Abiding by Conscience
“They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” —Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
On 9/24/2011 communities from across the state will converge on New Haven with one common goal: moving past fossil fuels to a brighter future and a healthier planet.
Moving Connecticut will show policymakers that we can make a real difference with alternative transportation, local farming, and faith-based stewardship. The show starts at 4 pm with a bike ride, then a rally at 5, live music at 7, and a bike-powered showing of Wall-E at 8. Come out on 9/24 to let our leaders know that fossil fuels are on the way out and Connecticut is ready to move!
Cycling for sustainability
High gas prices got you down? It's a great time to quit driving to work! Commute by bicycle for this year's
Bike to Work Day on 20 May. Make bigger plans to move away from fossil fuels with a
Moving Planet rally (more on that here soon). Riding in New Haven?
Elm City Cycling is here to help.
Common ground with No Labels
George Washington had this crazy
idea: keep government focused on governing by deemphasizing political parties. Even in the cable-news screaming match that is today's political reality, Washington's advice isn't quite forgotten. The group
No Labels are thinking
across the aisle outside the box to promote discourse, cooperation, and progress. Makes sense to us!
Bravo Egypt!
We celebrate and admire the patriots of Egypt who have spoken out to reclaim their own government. Few have stated any cause more directly and passionately than
Wael Ghonim:
I am ready to die. I have a lot to lose in this life. I work in the best company to work for in the world, I have the best wife and I love my kids, but I'm willing to lose all of that for my dream to happen and no one is going to go against our desire—no one—and I'm telling this to Omar Sulieman, he is going to watch this: You are not going to stop us. Kidnap me, kidnap all my colleagues, put us in jail, kill us, do whatever you want to do. We are getting back our country. You guys have been ruining this country for 30 years. Enough. Enough. Enough!
Somewhere Thomas Jefferson is smiling.
Haves and have-nots in America
Quick quiz: how much of America's wealth is owned by the richest 20% of our population? Answer: 84%. And the poorest 40% own just 0.3%. If you're surprised, you're not alone—most Americans think our wealth is distributed much more evenly than it is, found a recent
study reported in
Businessweek. The study also found unanimous agreement among all demographics that the ideal wealth distribution would be far more equitable. So now that we agree, how do we get there?
Just in time for the midterm elections, here are two fact-filled (and
Pulitzer-
winning) journalistic projects that we quite admire.
PolitiFact is furiously checking the truthfulness of political campaign claims, while
ProPublica does in-depth public-interest investigations speaking truth to power. Let's read up!
Going too far: the Protecting Cyberspace Act
What if the federal government could shut off all internet connections for any reason, at any time? That's what Congress is
considering as part of the
Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act. While cyber security is a
real issue, so is freedom of speech—just ask the people of
Iran. The Act goes too far in allowing massive censorship. (Instead of shutting everything down, how about we just disconnect power grids from the internet?) We urge you to contact your
representatives and
senators to let them know.
Spotlight on transparency
Of central importance to functional democracy is transparency of government—so
we the people can keep track of what our elected officials are up to. (Just ask
Google and China.) The US federal government makes lots of information available if you know where to look, and two good starting points are the
US Budget Page and
USAspending.gov. Meanwhile our hats are off to independent organizations promoting transparency, especially the
Sunlight Foundation.
Grand challenge: Finding sustainability
Our generation's greatest challenge is finding a way to live sustainably, beginning with understanding what that means. We have
already sent props to the
IPCC for their studies, but they are not alone. The journal
Nature is spurring discussion with a characteristically well-written
set of articles. At
RealClimate you can see scientists banging out the details, and at
Consumer Consequences you can get a straightforward estimate of how sustainable your own lifestyle might be. Particularly great:
Yale Environment 360, with insightful articles and impressively well-informed discussions. Go read up!
If this country is great, the apex of its greatness is the
United States Constitution. Concise and readable, this single document provides checks and balances, limits on governmental power, and an explicit
Bill of Rights, just to name a few. From these few pages came a representative democracy that has stood for centuries. When was the last time
you gave it a read?
Senators
McCain and
Obama have released the tax plans they would implement if elected president, which differ strikingly. The
non-partisan Tax Policy Center boils it all down to a no-nonsense
analysis of the two plans. Before you vote, do some reading—at least the introduction!
Iraq War in retrospect
However our nation moves forward through the difficult situation in Iraq, we Americans must humble ourselves in the knowledge that our reasons for going to war were inaccurate at best. Lest we forget, the
nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity has compiled a
detailed database of 935 false statements about Iraq made by top Bush administration officials in the two years following 9/11. We hope that next time war is proposed, the citizens of our nation will question their leaders with greater diligence and skepticism.
Climate change consensus from the IPCC
Awarded the
2007 Nobel Peace Prize, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the place to go for consensus, hang-your-hat-on-it scientific information about climate change. They gather and summarize worldwide knowledge, publishing only what is so scientifically solid as to be approved unanimously by all member nations (including the US). They continue to conclude that we humans are causing climate change. For charts and details, start with the
summary of their 2007 report.
Straightening out candidates' facts: FactCheck.org
When you wonder whether the statistics your favorite (or least favorite) politician is quoting are actually true,
FactCheck.org is a great place to find out. A non-partisan group, they accept no funding from parties, unions, corporations, or anybody else—literally. They just research and debunk the statements of politicians, separating truth from falsehood. Added bonus: our friend Jess, always a voice for voracious veracity, is one of the writers.
Straight facts on candidates: VoteSmart.org
Been thinking about how to vote in the 2008 presidential election? Getting the media to talk about issues instead of spin and popularity is like pulling teeth. Sidestep the hype with our first recommended resource:
VoteSmart.org. They offer full voting records, biographical information, transcripts of speeches, endorsements, alignment with special interest groups, information about campaign funding—everything.
Check it out. Real facts are powerful.
