A very familiar scene: you are exiting the highway and getting close to your destination. As you pull up to the light, you see someone standing there with a sign stating that they will work for food. Familiar scene right? Have you ever seen someone whose work is something that you would have to go back to school to be able to do? How about someone with such a talent that even if you did go back to school it would be unlikely that you could match their abilities? Meet Ted Williams.

How often do we make judgments on people and situations at a glance? How often do we look back and realize that the judgment we made was anything but correct? It is easy to justify our impulse decisions but admitting that those hunches were wrong is kind of like pulling teeth. In general people seem to have a very unforgiving opinion of others who have found themselves at the mercy of society. However when a story like the one of Ted Williams surfaces, we are forced to take a second look.

It is easy to assume that people whose lives have lead them to a place where they are begging for change never really had any skills or abilities that could have found them elsewhere. But when I saw someone who has real world-class talent but is homeless and asking highway travelers for a chance, I personally had to ask myself; could that be me? I bet he never believed that with his extraordinary talent that he would ever be begging strangers for a chance.

So can you spare some change? It is desperately needed. A few quarters, some nickels and a dime? Or could you sacrifice our most precious resource, a piece of your time? It would be greatly appreciated, so much more than you know. Open up your heart to change, if you expect it to grow. We can learn a lot from the less fortunate, certainly how to expand your comforts range. So if your life is not perfect, ask yourself; can I spare some change!

Today is the election day, have you voted yet? Maybe these celebs can help persuade you:

And then you should:

Click here to find your polling place, OR

Txt 411 + YOUR HOME ADDRESS (i.e., “411 123 Smith St Brooklyn NY 11218″) to 69866 and we’ll txt you your polling place!

Then go online and facebook/tweet your vote!

Recently I had been doing a considerable amount of self inventory. In our effort to register 1000 voters (which I am proud to say we achieved), I have had countless conversations with young people who would not even consider taking a minute to listen to what I had to say once they saw a clipboard in my hand. For those who did stop and listen and even register, a large portion of them would display utter disbelief when I said that the canvassing effort that we were conducting was essentially a volunteer effort. I can imagine that maybe 10 years ago; I may not have been as receptive to the idea of volunteering as I am now. Good thing I decided to look again or I would not have been granted the opportunity that I have to make a significant change in my community.

So after talking to hundreds of young people, I began to find myself being some what impatient with much of the apathetic views shared by so many of them. But when I stopped and took a second look, I realized that I was being apathetic toward other people’s apathy. At that moment, it occurred to me that I was allowing myself to use the state of someone else’s progression as an excuse to delay my own. Even if they had opinions that were not necessarily accurate, they were valid and they deserved to be heard. Again, I was forced to take a closer look at myself and seek out my own limitations.

It can be really easy to find someone else to blame for what is not right in our lives. When we get frustrated at someone else’s perceived ignorance, we find it easy to ignore our own problem with frustration. Everyone’s perspective is real whether or not we agree with it. Particularly when someone’s perspective is potentially harmful to them, they really need understanding more than ever. Unfortunately the common response to such behavior is to be even more hostile than the hurting person who is doing the best that they can. Sadly, in our culture, the logical progression for many of those hurting people is drugs, prison, or an early grave. I am proud to say that I am part of a movement that is seeking to overturn that destructive type of thinking, but at the same time I realize that if the movement is to be successful, I need to identify and overturn my own destructive thinking.

I get a personal joy from registering young people to vote for the first time. I am always excited when I come across 17 year-old young people and I get to let them know that they can vote as soon as they turn 18.  Since President Barack Obama has been elected, it seems as if the consensus among young people has changed from apathy to excitement.  This leads me to believe that the political and social change we envision is happening with the young people. Yesterday, I realized that half the people that I spoke with and registered were under the age of 20.  In several years, these young people will be the policy-makers, legislators, and law enforcers.  On the other hand, those who choose not to engage will be the victims of the process. My job is to remind them that even being a victim is a choice.

