Let us eat what??

You hear the most amazing things sometimes, just hanging out there in the mainstream media for anyone paying attention.

On my way to speak to a class at American University yesterday, I heard two whoppers right next to each other, pieces of information so mind-blowing I almost had to pull over to collect myself.

The first regarded Sen. Ted Stevens, the long-time (and kinda batty – this is the guy who thinks the internet is “a series of tubes”) senator from Alaska who is famous for steering appropriations (such as money for the “bridge to nowhere”) to his state.  He is currently under indictment by the U.S. Justice Department for tax evasion and corruption.  The news bit?  The Justice Department was going to allow Sen. Stevens to skip a few days of his corruption trial… so he could work on the Wall St. bailout bill.

Do they even get the supreme irony?

Probably not, because they followed up by saying that the jury would not be told where Sen. Stevens was on his “absentee days,” so he could not cultivate sympathy from the jurors for his selfless work to save the nation’s financial system.  Oh brother.

The second item came shortly after in a segment with economists talking about that very bailout bill now being rushed through Congress.  It seems that even most of the economists who are saying we need this $700 billion monstrosity aren’t terribly sure it’s going to work, and are predicting hard times ahead either way.  One in particular noted, without a trace of humor in his voice, that if you didn’t want to have to work past age 65, you “should probably start getting used to eating beans and cornbread now.”  God only knows what’s going to happen to those who are still 30 or 40 years away from their presumed retirement.

So that’s our future? Eating beans until we die?  It’s amazing enough that Congress is rushing to pass the overwhelmingly largest bailout in U.S. history in less time than they take to declare national cabbage month.  And all because Treasury Secretary Paulson, a former Goldman Sachs employee, and his boss President Bush, tell them they “have to” to prevent “immediate” financial collapse.  Really?  It can’t take another week or two to figure out he best course of action?  And once again, Congress is taking the word of the guy who told them we “had” to go into Iraq, because they absolutely and without question had all these weapons of mass destruction?  What is it they say about “fool me twice?”

Whether or not this bill will do anything to restore sanity to our financial industry, let alone re-establish the strong regulations and laws necessary to keep yet another crisis from emerging – regulations and laws that were demolished one by one of the past 20 years – remains to be seen.  Protections and help for homeowners facing foreclosure?  Who knows.  But this President comes demanding $700 billion of our money to help out his Wall St. cronies, and this Congress cannot move fast enough.

So – do you prefer black, kidney or pinto?

Hello, Gaithersburg!

Just a quick note here to thank the residents, employees and volunteers of Gaithersburg that made their “Celebrate Gaithersburg” festival such a joy for the Clark for Congress campaign to be at yesterday.

It didn’t hurt to have almost perfect fall weather, but everything else about the event was thoroughly enjoyable, from the moment we arrived and were quickly and efficiently directed to our well-marked table area (and nearby parking!), to the pint of tasty homebrew my campaign manager and I quaffed at Growler’s at the end of the day.  Olde Towne Gaithersburg is laid out near a central park dominated by a beautiful old mansion, and the festival featured some great music, a “Green Zone” where environmental responsibility was preached (we especially appreciated that), a World Market, and dozens and dozens of local craftspeople, advocacy groups, delicious food stands, a petting zoo and even acrobat shows for the kids.  And all of it impeccably well-organized.

Even more impressive was the friendliness and openness of the many, many people who attended, a friendliness which rivaled even that of the legendarily friendly Takoma Park.  (Watch out TP, they’re sneaking up on you!)  In particular we were delighted by the interest shown by the large number of Hispanic-speaking residents who came up to our booth, especially after we posted a sign which read “Ningun ser humanos ilegal” – “No human being is illegal,” the slogan of the immigrants rights movement.  It’s amazing how people respond if you actually try to reach out to them – something we are finding in our campaign throughout the 8th district.

So for any local resident who hasn’t been before, I heartily recommend the “Celeberate Gaithersburg” festival the next time it comes around.  And thanks again to the many staff and volunteers who made it such an exceptional day – you rock!

Failing Banks, or a Failing Government?

The financial news for the past several days has been one bombshell after another.

