On Friday, July 25, three of my Senate colleagues, a House colleague and I sent the following Letter to the Editor to The St. Louis American newspaper —-

Dear Editor,

For months The St. Louis American has been calling much-needed attention to Rep. Rodney Hubbard’s financial connections to millionaires with a conservative agenda, his votes with the Republican majority on key issues, and unusual perks and privileges he received through deals with GOP-leadership. Now in the 11th hour of the August 5 primary, the American has endorsed (say what?) Rodney Hubbard in the Senate 5 race.

The key reason cited in the endorsement is the advocacy of a group of respected Democratic leaders, many of whom we have worked with as allies on at least some justice issues. This leaves us to wonder if these leaders have paid attention to what has happened in our state capital in recent years. We are reminded of the old joke of the spouse caught in adultery whose defense to the wronged partner standing at the foot of the bed was “Who are you going to believe? Me or your lyin’ eyes?!”

Why is this group of leaders so willing to endorse a candidate who has failed to vote with Democrats at times that really matter – for example, on lifting the caps on campaign donations that had been imposed by a sizeable majority of Missouri voters? Their advocacy is especially baffling when voters have the opportunity to choose Robin Wright-Jones, a true-blue Democrat who is so respected by her House colleagues that she was elected and re-elected Caucus chair. In addition she was respected enough by the bi-partisan St. Louis Regional Caucus to also be elected chair of that body. Rep. Wright-Jones has a 100% progressive voting record on the four report cards the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition published for 2003-07. Hubbard’s anti-labor votes, his vote to sell off MOHELA assets jeopardizing affordable loans for Missouri students, and his pro-school voucher votes leave him with a 73% average for those four years.

Electing Robin Wright-Jones as the next senator for District 5 is vital for social justice and the health of the St. Louis region. We strongly endorse her.

Sen. Joan Bray

Sen. Maida Coleman

Sen. Rita Heard Days

Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford

Rep. Michael Vogt

Well, if last week’s theme was activism and art, I guess this week’s theme would have to be activism and beer.  Yup, there will be plenty of opportunities this week to have a cold one while chatting with fellow activists, but there should be a lot of opportunities to get involved for the teetotalers amongst us as well.  Everybody wins!

Also, I’ve gotten a fair amount positive feedback on the weekly events messages, so I probably will continue something like it during the year.  Unfortunately, facebook won’t let me drop “for summer ’08” from the name, so don’t be shocked when I send you a friend request in the next few days (if we’re not already friends).  I won’t be offended if you ignore it, but accepting it will make it easier for me to invite you when I create a more permanent version of this group.    

This week’s events:

Monday, July 28, 6:30 to 7:30: The first opportunity for drinking & activism will be tonight at the Young Democrats of Greater St. Louis Monthly membership meeting.  The meeting will be at the Laclede Street Grill.  More info is here.

Tuesday, July 29: I couldn’t find a whole lot of activism events per se going on for Tuesday, but the St. Louis Art Museum continues their series on famous civil rights photographer and “Shaft” director Gordon Parks with a gallery talk by photojournalist Wiley Price of the St. Louis American.  The talk is at 11 AM starting at the information center.  More info is at this link.

Wednesday, July 30:  Join the Latin American Forum for a showing and discussion of “The Revolution Will Not be Televised” at 7 PM at the Oak Bend Branch Library, 842 South Holmes Avenue.  More info here .

Thursday, July 31 The Grand Opening of the St. Louis Obama Campaign for Change office in St. Louis is from 5 PM to 7 PM.  They’ll be passing out free buttons and letting people know how they can get more involved in the campaign.  Details are here.  Also, I hear that Obama is kicking off a tour of rural Missouri next Wednesday; is it possible that he would be stopping by St. Louis on Thursday for the HQ opening?  Probably not, but hey, one can always speculate.