I realized then that the political process can start with voter registration and dialogue about the political process.  From the conversations that I have had with various young people, I have realized that they are not regularly in practice of speaking about the political process or what is encompassed in the realm of politics.  Based upon my conversations with young people during the voter registration campaign, I realized that young people are not being engaged on their level by policy makers or adults who understand the process. They are, however, being engaged by music videos and popular culture. I am curious about how to blend the two because the ones who resist engagement are the ones who embrace the false reality created by pop culture and mainstream media. My question is this: how do we as community organizers engage the young people who are in opposition to the very process that determines the projected quality of life for us all?

This week the League of Young Voters Education Fund will be in Tucson, Arizona training young leaders ages 13-21 to stand up and be the change that they want to see. The training is being presented by the NonViolence Legacy Project of the Culture of Peace Alliance.

Yesterday, Jayme Montgomery-Baker (Wisconsin State Director) and I were greeted by the Tucson community with song, food, and open discussion about the issues affecting Arizona. Gang Violence, SB 1070, Dream Act, Voter registration, and HB2281 were some of the issues discussed at the circle. The LYVEF is honored and humbled for the opportunity/invitation to inspire, educate, and train Arizona’s young adults during such historical times. You can feel the excitement, emotion, and passion in the air; The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona, protests are taking place on the streets, McCain is running for reelection, and LYVEF is here doing what we do best!

The young people that we have had the pleasure to meet are some of the most passionate and dedicated of this generation and definitely operating from an “Opposition to Proposition” state of mind.

People love to talk about change. It is a natural occurrence for people that are enduring a similar situation to agree on the necessity of change and for them to agree on the things that need to change. However, people typically have conflicting ideas of how the change that is envisioned can actually be realized and what that change would look like. It is at the intersection of these two occurrences that is the ever present ingredient which threatens to halt any movement by a community of people who have deemed it necessary to affect a change in their accepted way of life.

This concept can be applied to even the simplest conflict. Let’s say two kids plop down on the couch at the exact same time and the TV is on a channel that neither of them wants to watch. They each have the same desire; a pleasurable viewing experience. However, each of them has a different perception of what a pleasurable viewing experience might be. What the two kids have is a conflict of interest although they have a similar objective. Although they agree on the necessity of change, they disagree on what that change should look like.

So now let’s say that these are two really bratty kids. Let’s say they are really stubborn and cannot agree on a single channel to watch. How can each of them get what they are in search of at the same time? How did they come to the conclusion that they cannot each have what they want at the same time? And furthermore, how did they become so dependent on the TV for stimulation….

When we translate the kid issues into adult conflicts, we will see how the only difference is the device…..sometimes. Within the concept of television is the underlying idea of information being readily accessible to the masses through a controlled medium. But even though everyone seems to have their own favorite channel, all of the programs have the same agenda; keep people watching.

The idea of revolution is one that has existed in the minds of the oppressed for as long as there has been oppression. As a community organizer, the idea of revolution continues to take on new definitions. The more I consider myself, and my roll in community reparation, the more I realize that my personal growth is instrumental in affecting any collective growth. It is not possible to affect true change unless I acknowledge aspects of myself that are perpetuating my oppression. In other words, the revolution is something that must happen within me; within you, and inside all of us as individuals.

It is a great time to be living in Columbus. I guess it could just be me because it seems like everyday I’m here someone says that they are bored. Life as a community organizer however has been high pace and the high octane people I am constantly in the company of keeps me motivated and in good spirits. The summer officially began on Monday and Columbus is feeling the heat. So I guess it is fair to say that when it comes to organizing if you can’t take the heat then stay out of the summer time!

Poetry and progressive thinking tends to go hand and hand. I got introduced to my mentor Ha2tim at a poetry spot and it was him who introduced me to C J and the LYVEF. Since the day I enter a spoken word poetry show for the first time, I have experienced an entirely new side of life, and poetry has been there every step of the way. I have heard, written or performed what seems like a poem for possible human emotion but I am always inspired by the art form and people’s ability to articulate their inner environment.

