and ever-growing organization that impacts so many residents across the state.
Please see statements below from Pramila and OneAmerica Board President Luis Fraga on her announcement. For more on Pramila's incredible leadership and OneAmerica's transition plan and our search for a new Executive Director, see below.
Now we in Washington State are sending her to DC and I look forward to seeing the work she can do with allies in Congress.
David Bowie and Bing Crosby
Still poignant after all these years.
Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth
https://m.
People want to be heard, not ignored or taken for granted.
They want input and for that to be valued.
Yet it is harder to do that in our increasingly hardened bubbles. We share information that confirms our biases and ignore or blast that which doesn't. It's a very human way of operating. Yet, I think our leaders need to be able to push past that and find ways of inclusion that still include and strengthen our basic values. And part of that is taking a clear look at once strong and now fragile coalitions.
An example of that is in my state of Washington. We're viewed as a stalwart blue state, much as Michigan and Wisconsin once were. And the higher population in our bluest areas have kept that reality in our national elections so far. Yet the cracks in that have been there for a few years now and became evident when two of our 'Democratic' State Senators went from voting with Republicans to joining them in an actual coup of our State Senate in 2012. The Democratic Party here had supported them rather than cultivating other candidates who shared values of our state platform. The Party only finally censured them and withdrew its support after those two aided in the takeover of our Senate by the Republicans.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_Coalition_Caucus
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/02/04/gross-disloyalty-democrats-censure-tom-sheldon/
Tom and Sheldon have teamed up with 23 Republicans to form a “Senate Majority Caucus,” and have begun to use a 25-24 majority in the Legislature’s upper chamber to overhaul worker’s compensation laws and pursue such goals as axing the state’s Family and Medical Leave Act.
In a resolution adopted by state Democrats at a weekend central committee meeting in Olympia, the party charged that Tom and Sheldon are denying the ability to pass progressive legislation to many Democratic State House members, and denying to the Governor and the voters of the State the ability to pass a budget that reflects Democratic values.”
The resolution also calls on the Senate Democratic Caucus to “officially and permanently expel” Tom and Sheldon from the caucus. The resolution passed unanimously.
One of them is finally out now, but one still remains and the State Senate is still Republican controlled.
The State House is split almost evenly, barely in Democratic control.
Meanwhile the county of Grays Harbor, which has been voting reliably blue for decades, voted for Trump, the first time since 1928 they had voted for the Republican for President.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grays_Harbor_County,_Washington
That county is not sharing in the tech boom that's helping to fuel a decent economy in the bluer areas here. Their economy is depressed and they feel their voices aren't being heard.
This is a short article, but it's hard for me to pick out just four paragraphs to highlight. It's worth the brief full read.
http://www.king5.com/news/politics/once-democratic-grays-harbor-county-gives-trump-a-boost/346538984
We need a targeted way to address this that still moves us forward. The reality is that when we move on from older industries, people in the areas that thrived from them will lose their livelihood and communities will shift loyalties if nothing is done to replace that. We can't just leave it up to the marketplace to respond. Corporations are an entity without feelings of care or compassion. We have to be more innovative and provide solutions that take the next step forward and include the input of these communities, while assisting them in being a working part of that solution. Maybe something like a jobs program that looks to upgrading old systems to new ones, like creating needed infrastructure for newer energy and communication systems. Maybe something that I can't envision, but hope our leaders could.
I don't have the answers and I'm not sure I even expressed what I am seeing and feeling clearly enough. But I look at what is happening here and think of what happened in Wisconsin and I worry that not enough is being done at the state level to keep us from that path. And if we go in that direction, it won't help our national situation.
Obama's strongest priority now seems to be the peaceful
transition of power after the election.
I keep wondering what is behind the scenes on this.
I miss hearing H20 man's voice. Update- Welcome Back!
Goodbye ANWR. Hello joint U.S. and Russia arctic drilling and increased global warming.
The pieces are now in place for accords and joint actions that U.S. CEOs and Russian oligarchs have been seeking for years.
Sanctions interfered with those plans. With Republicans in control of all branches, that will likely change.
https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-10-12/exxon-mobil-suffers-from-russia-u-s-tensions
~~~
What Exxon, like any major, really seeks are very large, oil-focused prospects that play to its strengths, where reserves can be booked periodically to top up the tank and high upfront costs can be defrayed over decades of production. In other words, exactly what Russia potentially offered. Whether focusing on such mega-projects is a good way to go is debatable, but for now that is Exxon's way. And the company's judgment on this score has notably been called into question this year. For example, as Wolfe Research analyst Paul Sankey has pointed out, the cut to Exxon's triple-A credit rating by Standard & Poor's was directly linked to concerns around the huge spending required to replace its reserves.
No worries for them about pesky regulation since all Trump appointees are for deregulation and either deny climate change or in the case of Tillerson, acknowledge it's real, but maintain that we will just need to adjust to new realities.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/28/exxonmobil-climate-change-rex-tillerson
~~~
Tillerson, in a break with predecessor Lee Raymond, acknowledged that global temperatures are rising. "Clearly there is going to be an impact," he said. But he questioned the ability of climate models to predict the magnitude of the impact. He said that people would be able to adapt to rising sea levels and changing climates that may force agricultural production to shift.
"We have spent our entire existence adapting. We'll adapt," he said. "It's an engineering problem and there will be an engineering solution."
https://thinkprogress.org/cathy-mcmorris-interior-111c30319780#.cxfvy1hjy
~~~
McMorris Rodgers has repeatedly expressed her support for oil. She supports expanding offshore drilling, voted for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and voted against raising the royalty rates for oil and gas that comes from public lands.