Lehman Brothers, one of the world’s largest investment banks, files for bankruptcy.

Another celebrated investment banking firm, Merrill Lynch, merges with Bank of America to forestall its own financial crisis.

AIG, the nation’s largest insurance company, tetters on the edge of insolvency.

And all this only a week after the government had to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation’s two immense, quasi-private mortgage companies, before they failed.

How did this all happen – and where will it all end?

Much of it started with the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and the larger foreclosure crisis – with much of that brought on by lending practices so lax and opportunistic they bordered on a industry-wide criminal conspiracy. This then triggered a crisis in investment firms that used this house of cards to extract ever more money for themselves, combining and recombining (and reselling) suspect loans and debts as “derivatives,” willfully oblivious to the fact that no matter how many times crummy loans are recombined into clever packages, they’re still crummy loans. Similar fanciful transactions have been spreading throughout other parts of the financial system, always with a drive to make ever greater profits, regardless of the risk involved and the fact that none of it added anything of real value to the economy.

In a truly Alice-in-Wonderland turn, AIG even tried to stay afloat recently by loaning itself money. And you thought all this craziness ended with the Enron debacle?

Everyone is now blaming the greed of these various firms and their managers and employees for this crisis. And without question that plays a part. But where, one must ask, has our government been all this time? Isn’t it the job of the government to watch over our markets, to protect investors, to prevent greed from running rampant and gutting our economy?

Well it should be. But our govenrment has spent the past 25+ years dismantling the system of prudent laws and regulations inacted after the Great Depression – starting in 1980, when the Democratic-controlled Congress repealed the federal law against usury, or exorbitant interest rates. It’s been downhill ever since, as our government has essentially turned over the financial henhouse to the foxes.

And how much of this government malfeasance, in turn, can be traced to the millions of dollars in contributions that politicians of both parties have received from the very financial institutions that are now crumbling before our eyes? Whose greed is it that’s truly to blame for this crisis?

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is so far the only case where the government has allowed a firm to fail. In all the other cases, the government has come to the rescue with taxpayer money. While such action might make some sense to preserve our financial system, one also has to ask what it is we’re preserving. For in the current system our government is now struggling to save, immense and unjustifiable profit is privatized, while even larger losses are socialized – with you and me picking up the tab.

Indeed, where does it all end?

While we try to deal with the immediate fallout, one thing is clear. If our financial system is ever to recover, we need to return, and quickly, to the vigorous and vigilantly enforced laws and regulations which used to keep greed in check.

And electing politicians who refuse to take money from the very institutions they are supposed to be watching over would be a great place to start.

Remembering 9-11, and moving from war to peace

Today is the 7th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001, a dark moment in both U.S. and world history. It shall always be remembered as a day when thousands of innocents were killed, and a day when thousands more – even millions – joined together in heroic and collective sacrifice.

Our government’s response to those terrible attacks, however, has been 7 years of shame, division, death and destruction. Two major wars. Hundreds of thousands killed, even more wounded. Five million refugees. Trillions of dollars squandered and stolen. Civil liberties assaulted. The rule of law under siege.

And in all this, the true threats to our society and our planet – concurrent energy, economic and climate crises – have been either ignored or exacerbated. On this 7th anniversary of 9-11, we are even further from peace, prosperity ans security than we were the day after it. We are going in the wrong direction.

This campaign is about moving in a very different direction, on all these fronts. From a disastrous fossil fuel economy to a clean, safe, renewable energy economy. From systematic environmental destruction to loving stewardship and sustainability. From war and war preparation to peace-making, and peace.

Our campaign for Congress is heading into the homestretch now, and gathering momentum – and we couldn’t do it without you. As we reflect on this terrible holiday, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done to help turn our nation in a new direction, and for everything you’ve yet to do.

Gordon Clark

Drill, Baby, Drill and “God’s Plan” in Iraq

For those of us interested in a positive future for our nation and our world – indeed, for any future at all – the Republican convention was disturbing for any number of reasons. Two signature moments, however, were “Drill, Baby, Drill” and the revelations about Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s views on foreign policy.