Recently I was asked to host a local poetry set. I have hosted before, but this time is unique in a lot of ways. For one, I get to be part of the creation of something that is being started from scratch. It is being held at a place called the Drexel Radio Café which is attached to a small, independent movie theater which is one of the corner stones of its community. Bexley Ohio is one of the wealthiest and best managed communities in central Ohio and it is the home of the Drexel Theater and the Drexel Radio Café. Although Bexley is surrounded on all sides by Columbus, it is a city of its own with a distinctive culture. Outside of delivering high quality poetry every week, we will also enjoy the opportunity to be able to blend the culture of Bexley with the cultures of the surrounding communities using spoken word as the comfortable medium.

We are riding a major wave of momentum in the city of Columbus.  I am fortunate enough to have been introduced into this way of life at a point in time when there was already a significant amount of movement already taking place. Now I have been placed in a position where I am responsible for being one of the individuals guiding the momentum. I must admit, it has been a very humbling realization. It is also a responsibility I feel compelled to accept because I am both aware and able to assist in the struggle for equality. A monumental wave is about to reach land and I get to be along for the ride. I have been looking forward to this moment my entire life and now its here. I finally get to test out my sea legs!

I want you to check out this song:  My Generation off the new Nas and Damien Marley CD, Distant Relatives. I’ve been listening to this non stop. This song inspires me to keep loving, inspiring, organizing, and evolving because in my heart I believe that we as a Generation are living in historical times. But there’s too much theory, not enough practice.

The King of Pop tried to tell us that self interest lies only with the wealthy and the elite. Before Distant Relatives dropped on Tuesday, his song “They Don’t Care About Us” stayed on repeat (shout out to Christina). Are our leaders and elected officials of the past ready to pass the baton and share the wealth of knowledge, or must we learn our own lessons? Will the athletes of my generation have the courage of Ali, or the cowardess of Jordan? Will the entertainers of my generation heal the world or try and FU$% every girl in it?

I believe in you, I love you unconditionally, even when I am weary I will never lose faith in you. We don’t need the masses, only the dedicated! So those who believe that this generation is the generation that we have always been waiting for: Its time to stand up, speak out, and let your voices be heard…Or 4ever hold your peace!

[Chorus - Joss Stone & Choir]
My generation will make a change
This generation will make a change
(Yes we will)
My generation will make a change
This generation will make a change
(Do You hear me now)
My generation will make a change
This generation will make a change
(we bout to make a change)
My Generation – Distant Relatives

Nothing makes me want to punch a pervert in the face like the term “sex slave.” You don’t need to be a man or be a woman, have a child or be one, to feel your heart brake at the notion that there are people making a twisted living luring young women from other countries into forced sexual service to the second sleaziest sickos on the planet (after #1, the traffickers themselves.)

Sorry, guess it sets me off. And I’m not sorry.

So for this good Friday, let’s tell a tale of tragedy turned to triumph, two young women delivered out of the hands of would-be predators by, of all things, drum roll please, the internetz.

And here I was, thinking online forums were just where God made Trolls:

Help me help my friend in D.C.

It’s a long read, but I dare you to stop halfway.

Hope is alive!

Three weeks ago today, God took away a piece of my heart when he called back my lil’ cousin. James “Jimmy” Darnell Johnson would kill me for putting his fed name on the Internet but now that he is gone I feel it is my responsibility to introduce him to the world. At 20 years old, Jimmy still had a lot of life ahead of him but it was cut short by gun fire. Jimmy was caught up in the vicious cycle of street enterprise were he found himself engaged to an extent that I believe he was deeply troubled by. However once a person has created a reliable source of income and a comfortable life, it can be hard to turn away from. Unfortunately, when you accept that type of lifestyle, you accept all that comes with it.

