Mike Palecek interviewed by Jason Miller

"I just look around and see people mowing their lawns on the same day we start to bomb Iraq and it drives me wild."

--Mike Palecek

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed three of Mike Palecek's novels, I felt particularly fortunate that he agreed to engage in a cyber-interview with me. His irreverent satirization of the myriad of ills plaguing the United States is unparalleled amongst current authors of sociopolitical fiction. Palecek may hyperbolize, but his fertile imagination has afforded US Americans a priceless opportunity to stop and examine what we are becoming as a nation. And he has done so in a fashion that is both absorbing and entertaining.

Product (RED), an initiative conceived by Bono to get international brands to market and support the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, & Malaria, officially hit American shores Friday.  I have a feeling that many readers are wondering what on earth it is and that most readers cock their heads when they hear "Bono" and "Global Fund" in the same sentence (albeit for dramatically different reasons, depending on what you think of Bono).  Regardless, you won't be wondering for much longer.  But the question I have to ask is, "Why didn't you know in the first place?"

I must preface this by stating that what Al Gore did at NYU this past Monday was nothing short of heroic. And whether you agree with his proposals or not it cannot be denied that to come out and suggest solutions perceived as radical to the status quo way is absolutely refreshing and much needed in our national dialogue.

This diary was written expressly for Daily Kos, but I thought other progressive bloggers might find it interesting.

Yesterday I was devastated. A friend told me my favorite TV show Stargate, had been cancelled. This was actually announced last week, but I'm not involved in online fandom, so I had to get the 411 the old fashioned way. My friend is entrenched in online fandom, so I guess I'm in the second tier for info propagation from Stargate fandom ground zero. This is approximately where I would put myself in the progressive politics information stream, as well. Not in the room, but an interested party with my nose stuck to the window.

The word "devastated" might strike some as grotesque hyperbole in the context of a cheesy sci fi show. Wouldn't it be more appropriate for me to be devastated over Darfur or the warehousing of the poor in the U.S.? I've been pondering this for the last 24 hours, and I believe I've come up with some insights that may be of use to Kossacks and other people involved in political campaigns.

I just read the NYT article about the stained glass ceiling for women in the church, and I was especially struck by this comment:

...in the marketplace of ideas and values, men matter most and...by definition, women have to take a back seat...

Why do men matter most in the marketplace of ideas?

I have previously written at least twenty two entries regarding water and the coming shortages, which if not effectively managed will lead to war over this resource which is now becoming evermore precious due to the heatwave currently hitting many parts of our world. As the report below corroborates, drought and heat which is being caused by climate change is truly making a "planetary emergency", however, people don't seem to be too worked up over this.

Democrats are divided over whether appealing to the moderate center or galvanizing their progressive base is the better strategy. Given the public's declining confidence in Republican leadership, either strategy may enable Democrats to win at the polls. But neither approach will give them the electoral mandate required to govern effectively and retain the public's support once they're in office.

Fortunately, choosing between these two strategies is unnecessary. There is an alternative to left-right politics and by adopting it Democrats can remain true to progressive principles while attracting millions of voters from the non-ideological middle.

The step beyond the "New Deal," the "Fair Deal," and the "Great Society" is a "Dignitarian Society." The slogan is Dignity For All.

The consequences of voting for the lesser of two evils

In today's political climate, progressive politics has become heavily orientated toward a single short term goal - defeating the Republicans at any cost.

Unfortunately, this obsession of voting against one party, instead of voting for what we believe in, has prevented us from engaging in the important work of coalition building between Progressive Democrats, Independents and Greens that is essential for building a fair and just society.

A large part of our inability to challenge the political elite is that we have inherited a highly undemocratic winner-take-all voting system, which insures the political hegemony of the two party system. This traps the majority of us into voting defensively, instead of voting for candidates we believe in.

The consequences of voting for the lesser of two evils

In today's political climate, progressive politics has become heavily orientated toward a single short term goal - defeating the Republicans at any cost.

Unfortunately, this obsession of voting against one party, instead of voting for what we believe in, has prevented us from engaging in the important work of coalition building between Progressive Democrats, Independents and Greens that is essential for building a fair and just society.

When it comes to politics, new language and new thinking are different things. Whatever new language progressives used in 2004 failed to change the electoral outcome, and at most it'll help them eke out a few victories in the coming years. New language is like changing the window treatment, not the window, not the view, not the perspective.