Also Thursday, after the Grand Opening or after work, you should come hang out with the people who liked the combination of drinking and activism so much, they made it an end in itself.  The monthly meeting of  St. Louis chapter of Drinking Liberally will be at the Royale, 3132 South Kingshighway, from 6 PM on.  You can join the Drinking Liberally facebook group by going here.

Friday, August 1st: Come to St. Louis’s worker-owned collective Black Bear Bakery for an opening of the art exhibit “Resistance”, featuring work from St. Louis and international artists.  The event starts at 7 PM and you can find more information at this link.

Also Friday, the St. Louis Art Museum is showing a documentary about the aforementioned Gordon Parks.  The movie, “Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks” will be at 7 PM in the museum’s auditorium.

Saturday, August 2: Starting at 8 AM at the Schlafly Tap Room, come check out the SchlaFlea Market to pick up some good stuff and get rid of the things you don’t need! The event is in conjunction with Goodwill and is designed to promote reuse and recycling.  Of course, beer will be available.  For more details, go to the Schlafly site.

Also Saturday, a couple bannering events:  CODEPINK St. Louis will be at the Soulard Market for a couple hours starting at noon (dress in pink!), and St. Louis Speaksout will be at the Animals Always sculpture outside the St. Louis Zoo from 2 PM to 4 PM .

Also Saturday , for people infinitely more daring than myself, is the St. Louis version of the World Naked Bike Ride.  The event is designed to (1) protest our oil dependency (2) promote a comfortable body image, (3) raise awareness of cyclists in a motor driven world and (4) promote exercise.  I’m fairly confident that (3) will be achieved.  You can find the details here.

And finally on Saturday evening, you can party with Planned Parenthood over at Just Johns starting at 9 PM.  The event features a drag show and will be at 4112 Manchester Avenue. Details here.

That’s all for now; have a fun and meaningful week,

Adam

Crossposted at MLW

    I am so sick and tired of the Republican attack dogs and their presidential candidate “whining” about the lack of news coverage their candidate is getting. Despite the fact of its inherent untruth; no one has been allowed to make more gaffes than Senator McCain and his supporters. The once media darling is now complaining that he can’t get any coverage. Well, let’s examine what Mr. McCain has been doing the last week while Senator Obama was touring the world. Mr. McCain and his surrogates used every opportunity they could find to attack and try to discredit Senator Obama. Whatever happen to the pledge to campaign on the issues and take the high road, no swift-boating for McCain. That lasted maybe a week.

     While Senator Obama was addressing a record crowd in Berlin, Mr. McCain was in a small German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Now while that trip to Columbus may be newsworthy in the Mayberry Gazette, it can hardly compare to the speech Senator Obama gave before 200,000 cheering Germans. Now granted I’ll admit that for the first time in the history of America a black man is traversing the globe speaking and acting Presidential and may one day lead the free world is news. I’m sorry it is a compelling story for so many reasons and not only in America but around the world. But regardless of the historical value of the candidate, even if this were another campaign between two white males John McCain would still be boring.

    I’m sorry but this guy is the most boring candidate I can remember in recent memory. Knowing what they were facing, how the Republicans could nominate this guy just shows they recognize they haven’t got a snowballs chance in hell of winning this election. The country and the world is hungry for change and they trot out a 71 year old who can’t even send email as their candidate for change. Change of what his diaper? There is no excitement around this guy’s campaign and his supporters appear just to be going through the motions. They try to defend him and rally support around him, but he is as charismatic as day old beer. So before you start hammering the media for their coverage of Senator Obama take a look at your candidate and what he is bringing to the table.

    Riding around in a golf cart with the elder Bush is not going to bring the reporters out in droves, I think there was a Brittany Spears sighting somewhere or was it Hannah Montana. If this is the campaign we have to look forward to let’s just call it off now and save ourselves a lot of time and money. I saw McCain shopping at the grocery store with “average Americans” and he looked dumbfounded. He looked like the kind of guy that hadn’t been to the grocery store in years, does this sound familiar? If John McCain is suppose to resurrect images of Ronald Reagan he has a long way to go. So far the only parts he has gotten right are the forgetting of facts and the naps.