Jimmy was deeply troubled by the loss of his older brother Michael “Mikey” Lamont Johnson who was murdered five years ago at the age of 18 in an eerily similar manner. Mikey was also a thriving young street agent who was not afraid of confrontation and was more likely to attack it head on. Both of them were very well known, loved, and respected by many and will be dearly missed. Jimmy was not only disturbed by the loss of his brother, but more recently he witnessed the murder of our close friend Ryan “Ross” Riggins by a gun shot to the head. I had the pleasure of knowing all three of these gentlemen very well and I will forever seek to find strength in my memories of them.

I was once a thriving young agent as well. I am deeply troubled when I consider that Jimmy looked up to me when I was participating in a lifestyle that would later claim his life. I find a small solace when I consider that I was also at that time immersed in a lifestyle that satisfied my needs for a source of stability. Since those days, I have been able to discover the limitless possibilities that exist outside of the hood mentality. I have been fortunate enough to be able to surround myself with like minded people and in what would be the final months of his life, I was really trying to get Jimmy to come around see that life is truly what you make it. I believe that he experienced compassion in his final moments as I can feel his energy coursing through my veins. I just hope that his death and all of the pain that is being felt by so many will serve as a source of inspiration for someone who is looking to make a change in their life.

R.I.P. Lil’ Cuz

Grabbed this from the NYTimes:

“PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country on Friday, aimed at identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants. The governor’s move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally.”

This move drew a line in the sand and prompted some harsh criticism of Governor Brewer, including a statement from President Obama:

“The recent efforts in Arizona…threatened to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.”

What do yall think?

On Tuesday, I visited the White House with the Generational Alliance, representing LYVEF at a Youth Roundtable on Jobs and the Economy. Representing the White House were Valarie Jarrett, Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President for Inter-governmental Affairs and Public Engagement; Brian Deese, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; Christina “Tina” Chen, the president-elect’s director of public liaisons; and Harold and Kumar actor Kal Penn, who serves as the Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement.

Right now, the House and Senate are debating the Miller Jobs bill which will provide funding to prevent job loss in communities, create job training programs, and support public sector jobs. Christina Hollenback, Executive Director of the Generational Alliance gave stats about the Joblessness for 16-24 year old black males which has reached Great depression proportions of 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the General population. The Jobless rate for young black men and women is 30.5 percent. It was a powerful meeting discussing next steps for our organizations and communities that we represent.

Sitting at the table I could see the faces of Jasmine Owens, Sasha Carter, Larry Jenkins, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, Harry Belafonte, Dr. King, Diane Nash, and Ceasar Chavez. I could hear their voices feel their presence in the room and so I spoke. I asked that we remember the young adults across the country who are dying, incarcerated, and forgotten. I asked that we remember our responsibility to provide tools and resources to our youth so that they become productive citizens. We must be the moral authority to the House and Senate who do not see our children dying in these streets as an Emergency.

Yesterday after our meeting at the White House, Kal Penn was robbed at gunpoint in D.C. Thankfully he is ok. The robber only took his cell phones, wallet, and not his life! Jobs, violence, black, white, rich, poor, hood, or the White House we are all 1! Don’t wait until something happens to you or a loved one before you start paying attention. It was truly an honor and a privilege to be invited representing my community and The League of young Voters Education Fund. We are the ones we have always been waiting for.

Now lets get back to WORK! Organize, Strategize, and hold our elected officials accountable!

Have you ever been shook to your core?

Or, experienced a feeling so impactful that it makes your gut wrench?

This was the type of blow that I felt just moments ago. It was as if someone had punched me in my stomach so hard, that it had taken all of my breath away. Huh, huh, huh, I even pant now, as if I just crossed the finish line of a five mile marathon.

The loop of CNN’s Tony Harris plays constantly in my head. “Lady and gentlemen, I am sad to announce the death of civil rights leader, Benjamin Lawson Hooks.” What? Are you serious? Not Mr. Hooks? Not the greatest past President of the NAACP in post-modern history? Not the last living one who helped Thurgood Marshall to develop the NAACP’s famous litigation strategies? Not the one who took the reins of leadership from civil rights great, Roy Wilkins? Tony, you should know better than that; I mean that is not the type of news that you just spring on a brother.  How can he be? Mr. Hooks is like the grandfather of the NAACP, and having grown up in that association, that made him like a grandfather to me.