The Department of the Interior includes the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, which permits offshore drilling and renewable energy. A proposed plan to include parts of the Atlantic in the bureau’s five-year plan was scrapped earlier this year after community opposition. If confirmed under the Trump administration, McMorris Rodgers will have a key role in shaping the next plan.
Previously, the joint venture was just aiming for drilling on the Russian side. They have been trying for years to drill in ANWR, but had been mostly blocked. Now they can exploit both sides in a joint venture.
Never forget - money makes their world go 'round.
Boeing and Carrier - blue state vs red state?
I've been wondering if Trump's recent publicity blitzes with Boeing and Carrier are connected to reward and penalty for political support.
Carrier is in a state that voted for Trump and that is the home of his Vice President.
There have been reports that the Carrier deal is more about securing advantage in federal contracts for its parent company than about Carrier's jobs.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/30/federal-contracts-likely-biggest-factor-carrier-deal/94670496/
Carrier is maintaining its Indianapolis operations largely because of the business interests of its parent company, United Technologies Corp., said John Mutz, an Indiana Economic Development Corp. board member. The IEDC awards state incentives, primarily training grants and tax credits.
Mutz, who was briefed on the state's offer to Carrier, said United Technologies "wants to make sure they maintain a favorable relationship" with the incoming Trump administration.
Meanwhile, Boeing's headquarters are in Illinois and its traditional manufacturing base is in Washington State, both of which voted for Hillary.
Is this the opening shot in a possible pattern of rewarding red states and punishing blue ones?
That is what happened at the 1913 suffrage march. They didn't give up.
https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/aw01e/aw01e.html
The procession began late, but all went well for the first few blocks [picture]. Soon, however, the crowds, mostly men in town for the following day's inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, surged into the street making it almost impossible for the marchers to pass [picture]. Occasionally only a single file could move forward. Women were jeered, tripped, grabbed, shoved, and many heard “indecent epithets” and “barnyard conversation.”5 Instead of protecting the parade, the police “seemed to enjoy all the ribald jokes and laughter and part participated in them.”6 One policeman explained that they should stay at home where they belonged. The men in the procession heard shouts of “Henpecko” and “Where are your skirts?” As one witness explained, “There was a sort of spirit of levity connected with the crowd. They did not regard the affair very seriously.”7
But to the women, the event was very serious. Helen Keller [picture] “was so exhausted and unnerved by the experience in attempting to reach a grandstand . . . that she was unable to speak later at Continental hall [sic ].”8 Two ambulances “came and went constantly for six hours, always impeded and at times actually opposed, so that doctor and driver literally had to fight their way to give succor to the injured”9 [picture]. One hundred marchers were taken to the local Emergency Hospital. Before the afternoon was over, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, responding to a request from the chief of police, authorized the use of a troop of cavalry from nearby Fort Myer to help control the crowd.10
Seattle will also have a solidarity march.
http://www.thestranger.com/events/24690913/womens-march-seattle-washington-state
The day after the inauguration of Donald Trump, "ALL women, femme, trans, gender non-conforming, and feminist people (including men and boys) are invited to march... [in] support for the community members who have been marginalized by the recent election." This event will take place in solidarity with the Million Women March being planned for the same day in Washington, DC.
We should watch stories about Hamm for awhile since he's part of Trump's inner circle.
Trump is all about confusing people and the press with purposeful misdirection and bombast. Past and current actions and statements by his inner circle and appointees are more telling of the direction he is taking.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/01/america-can-double-its-oil-production-says-fracking-pioneer-harold-hamm.html
The billionaire oilman and energy advisor to President-elect Donald Trump acknowledged the difficulty of such a renewed boom in oil production.
"We could take it from 10 [million barrels a day] to 20 [million]. The key here is not to get too much production coming back in — oversupply the market — or prices collapse and that's not a good deal for everybody," Hamm told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."
"We have that potential in this country. That's what's available here. It needs to be done in a very systematic way," he said.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/01/trump-should-pick-rep-kevin-cramer-as-energy-secretary-over-me-harold-hamm-says.html
Hamm, an energy adviser to Trump, has long been seen as a candidate for the position, but he has repeatedly said he already has a full-time job running Continental Resources. The company made its name proving crude oil could be profitably extracted from shale rock in North Dakota using advanced drilling methods.
Cramer has said Hamm should have the right of first refusal for Energy secretary, but Hamm told CNBC that Cramer is the man for the job.
"Kevin's a great guy, and he would be a perfect candidate, as well. I've put his name forward," Hamm said on "Squawk on the Street." "He'd sort of do a better job in that post than me."
Trump has an interest in pushing this. The protestors know this.
Some background:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028150362
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/tribes-celebrate-as-corps-rejects-dakota-access-pipeline-easement/
“I don’t feel less needed,” said Peterson, who, like others, said he was concerned the victory could melt away if the company drilled anyway. There is also concern that President-elect Trump — an investor in the project — could seek to push the pipeline through once he takes office.
Many opponents — who have been dubbed “water protectors” — said they still don’t want to leave the camp as long as the company has equipment at its drill pad and police continue to block the highway that accesses the construction site.
~~~
“I hope everyone can just go home; it’s real,” he said of the victory. “It’s not a hoax. Of course what is on everyone’s mind is what happens in seven weeks (when Trump takes office), and that is a legitimate question.”
Indeed, Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., the state’s only congressman and a longtime Trump supporter — and someone Trump is said to be considering for Energy Secretary — issued a statement Sunday promising a turnaround.
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