    If John McCain wins this election then it will come down to one fact and one fact only. It won’t be because Barack Obama is too young or inexperienced, it won’t be because he is too liberal, and it won’t be because he is not a leader. It will be because when it was time to close the deal the American public could not see themselves being led by a black man. It reminds me of all those times I was interviewing for jobs and I left the interviews excited thinking I had the job in the bag. I mean on many occasions I would be introduced to the top brass and given the royal tour, only to be told that a call would be forthcoming. The problem is that in many of those situations the call was never forthcoming. Sometimes we are enamored by the idea of something, but then when it is actually time to implement or to accept the reality of the idea we hesitate. Does this mean that those people who wanted to hire me and didn’t were racists. I don’t know it is not for me to judge, but what I do know is that there is such a thing as buyers remorse.

    Let’s face it we are about to do something that even the founders of this nation would never have conceived of. While there are many who will say, “it’s about time”. Let’s not forget that there are many who are unwilling or ill-prepared for that day. So while Senator Obama is currently the “media darling” that could change in a New York minute. The press and the wing-nuts have already begun to call him the “messiah’ and the “anointed one”, it just goes to show you how seriously they take their “so-called” religion. Religion is fine for them so long as it is for the downtrodden and the natives.

    John McCain has done just about everything wrong a candidate at this stage of the election could do and yet the polls are still relatively close. My personal belief is that Obama is going to win and win big. There are just too many things wrong with this nation to continue with business as usual and Mr. McCain is offering nothing in the way of solutions or new ideas. His latest new idea is to set a timetable for withdrawal in Iraq and to open up Alaskan and offshore drilling for oil as if the answers to the questions Americans are asking is to continue down this road to destruction.

    You want better coverage Mr. McCain and you Republicans get a better candidate. But don’t blame the public if we don’t won’t to spend our time listening to Mr. McCain fumble through another acceptance speech or answer a difficult question. It is not our fault that your candidate is not very interesting. It is not our fault that your candidate represents the past. It is not our fault that your Party is bankrupt of any new ideas or answers for the future. It is not our fault that we are living through what many Americans see as a crossroads or a historical period in this nation’s history. It is not our fault that the majority of this country is tired of the politics of fear and division. Really, it’s not our fault!

Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever persuasion, religious or political. – Thomas Jefferson

The Disputed Truth

Steve Brown’s ambitious alright.  After losing one election, he moved to another district where there’d be a vacancy.  As for his passion about the environment, I’m not sure about his sincerity; it’s a pretty safe issue since the State is losing revenue and can’t afford to do any of it.  And, we get at least 3 mailings a week from him – somewhere, there’s a forest…….  

As for Stacey Newman’s demonstration of ambition (or lack thereof), she has a family. Unlike men in her position (and like most women in hers), she doesn’t have someone to free her from all the domestic obligations.  She’s struggling to be a good public servant and that’s my kind of candidate.

Many years ago, a TV journalist told me why most of them voted Democratic – it’s a candidate’s off-camera behavior.  He said that when Republican candidates are interviewed, they stick to talking points and are lost when asked anything else.  Democrats have talking points but will at least demonstrate some capacity to think for themselves.  Steve Brown reminded me of that conversation.  He has canvassed my block several times over the past few months.  During one, I vented about a practice, unique toMissouri, that I believe keeps people from improving their lives.  He was completely lost, wasn’t interested in what other states did and gave me the prepared platform speech.

When Stacey canvassed my block, I did my little ‘rant’ for her.  She actually communicated with me about it! I agreed to let her put up a yard sign.  The day after she did, there were Steve Brown signs posted next to hers and there was one in my yard (to which I hadn’t consented and promptly removed)! Later that day, he was at my door – our conversation basically went (him) ‘but we talked’ (me) ‘but she listened.’