However, it is not just Mr. Hooks’ death that causes me to mourn, that makes me sob, but it is also that damn cat. You see Mr. Hooks had a hold of him for many years, and now that he is gone, I afraid the cat may begin to run loose again and to wiggle himself back out of his bell. He’s a conniving critter, and I’m sure that he’s been waiting to take advantage of a situation like this, for a longtime now. But Mr. Hooks knew how to handle him, and he spoke about him all the time. As a matter of fact, during his last public appearance before the NAACP, at the Centennial Convention this past summer, he told the story of this cat.

He said…“There once were three mice, who were troubled by this cruel cat and so the mice held a meeting to get rid of the cat. Each mouse suggested their idea but all ideas were rejected, as they were not practicable. At last, the youngest mouse suggested tying a bell round the cat’s neck when cat was fast asleep, so that when the animal would move, the bell would ring and warn them of the danger. Everybody approved of the idea but the question arose, who shall bell the cat?

Mr. Hooks said that this was the question that he and those of his generation had to ask themselves? Who would it be to bell the cat of segregation, of Jim Crow of Laws, and of racial tyranny? He said, “I answered the question and helped to bell the cat, when I joined in leading student sit-ins efforts in the south. Martin answered the question and helped to bell the cat, when he faced threats while trying to end unequal treatment, because he declared that he had seen the promise land and that he wasn’t going to let nobody stop him from leading his people there. Marshall answered the question and helped to bell the cat, when he fought against the outlandish law of separate but equal education.” But Hooks then asked the question, “Who shall bell the cat now? Who shall be the leaders of this generation bold enough to confront the challenges that we face today. ”

As sorrowful as I am at this moment, when I consider these words in hindsight, I believe that Mr. Hooks knew that his time was drawing near. However, as I reflect, I stand froze in a petrified manner, for I realize that the bell has fallen into me and my generation’s hands.

From my friend Christina Polcari:

What if Obama announced a plan today that promised green jobs for our urban youth, window panes and lower energy bills, urban gardens and lower medical bills, clean air and clean streets?

The Yes Men dare us to think so. They dare us to imagine the world is as we wanted it just for a minute. Earlier this week in Copenhagen, Canada dropped jaws when it announced a radical reversal of its climate change policy at the COP15. It was exactly the kind of action the world has been waiting for–bold and badass. But it was all a prank, compliments of the Yes Men.

We wanted a global deal out of the COP15. The Yes Men put the spotlight on countries standing in the way to publicly humiliate them. Because the people, the media, and the UN responded, and for a moment, we saw the change we believe in.

Last night, Jayme and Mahfam sat on the rogue Yes Men stage at the “Good COP15″ to tell our leaders about how urban communities are building a better environment and a better economy. People working together on projects like Green the Hood are the true agents of change.

This week, Mahfam has made us realize we need to go back home and “blow up our efforts and take them to the next level…to scale the movement.” She’s absolutely right. Coming from a global conference, to me, the next level looks more local. Our leaders can and must take bolder action but we have to do even more at home to show them exactly what that action looks like. Here’s to the next steps for our communities, the ones to scale the movement and to give our leaders no room to budge.

Heather Box and Jayme Montgomery on Davey D’s Hard Knock Radio

Check out this interview about COP15 and the talks in Copenhagen, aired on 12/17/2009 on Davey D’s Hard Knock Radio. Jayme and Heather talk about the mood of the conference as well as some of the intense protests they saw. Hard Knock Radio airs every day at 4PM on KPFA: check out the page for the show here!

Also, check out this clip from Heather, interviewed on 12/18/2009 on the KPFA Morning Show:

Heather Box on the KPFA Morning Show – 12/18/09

Heather talks about the general atmosphere in Copenhagen and the mood after President Obama’s speech about the climate negotiations. The KPFA Morning Show airs every weekday at 7:00 AM Pacific time on KPFA: check out the page for the show here!