“Drill, Baby, Drill” was first uttered during a speech by Michael Steele, former Maryland Lt. Governor and current head of GOPAC (Newt Gingrich’s political action committee). It was enthusiastically picked up by the convention delegates, who chanted it frequently during the rest of the convention. It is hard to imagine a more glaringly callous disregard for the future of our planet, and therefore the future of all life including us, than to joyously call for ever more drilling for oil. For these folks, it seems, global warming is not only a giant hoax, it’s a huge joke as well.

Alaska Governor Palin’s views on foreign policy were a little better hidden at the convention, but have emerged quickly enough over the internet. And to all appearances she is right in line with George W. Bush’s messianic view of the world. Speaking recently in front of her former church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, Ms. Palin exclaimed that “our national leaders are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for,” she added, “that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan.”

Let’s be clear about two things here. First, President Bush and the rest of our national leaders have not been sending U.S. soldiers on a task from God. They have dishonored their country, our military, and their oath to the Constitution by sending our soldiers into harm’s way in a war based on deception and lies.

And second, there is no such thing as “God’s plan” for this war, or for any war. God does not support or participate in human wars. If God does anything in the face of the immense and tragic human folly that is war, it is to weep.

As extreme as these statements are, though, it is sobering to realize that Democrats generally play right along with the central themes. So when Mr. Bush focused his weekly radio address on the “need” for offshore oil drilling earlier this summer, the Democratic response – delivered by my opponent in this race, Chris Van Hollen – began with the words “Let me be clear, Democrats support more drilling.” Not quite as in-your-face as “drill, baby, drill,” perhaps, but talk about blowing an opportunity to define a new energy future for our country, and to distinguish yourself from the opposition. (And you just watch, as the Democratically controlled Congress is about to capitulate on off-shore drilling.)

With regard to Iraq, it was disheartening to hear the Democrats’ standard bearer, Barack Obama, say during an interview with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly that the “surge” in Iraq has “succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.” That will no doubt be welcome news to the relatives of the million plus Iraqis who have died during our occupation, or to the 4-5 million Iraqi refugees created during the past five years. Sen. Obama went on to state that we must continue to “go after” Al Qaeda, the Taliban and “a host of networks” – he is in favor of expanding the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan – and the he would “never” take the military option off the table with respect to Iran.

The sad truth is that Barack and the vast majority of Democrats are simply incapable of formulating, articulating or defending a fundamentally different foreign policy for our country, or of presenting a narrative to the American public that does not focus on war as central to our policy and our national self-image. This campaign will endeavor to do all of those things.

Meanwhile, in the real world of war, there has been a rash of civilian deaths in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned recent U.S. military operations in his country, and the Pakistani government filed a formal complaint over U.S. attacks in theirs – attacks, which in addition to killing innocent civilians, were also a gross violation of Pakistani sovereignty and international law.

In Iraq, U.S. “mistaken fire” killed 6 members of Iraqi’s security forces, including members of the “Awakening,” the Sunni fighters that we have paid and armed to fight with us, and some of whom are now quitting as a result. In the words of one of those who left, 18 year old Ali Younis, “we don’t feel safe working with the Awakening anymore because of the American forces.”

Sound like God’s plan to anyone?

For more on recent developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan, read our latest press release on our website (link in the upper right hand corner).

Waiting for Hanna. Or Ike. Or…

Although smaller towns in Louisiana, and Cuba, took a vicious pounding from Gustav, the worst of the hurricane spared a still suffering New Orleans. It wasn’t just Republicans, fearful of having their national convention taken over by Katrina II, who breathed a huge sigh of relief. As a nation, we could do it together, as we collectively escaped another jarring blow to our sense of security and national self-image.

But by how much? As I watched the video of the storm surge overtopping the wall of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal – a concrete wall that had failed three years ago and suddenly didn’t look all that sophisticated, or strong – it dawned on me that it wouldn’t take much more of a storm to bring those levees crashing down again. Despite early warnings, Gustav had actually weakened before landfall, and the center of the storm had passed well to New Orleans’ west. And yet here it was, overtopping the levee walls.

