Will the real George W. Bush please stand up?

Several of the key points in President Bush’s nationally televised speech last night are being widely welcomed this morning: his vow to rebuild the Gulf Coast; his increasingly direct acknowledgment that there were serious government lapses after Hurricane Katrina; his admission that Americans can and should expect a more effective response to catastrophes in the post 9/11 era.

But the guts of the speech…has led to considerable skepticism, if not outright puzzlement, on both sides of the political divide.

Consider two of the more extreme possibilities:

* Either Bush is being entirely forthright, in which case he’s talking about something reminiscent of the biggest liberal government programs of the 20th century. That scares some conservatives, certainly fiscal conservatives, to death.

* Or maybe it’s just a plan to transform the Gulf Coast into a big test bed for conservative social policy, where tax breaks flow to big business and tax money flows to Halliburton, churches and private schools. That utterly terrifies liberals

Click here for link.

Metro has finally decided it will allow a Riders Advisory Council. The Council, which Metro expects to be established before the end of the year, will be comprised of 21 regular riders of the subway, Metro bus or MetroAccess, the service for disabled people. There will be 18 members from Maryland, Viriginia and DC (six for each); two at-large members; and one seat for the head of Metro’s Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee.

With no stable source of longterm funding, mismanagement of more than a billion dollars on train and infrastructure repairs, and a projected spending gap of at least $10 million in the next fiscal year, one wonders how the Riders Advisory Council will fare (fairly bad pun intended). Is the creation of this Council just window-dressing? Empowering riders and increasing their input is a good thing, but how can the average rider be expected to address the system’s precarious situation?

I agree, in part, with Jack Corbett who was quoted in the Post about the necessity of not stopping with creation of the Council but also having rider representaton on the Metro Board of Directors. Corbett is a founder of MetroRiders.org, which represents 1,500 registered users who want Metro improvements.

Corbett was quoted in the Washington Post this week:

“We’re pleased as far as it goes,” Corbett said. “But we’re going to put a push on the Davis bill to get an amendment added for a nonvoting riders’ representative added to the board, similar to what exists in New York City. Having someone who can talk to board members 10 minutes before a vote and who can raise consumer issues is far more valuable than a riders advisory council that meets for three hours once a month.”

Why nonvoting? Why one rider’s representative? It seems to me that there should be THREE, VOTING representatives (one from MD, VA and DC) and perhaps those voting members could be selected by and from the Rider’s Advisory Committee.

The Post reports that applications can be found in rail stations or buses and on the seats of MetroAccess vehicles starting September 26th. Applications can also be requested by calling 202-962-1034 or by searching online at http://www.metroopensdoors.com. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. October 17th.

The era of big government is back. President Bush is presiding over what is sure to be the most expensive government relief and reconstruction operation in U.S. history.

With estimates of the federal tab ranging up to $200 billion for rebuilding New Orleans and other storm-ravaged Gulf Coast cities, Bush and his Republican allies in Congress are casting aside budget discipline.

They’re also deferring _ for now _ vows to finish the Reagan revolution against big government and turning to some of the same kinds of public health, housing and job assistance programs they once criticized as legacies of the Democrats’ New Deal and Great Society.

Click here for link.

Kevin Zeese for U.S. Senate
Unity for Peace, Justice, Democracy and Prosperity
Space is limited so RSVP quickly

Meet Cindy Sheehan and Help Change Politics in America

Cindy Sheehan faced up to George Bush this summer in Crawford, TX. Her simple, dignified request to meet with him to ask why her son Casey died, awoke the nation and re-ignited the anti-war movement. Sheehan, the founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, and Kevin Zeese have worked together as part of the Democracy Rising peace project.

Kevin will be hosting a campaign event with Cindy Sheehan on Tuesday, September 27 beginning at 6:00 PM. This event is being held at the home of Kevin Zeese, Linda Schade and Alex Zeese. It is a chance to meet with Cindy up close and personal.

The cost of this event is volunteer time or financial support.

$100 donation to the Zeese campaign

or you can subtract $25 from the $100 donation for your time and effort

subtract $25 I’ll host a house party and invite my friends, families and colleagues (we’ll invite people also).

subtract $25 I’ll volunteer five hours for the Zeese campaign

subtract $25 I’ll volunteer an additional five hours (total ten hours) for the Zeese campaign

subtract $25 I’ll bring five people to the next Zeese campaign event

You can pay for this on-line at http://kevinzeese.com/content/view/12/27/

Or send this page and the mail-in form (see http://kevinzeese.com/content/view/45/41/) with your check to 7711 Garland Ave. Or, bring these forms with you to the event.