This message comes from Josh Lynch, an organizer with AVAAZ Action Factory:

Friends -

On Tuesday morning I posted this note on facebook:
“If you could see what is happening here in Copenhagen you would be outraged. After two decades of negotiating climate change policy to death, wealthy countries are blocking a real deal with weak targets and loopholes. The next 72 hours I will need you to act to seize the moment of Copenhagen. Please be prepared to act.”

Now is the time to act. First I will ask for what is needed. Then I will explain some context.

1. This is going to sound crazy. I need as many of you who possibly can to organize a sit-in in your Senator’s office to read 12 millions names of global voices demanding a fair, ambitious, and
legally-binding climate treaty in Copenhagen. The first sit-in of this kind was a nine-hour act of civil disobedience by 19 international youth outside the main plenary in Copenhagen. This sparked solidarity reader sit-ins at the Canadian Prime Minister’s office and the U.S.
State Department on Thursday. On Friday youth are calling for a non-violent civil disobedience to demand a fair, ambitious, and binding climate treaty on the final day.

Here is a guide to help you pull it off:
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/17/solidarity-sit-ins-spread-resources-for-your-own-event/

The original story:
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/17/live-blog-youth-activists-refuse-to-leave-before-everyones-voices-are-heard/

2. Call President Obama (202-456-1111) to urge him to “support the call of the most vulnerable nations for a 350ppm carbon reduction target and a goal of keeping temperatures below 1.5 degrees celsius in the global climate treaty.” This has been a critical demand of vulnerable nations in Copenhagen fighting for their survival.

That’s it. Now some context as promised.

A TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENT
These are no ordinary times. The moment to tackle climate change on a global scale was twelve years ago. The US opted out of Kyoto and has since fought for business as usual while the planet remains in desperate need of a heart transplant and the worlds’ poor face increasing famine, flooding, and disease. In this unique moment, world leaders must act.

More than 100 heads of state are now in Copenhagen. It has already become a transformational political moment for the climate movement. Everyone is talking about the backlash for Danish police to peaceful demonstrations and the preemptive move by the UN to kick out 14,700 members of civil society before the high level summit on the final two days. What’s even more important than the silencing of our voices in Copenhagen is the fact that President Obama and the U.S. Congress have yet to listen to the voices of millions of their own citizens and those around the world calling for an ambitious, fair, and binding global climate treaty now. I can tell you from being in the belly of the beast – our voices WILL be heard.

RICH AND POOR: OUR FATES ARE BOUND TOGETHER
Small island nations, Africa, and developing countries that are least responsible for global warming pollution have shown the most leadership and courage for a fair, ambitious, and binding treaty in Copenhagen. They have worked without office space out of small booths
with NGOs, and withstood intimidation and isolation from wealthy countries throughout COP15. All of us who live in the U.S. and other wealthy nations must know that our fates are all bound to theirs. Experts warn that if we allow warming to reach 2 degrees celsius, the rich may build levees to hold back the seas for a while, but resource conflicts will escalate, crops will fail, and diseases will spread in every corner of the planet. As Africa burns and the people of Tuvalu and the Maldives are forced to evacuate their islands, the planet will reach climate tipping points that put the future of all humanity at risk.

STEPS FORWARD TODAY
The COP15 climate talks have stalled these past ten days over and over again on the issue of low ambitions from the US and other wealthy countries and the issue of ensuring the treaty is legally-binding. Today there was finally movement on both fronts. First, Hillary Clinton arrived and shocked many by supporting a global finance target for developing countries of $100 billion/year by 2020, conditional on strong measures to ensure transparency in the use of the funds. Afterwards, China came out and supported some steps to allow transparency of climate finance reporting, an issue they had previously stood steadfast against for sovereignty concerns.