I enjoyed a great relationship with Margaret Donelly; her office was helpful when I had a problem dealing with a State department.  Per our exchanges, Steve Brown’s not into responsiveness.  I’m in Russ Carnahan’s district and I might as well be in federal government limbo. Looks like I’ll be in a State limbo if Steve Brown wins.

Before I get down to my topic, I should note one thing.  I know that newspaper filler (stuff they throw in to fill up space) does not reflect real editorial or news biases. Newspaper filler is just that–filler.  And, I should be clear, it is humble filler stuffed into the Post-Dispatch about which I am fulminating.  All I can say is this is Saturday, and I don’t want to think about the big stuff all the time!  I just wanna gripe abut the unacknowledged (maybe even unconscious) rightwing bias in our news media!

The particular filler in question is actually more humble than my disclaimer makes clear since it is in a sometime segment called TV Note, located under the weekend television listings.  It is an article titled “Penn & Teller are Cold on Global Warming” by Glenn Garvin.  It is much condensed and reprinted from the Miami Herald. If you are interested in the full article it can be found here.  I hasten to add that there doesn’t seem to be any redeeming value to be gleaned from the full content.

This article reviews a Showtime TV program by the comedians Penn & Teller that aims to get laughs by debunking the threat of climate change.  All well and good; that is their right.  It is even the right of the reviewer, Garvin,  to agree with this point of view.

The problem lies with the way that Garvin expresses his unapologetic bias.  He simply launches into his own climate-change denying diatribe, treating all his assertions as fact:

Consider it a certainty that the Climate Police will lock up Penn & Teller after the show. Not only does it feature interviews with some scientists who aren’t totally sold on the idea that the Earth is toast, it whispers an even more inconvenient truth: A lot of the scariest global-warming tales are told by people who stand to make a buck by scaring you.

According to Garvin, GE is one of the evil corporate interests seeking to scare us because:

GE has invested massive amounts of money in solar panels, wind power and other so-called clean-energy technologies for which there will be virtually no consumer demand unless Congress passes laws requiring them.

Don’t you think that if Garvin were interested in being even-handed, he might note that while there are a few dead-enders out there in the scientific community (and even a couple of respectable thinkers) that question some of the assumptions connected with climate-change predictions, there are hundreds who confirm the direness of our environmental situation? (For a summary of the research and references to articles and documentation look here.)

It may be true that GE  has invested in energy alternatives–not surprising since any fool can see what is coming. However, if Garvin were being even-handed, wouldn’t he note that oil companies, like ExxonMobil have invested far more heavily in keeping just this type of doubt about climate-change alive?  And by propagating just the type of specious argument that Penn and Teller and Garvin offer?

I only ask about even-handedness since Mr. Garvin seems to be very concerned about it.  He notes that GE owned NBC has embraced green culture in its programming, including its news operations,  and is surprised that Brian Williams does not consider the green emphasis to be news manipulation:

…”I’ve got no problems with it. It’s not any different than The New York Times editorial board sitting down and saying the newspaper is going to do a series of stories on some particular subject.”

Garvin’s response:

Maybe, if The New York Times were owned by, say, Halliburton, and the board of directors ordered up a series on, say, the need to invade Iraq.

.

The author of this piece, Glenn Garvin, is a libertarian, a frequent contributor to Reason, who, before becoming the TV-Critic at the Miami Herald, headed up their Managua Desk.  Evidently, he is still pushing his political viewpoints while writing about entertainment.  

Let me be clear, if this were an overt opinion piece openly concerned with climate-change, all of this would be acceptable–not intellectually defensible, but journalisticaly so.  In a TV review, even a TV review about comedians addressing climate-change, it is not acceptable, and  the Post-Dispatch dropped the ball by including it–even if just to fill up space in an area they clearly think no-one reads.