What's required for social change, and it could come from either party, is the kind of political realignment we get once every 50 years. Such realignment pulls a sizeable majority from the vast non-ideological, sensible middle of the political spectrum, and creates a real mandate for fundamental social change. Like those that FDR and LBJ presided over. Like the universal health care and campaign finance reform that we need now.

Both political parties know that a unifying core value expressed in a pithy slogan translates into votes. FDR's Democrats had "The New Deal"; LBJ's party advanced "The Great Society." Republicans rally to "lower taxes," "smaller government," "strong defense," and "family values."

What core value, what slogan, could move us beyond the toxic standoff that paralyzes American politics today?

The answer lies in a single word--Dignity.

This core value takes wings on the inclusive slogan: "Dignity For All." The bumper sticker reads "Dignity4All," and it will soon begin appearing on cars across America.

The idea of a universal right to dignity may at first seem too simple to pull together the disparate elements of this divided nation, but it's not. Dignity is what people want, on the left, on the right, and most importantly, in the vast, non-ideological middle.

Most Americans now agree that Bush and his Administration's policies have been a disaster for the nation.  Nevertheless, the tired refrain from the majority of Republicans continues to fault Democrats for the current mess.  That's chutzpah.  When your party controls the White House, both Houses of Congress, the courts, the electoral system, the Justice Department, the agencies responsible for administering the nation's business, the mechanisms for any oversight capability, as well as the procedures for correcting the overreaching efforts of all of the above, it's difficult, to say the least, to blame the other party for the current state of the Union.  To say the most, it's irresponsible, disingenuous, and desperate.

Even as I write, the BBC is reporting President Bush's insistence that Iraq is not, in fact, in a civil war.  Moreover, it's a problem HE won't have to deal with:

Mr Bush hinted to reporters that US troops would remain in Iraq beyond the end of his presidency in January 2009.
Asked about a timetable for the full withdrawal of US troops, President Bush said: "That of course is an objective and that will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."

How's that for a "rosy outlook"?

Why am I?  After five years of lies, law-breaking, and disregard for the Constitution, the question of the hour isn't whether or not Bush's own cronies will finally see fit to give him a rebuke.  The question is why are we putting up with this crap?

It's certainly not my regular habit to post front page articles singling out a diary on another blog, but this diary by stephdray over at Daily Kos so perfectly mirrors my own frustration, that I want to do more than paste it here.  I want to print out a thousand copies and hand it out on street corners.

Know what?  I just might.

You didn't used to be like this.
You didn't used to get enraged at George Bush's picture whenever it came on the tube. Now you flip him the bird, even if you're standing in front of the bank of televisions at Best Buy. And you never used to wonder if you should even be shopping at Best Buy. You never used to worry about whether or not your money was financing the destruction of the environment, the constitution, your future, your kid's future. You never needed to know what 'Buying Blue' meant.

Update [2006-2-16 11:46:46 by Tom Ball]: I Edited this post to remove the Valentine's day theme because the day has come and gone but the content is truly valuable and holiday independent. Hopefully ilona won't strangle me.

Let's share our loving side with the ones who need it the most: our troops. Let's get busy and show them who really supports them, ok?

I've tried to make this as pain-free and fun as possible. Some of the action items can be done right in front of your computer screen. Other items will require you to get up and move about into the fresh air outside - maybe even mingle with other people. Still others will require you open up your wallet, if you so choose to do. No pressure there from me.

You ready to start showing the troops you care?

As your staff has probably already alerted you, your office has been barraged by e-mails, faxes and phone messages imploring you to either vote no or abstain on the upcoming cloture vote in the Alito confirmation.

I realize that you have heard in the media, and perhaps from your own advisors, that this massive outpouring of sentiment should be taken with a modicum of salt, due to the fact it has come from the Internet activists and bloggers.  After all, conventional wisdom dictates that this group exemplifies the far extreme in political thought, and is not representative of the greater constituency you represent.

But ... Before you make your final decision on this momentous vote, please take a moment to reflect upon the future. Not just from a moral or ethical position (in which the vote against cloture would be the imperative), but from a pragmatic, political one.

The Republican Party, which at the present time holds such a stranglehold upon all three branches of government, did not gain that position of power overnight. It was a long calculated battle waged over many years, utilizing a grassroots network of motivated activists, which put them in this position.

You too now have the power to harness such a force... but you must first recognize it in order to utilize it.