There now does seem like there could be a reasonably ambitious deal in Copenhagen. We are still more likely to end up in a collapse or delay scenario, I am hearing. Regardless, countries will need to return in 6-12 months to finish the details of the agreement. The problem with even the optimistic end of the current scenario is that ‘close enough’ doesn’t cut it on climate change. If carbon emissions are slashed, but not enough to prevent the Greenland ice shelf from melting, sea levels are expected to rise by six feet – with devastating consequences for coastal cities like New York, London, Amsterdam, and hundreds more.

THE REAL STORY OF COPENHAGEN
There is so much hope and possibility amidst the crisis of Copenhagen. A global movement is growing up here. Simple solutions that create jobs for people living in daily poverty are gaining global attention. The world’s most vulnerable are finally gaining the attention of world leaders – if not with actions, at least with words. What gives me hope is the resolve of people living in crisis who I’ve met here in Copenhagen. People in our group have talked to people from Lebanon, Israel, and Sudan who have lived with conflict their whole lives, but have come here because of climate change and a solidarity they feel with others around the world ready to do something about it.

I hope that you will act with me today and hold President Obama accountable to restoring global good will and reaching a real deal in Copenhagen. Further, I hope the stories of what has happened here these past two weeks and for me, four weeks before that, will leave you inspired rather than discouraged. Struggle is to be expected when something really matters. It is the only way change is possible.

With love and conviction,
Josh

Just hopped off a video announcement from Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and definitely a top pick on the short list of D.C. insiders who are really taking their title/mission to heart.

On what is coincidentally (purely surely) the first day of the international COP15 summit, the EPA announces that their thorough (musta been really thorough) analysis of all the available facts leads to one simple conclusion: greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.”

There’s more:

“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Great talking point from Mrs. Jackson and my instinct thinks she’s legit. When asked on the call about the timing of the EPA’s announcement, when House reps have indicated no movement on environmnetal legislation until early Spring (months from now), Lisa Jackson said the EPA did not want to wait to get the ball rolling and hoped that Congress would “follow the ball.”

Translation: watch out, world. Apparently it’s not a pre-requisite of American political power to actually lose total touch with the land and your people!

Keep it up, Mrs. Jackson.

This is a few days old i.e. another epoch in internetz time but I bet when society crashes and we burn our laptops for plastic scented warmth, we’ll kill for the chance to one more snarky blog post, to tag one more pic of the person we were before Nature takes our headphones off and smacks us back to the Ice Age.

By which I mean, is anyone really surprised that not only do we have to confront the awesome, shame-on-us specter of global destruction as a simple truth – we are consuming the world, will we do anything about it? – but also as a classic opportunity for government conspiracy, what we don’t know will kill us, of course the Man is savvy to the fact that famine and hedonism are mutually exclusive and you’ll catch more of us flies if you act like the honey is gonna flowwwww forever.

Turns out “[t]he world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit,” with the United States quite specifically called out for encouraging a false representation of 1.) how much oil is undiscovered [how do they know?!] and 2.) how much we’ve got left in our fields.

Consensus is growing that this roller coaster we call Life™ is already over the hump, we’re hurtling down hill to a NEW epoch the people at the Center for Egregiously Named Memetics call Peak Oil. When you hit Peak Oil, your oil production enters a phase called “terminal decline….” yeah, it looks kinda like this:

Now, I for one am sure the proud business and government leaders of the United States didn’t want to lie about the world’s oil reserves, no, that’s illogical! I’m sure it was a minor lie, really just a fib, that snowballed into a conspiracy, it was out of their hands – really – and now that the truth is out, wow, we can get right down to those “New Energy Solutions” that sound just so neat.

I don’t know about yall, but I say let’s burn it while we got it. It’s a cold Friday in Brooklyn, the leaves are off the trees…you know what would cheer me up?

Saw something crazy over on Huffington Post today about midwestern states and ten degree rises in temperature by 2010; farmers will be effed, oh they will be seriously effed (and what do farmers grow? Food. And who eats food? We do!), but the best part of the article is the classic regurgitation of what could surely be the epitaph on civilization’s uncelebrated tombstone: “[S]enators from Kansas, which will be most ravaged by climate change, are unlikely to support legislation addressing it.”

