jayohara’s Recent Comments

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  NiceOn Calling all radicals: Unite for Kerry-Boxer posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago 32 Responses

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  Thanks Andree!On The best part about climate change posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago 1 Response

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  Hi Josh, thanks for posting this, but I think the idea of a movement uniting behind a piece of legislation is a bad idea for two reasons, which I'll explore here. First is the issue of motivating a movement, second is the tactical fallacy of supporting legislation. What we want is effective climate solutions. In order to get them we need to change politics. In order to change politics we need to alter the political landscape and transform a reluctant country into one that feels the urgency of action. The radical's job is then to unite an organized constituency behind a common understanding of the problem and what should be done about it and inspire an ever enlarging movement. Spending our time arguing for a piece of legislation that won't actually get the job done won't inspire a movement big enough to do what is required. "THE PROBLEM IS REALLY BAD!! But pass this bill that won't solve it!" Second, we need to swear allegiance to the cause, not to the people who we want to make it happen. Draw a line from right to left. In the middle put "Kerry-Boxer". Somewhere way to the right put "Sen. Inhofe". Just to the left put Al Gore, and then further to the left put "350" or "Bill McKibben". The farther to the left position, on this spectrum of change vs. do nothing, is where reality is - the reality of what we need. If we decide that we are going to rush into the middle and support something which is not what we need then all of a sudden the "radical" position becomes Kerry-Boxer and then all the mid-west and coal state Democrats will bolt. But if we are arguing for something that is in line with reality and we end up with something passed like Kerry-Boxer is now, then the politicians can play it off as taking the moderate approach. This is fundamentally the blindness created by the beltway. Nobody outside the beltway cares about legislation. Bills and amendments are not inspirational. Dr. King didn't spend his time on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial talking about the virtues of the Voting Rights Act. The bill will get worse instead of better. And most importantly our job is to CREATE NEW POLITICAL REALITIES. Signing on and organizing around a bill doesn't do that.On Calling all radicals: Unite for Kerry-Boxer posted 3 weeks, 2 days ago 32 Responses

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  Hurray!  So glad that Eliot is getting front page action at Grist.  Hurray!

  On Debunking the meat/climate change myth posted 3 months ago 92 Responses

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  But he was writing about the endorsements of Environmental groups....

  On Sotomayor endorsement is an embarrassment posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago 11 Responses