In the wake of the devastation caused by Katrina, with some estimating the economic cost to New Orleans alone in excess of $100 billion, it’s remarkable to consider that the rebuilding of the city’s levee system is still not done three years later. In fact, it won’t be done for another three years – if it stays on schedule. Doesn’t that seem like an awful long time – and an awful big risk?

Even when complete, the levees are only being built to withstand a hurricane that has a 1% chance of occurring any given year, a storm one would expect roughly once every 100 years. But how reliable is such a standard when the strength and number of storms is growing, as predicted by global warming? Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Gulf used to be a rarity, but not so any more. Given this, why can’t our nation build a system like the Netherlands, one that is designed to withstand a 10,000 year storm? Just as important, why aren’t we racing to build the barrier islands and restore the wetlands that we destroyed in the Mississippi delta, islands and wetlands which are the first and foremost line of protection against such storms?

A lot of questions perhaps, but none that couldn’t be answered by a federal government that recognized the true dangers facing our nation, and had its priorities straight in dealing with them. But we’re still waiting for that government, just like we’re waiting for the levees to be rebuilt in New Orleans. There might be hundreds of billions of dollars available for war and occupation in Iraq, but not so for the protection of our own cities.

So what is it that is protecting New Orleans right now?

“The number one thing protecting New Orleans right now is not the corps, it’s chance,” says Tulane University law professor and coastal protection activist Oliver Houck. “The historical odds show Katrina doesn’t come every day. That’s all that’s really protecting us right now. The odds.”

As reported in the New York Times, Col. Jeffrey Bedey of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed. “We’re just lucky Mother Nature gave us what she gave us,” he said, referring to New Orleans’ narrow escape from Gustav.

Call me crazy, but I think we should depend on more than luck to keep us from ecological and economic disaster. What do you think?

Happy Labor Day, Kensington!

Yesterday was Labor Day, and for those of you who don’t know already, the town of Kensington, a couple miles north of the Beltway on Connecticut Ave., throws one heck of a Labor Day parade.

Similar to Takoma Park’s July 4th parade, Kensington’s Labor Day parade is replete with fire engines, marching bands, floats and local groups of every shape and size. The town’s main roads shut down for a few hours, and hundreds and hundreds of people – mostly local, but not all – lined the streets for the event. Local groups set up tables for the crowd to explore after the parade, and a particularly fun and appropriate ending on this warm day was Kensington’s annual tradition of turning on the fire hoses for the local kids, who donned their swim trunks and ran screaming in an out of the spray.

Needless to say, a great time was had by all. And once again, perhaps also needless to say at this point, virtually everyone I spoke with was in support of our campaign’s primary platform. There were the unusual questions, as always (one person asked me if I thought the drinking age should be lowered – something a number of prominent university and college presidents are calling for, in case you didn’t know), but whenever I spoke about the need for massive government initiative to switch from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy, everyone flat-out agreed. Even a few self-described die-hard Republicans, who said they would never vote for me, nonetheless nodded their heads in quiet agreement when I described what needs to happen in our country.

If it’s so apparent to so many people in our country what we need to do, why is it so hard for our members of Congress to figure this out? Could it have anything to do with the large amount of contributions they are taking from corporations (oil, gas, auto, etc.) that continue to reap immense profits from the system as it exists now?

Whatever Congress’ problem, it is heartening to know that so many citizens that I meet and speak with every day agree on the solutions that we need in this country, solutions that we need now. (Ending the fiasco in Iraq, which will of course help pay for our energy conversion, is another popular position.) As we enter the home stretch of the campaign – only two months and two days left ’til Election Day! – it will be an honor to keep spreading this word to the thousands of voters in Maryland’s 8th District, and to help build the pressure we need to make this absolutely critical change happen.

In the meantime, thank you Kensington, for an absolutely delightful time! I hope everyone reading had a great end to their summer, and is looking forward to as great a fall as we are – see you on the campaign trail!

P.S. – In case you’re wondering where our campaign is going to be next, check out our quickly expanding events page on the Clark for Congress website – link in the upper right hand corner of this page.  And let us know if there is a group or community event we should be speaking at, or if you’d like to hold a houseparty for the campaign!