Let me try to understand. And yes, it has been said; I know I beat my head against it with nearly every environmental article I read. The planet is boiling, and our elected officials ‘are unlikely’ to support legislation addressing it?

What should we do to pull their heads out of the clouds and get them down here on the ground where the birds and bees are dying, crops are failing and all of Earth’s alarm bells are shrieking out our danger? Not that many of us can can hear, we’ve all got fingers in our ears, we use our chemically whitened teeth to rip the plastic off our burgers/ipods/American Apparel V-neck Summer Tees.

Feels kind of like life in an ivory tower; close the shutters, turn on your central air, and you can easily forget that your kids’ kids’ kids are gonna spend their days dressed in retro leather drinking irradiated water and scrounging pre-apocalyptic twinkies from the ruins of this little thing called Life.

This has to be the realization of a horrible Catch 22 situation: to accomplish anything in our society, one must amass power through cultural appeal, moderation and strategic alliance building; but the System is so far gone, our captains of industry and politics are so beyond the point of no return, that anyone who lets intuition drive his/her analysis of our environmental situation will end up ostracizing themselves because increasingly, horribly, it just doesn’t look like there’s a way out of this mess.

We’re on a super fast train riding magnetic tracks off a thousand foot cliff and we’re stuck arguing about a coal vs. solar powered caboose? We need to stop the effing train!

But no one wants to talk on that level, because 1.) it makes you sound crazy and 2.) the American zeitgeist says that ‘well, action is better than just words, so even though I just scratch the surface at least it’s something, right?”  Sure.  Ride the subway in New York City and marvel at Con Ed’s helpful tips for how to be a greener citizen.  I’m sure that deciding what you want to eat for your midnight snack before you open the refrigerator is the miracle for which we’ve all been waiting.

But I don’t know what to  do.  Real talk, I feel a horrible guilt ridden duality; I enjoy my job. I love the internet, I want freaking ipods and American Apparel, but I think our society is seriously messed.  We’ve sold the land out, and like a plane ride to a foreign country with a fake passport and a duffel full of cash, the baubles I’ve collected and the bullet points on my resume read like a sociopath’s sick manifesto. I’m a convicted convict.  So right to live in the age we live but there’s always a catch, ain’t there?

And this time, it’s the Climate.  It’s the air we breath.  We think we’re making major progress – civil rights, women’s rights, universal health care – but we’re still pushing the limits of what we can get wrong, and I’m afraid we’re going to take the whole planet with us.  And I know it sounds stupid, but that just doesn’t feel fair.

We’re humans, damnit; religion, space travel, 808s and heartbreak…all this time, I thought we were something special.  So why can’t we feel the world’s pain?

The unemployment rates you hear on the news are misleading. The overall unemployment rate is currently at a shocking high of 9.6%–but the ethnic breakdown of this figure is still more disturbing.

According to a study released July 15 by The Economic Policy Institute, minorities are significantly more likely to be jobless than their white counterparts. Part of this can be attributed to the recession, which has taken its toll on non-white communities the worst.

Yet even this cannot account for the shocking unemployment gap that exists. African-Americans typically suffer unemployment rates that are twice as high as their white peers, while Hispanics come in at 1.5% more than Whites. For example, currently in Alabama there is a 5.8% unemployment rate for whites while for African-Americans it jumps to 15.1%! In Louisiana, African-Americans were three times more likely to be jobless. And the same is true for Hispanics, who’s unemployment rates are suspected to be higher than reported (it is thought that many illegal aliens would have feared taking part in this study).

The bad news is that the unemployment gap between whites and minorities is increasing. The good news, however, is that there are tentative plans to improve the situation by imposing a small tax on stocks to create extra resources for job creation in these hard hit communities.

Find out more about the inequalities of unemployment rates, and how you can GET INVOLVED at http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56E83L20090716.