But please do RSVP to Alex@KevinZeese.com as space is limited. Light refreshments will be offered.

Questions? Call: 301-257-3847 or write Alex@KevinZeese.com

Event: “A Call to Protect and Democratize U.S. Elections: A Panel Presentation on the challenges to American elections,” September 16 at the National Press Club.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Green Institute, the Liberty Tree Foundation, and Fairvote will sponsor a panel discussion on the future of U.S. democracy and elections, on Friday, September 16 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“A Call to Protect and Democratize US Elections: A Panel Presentation on the challenges to American elections” will feature political and activist leaders who are experts in a variety of areas ranging from long-term barriers to access to new problems with technology, and the challengescaused by the structure of American elections.

The panel will provide the media with concise information on these problems and offer concrete solutions for restoring the promise of American democracy. The web page for the event is located at The Green Institute.

Confirmed participants include Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), 1980 independent presidential candidate John Anderson (who now heads Fairvote), Melanie Campbell of the Coalition for Black Civic Participation, and other confirmed and invited speakers.

MC’s own Linda Schade, co-founder of TrueVoteMD, will be speaking also.

Here’s another opportunity for MC Greens to develop leadership experience and invest in Green Party credibility building.

Duncan Seeks Applicants to Fill Agricultural Advisory Committee Vacancies

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan is seeking applicants to fill seven vacancies on the Agricultural Advisory Committee. Four vacancies must be filled by bona fide farmers selected to represent the total farm community. Three non-farmer vacancies must be filled by public-at-large representatives having no direct financial interest in farming. Two farmers and three non-farmer incumbents are eligible to apply for reappointment. The farmer representatives serve three-year terms and the non-farmer members serve one-year terms without compensation.

The 15-member committee advises the County Executive and County Council on all matters affecting agriculture in the County. Membership includes farmers, non-farmers, and at least one farm economist and one conservationist. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday evening of each month in Germantown.

Applicants should write by September 30 to County Executive Douglas M. Duncan at the Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850 or send an e-mail to Douglas.Duncan@montgomerycountymd.gov . A brief resume, including home and work phone numbers, should be included. Members of County boards, committees, and commissions may not serve on more than one such group at a time. Members of this Committee are eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended.

Duncan’s appointments are subject to confirmation by the County Council. Applications of those selected for appointment are made public as part of the confirmation process.

Steve Pearlstein has an excellent column on the modern-day economy!

Put your hands together, folks, for Barbara Bush! Her sentiment may have been reprehensible, her choice of words unfortunate, but our Queen Mother has managed to blurt out the unpleasant truth about the harsh realities of life in the American underclass.
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In their hearts of hearts, of course, Republicans draw no connection between tax cuts and income inequality. For if you are secure in your knowledge that a rising tide raises all boats and that every American has the opportunity to grow up to be an owner of the Texas Rangers, you know that growth-enhancing tax cuts will be good for all Americans.

Click here for link.

Bush administration officials are worried about natural gas shortages this winter because of the disruption of wells in the Gulf.

“There are concerns about the supply of natural gas,” Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Tuesday, a week after an agency in his department predicted that natural gas prices in some parts of the country will be 71 percent higher than they were during the last cold season.

Unlike oil, natural gas cannot be easily imported from overseas, so a domestic shortage cannot be made up.

Adding to the problem, natural gas production has been declining since it peaked in 2001. Industries have been compensating by switching to other energy sources, and mild winters have helped, but the added shutdown of Gulf production (one fifth of all U.S. production) may make shortages unavoidable.

And the Farmers Almanac is predicting a cold winter for the east coast. Might be a good time to look into corn burning stoves.

Kevin Zeese, a longtime Takoma Park political and social activist, announced an independent bid for the U.S. Senate yesterday, pledging to rally three of Maryland’s minor political parties around his candidacy next year.

“I’m running for U.S. Senate because the two major parties no longer represent the interests of most Americans,” said Zeese, who said he hopes to gain the backing of the state’s Green, Populist and Libertarian parties.

Click here for link.

This is an issue of direct relevence to MoCo residents.

The number of affordable houses and apartments in the District plummeted by nearly 12,000 last year, according to an analysis of new U.S. Census data released yesterday, and a task force issued a draft report calling on D.C. officials to spend dramatically more to offset the spiraling cost of housing.

Once virtually abandoned by middle-class home buyers, the nation’s capital is now a boomtown with skyrocketing rents and home prices in almost every neighborhood. While the real estate frenzy is generating millions of extra dollars in property taxes and other fees, it is also pushing mortgage and rent payments far beyond what many District residents can afford.

Click here for link.