Be afraid . . . be very afraid!
The fear that permeates our culture is designed at least in part to keep our attention focused outwardly on Islamofascists and other such bogeymen rather than on the real culprits–the plutocrats of our ruling elite who have purchased political power and thereby dismantled democracy here at home. Over the past two years, the Washington Post has examined the enormous, secret apparatus America has spawned in reaction to 9/11 and the perceived threat to our nation.
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The Washington Post, July 19, 2010
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies duplicate the same work.
These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
The investigation’s other findings include:
- Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.
- An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.
- In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.
- Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. For example, 51 federal organizations and military commands, operating in 15 U.S. cities, track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks.
- Analysts who make sense of documents and conversations obtained by foreign and domestic spying share their judgment by publishing 50,000 intelligence reports each year - a volume so large that many are routinely ignored.
Buy the people or for the people? Asheville needs publicly financed elections.
by Bruce Mulkey, Mountain Xpress, 06/02/2010
How much do you think a candidate should have to spend to run a competitive campaign for the Asheville City Council — a job that pays $13,800 per year?
Would $10,000 be enough? $20,000? $40,000?
Would it surprise you to know that in 2007, Bill Russell spent approximately $63,000 to win a City Council seat? Russell edged incumbent Bryan Freeborn, who spent about $10,000, by 74 votes. In the end, each of Russell’s votes cost approximately $11.30, compared with about $1.90 per vote for Freeborn. Incidentally, most of Russell’s campaign contributions came from a single special-interest group: builders, developers and realtors.
In 2001, Charles Worley reportedly spent a whopping $120,000 on his successful push to become mayor of Asheville, barely defeating Brian Peterson 7,936 votes to 7,399. For the record, last year’s three victorious City Council candidates averaged less than $25,000 in campaign expenditures; Mayor Terry Bellamy spent just over $33,000 on her re-election bid.
I’m not suggesting that Russell or Worley did anything wrong; certainly nothing unscrupulous or dishonest. They were playing by the same rules as everyone else. And only they can say whether they felt beholden to their biggest contributors. But such large infusions of cash into our local political process endanger the time-honored principle of one person, one vote. To remove the influence of big money and level the playing field, it’s time for Asheville to implement publicly financed elections.
In 2007, the N.C. General Assembly named Chapel Hill the pilot city for publicly financed local elections. The Voter Owned Election Program is entirely voluntary; candidates qualify by raising a sizable number of small contributions and agreeing to spending and fundraising limits. Both candidates who qualified for financial support during last fall’s municipal election collected more votes than any of the nonparticipating candidates, and the program cost the city less than $1 per resident. Once the state House and Senate pass the necessary legislation, Asheville will have the option of creating a similar program that fits our specific needs.
WNC for Change, a grass-roots group that grew out of Barack Obama’s campaign for president, believes the time has come for publicly financed elections in Asheville. Here’s why:
- Big money can unfairly influence the outcome of local elections. By making generous campaign contributions, wealthy donors, corporations, political action committees and special-interest groups with a stake in Asheville City Council decisions can give their chosen candidates an unfair advantage.
- The high cost of running for office deprives us of more diverse leadership. Many aspiring local leaders decline to run for office because of the rising cost, leaving us with a primarily white, affluent, male, heterosexual City Council that doesn’t fully represent our city’s population.
- Council members whose campaigns were publicly financed would be accountable to all Asheville residents. Publicly financed elections ensure that our elected officials are more accountable to their constituents than to special-interest groups making substantial campaign contributions.
- Voters are more likely to participate in publicly financed elections. When people understand that all qualified candidates have a chance to win and that the election isn’t rigged in favor of the affluent or those backed by big money, they’re more likely to vote.
In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court removed restrictions on corporate spending to influence elections; nothing now prevents a corporation from spending huge sums of money in an Asheville election in hopes of electing a slate of candidates sympathetic to its interests. But in a Feb. 8 Washington Post-ABC News poll, 80 percent of respondents opposed this decision. And recent focus groups in Charlotte and Denver for the Campaign for Fair Elections and the Public Campaign Action Fund clearly showed that voters across the political spectrum are angry about the problem of special-interest money and want fair elections in which candidates receive small donations from ordinary people.
Act now to curb special interests and create greater accountability
Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, a Tea Party member or a Green, an independent or none of the above, you now have an opportunity to reclaim your power. At the Tuesday, June 8, Asheville City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell will propose a resolution calling on the General Assembly to enact legislation giving the state’s larger towns the power to sponsor public-financing programs — a first step toward publicly financed Asheville elections.
This is a concern for all of us, not just city residents. We must urge Asheville City Council members to support this resolution (see below).
You may hear various justifications for refusing to support publicly financed elections: It would be too expensive, it would penalize candidates who are good at raising money, the system we have works fine, such a program is untested, the state legislation is flawed, etc. But none of these excuses hold up under scrutiny.
It’s time for Asheville to join Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Cary, Wilmington and Greenville, which have already approved similar resolutions. By doing so, we help ensure that “one person, one vote” is not an obsolete expression but a reality in our community.
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Make your voice heard…
A single e-mail message to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov will reach all City Council members. It’s also important to contact Sen. Martin Nesbitt (919-715-3001, 828-252-0490 or Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net) and ask that Asheville be included in the pending state legislation so our city can choose whether or not to implement publicly financed elections.
To learn more about public financing, visit:
To view Council member Cecil Bothwell’s resolution, go to: mountainx.com/xpressfiles
To learn more about N.C. House Bill 120: http://ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009%20%20&BillID=h120
To contact other members of the local legislative delegation:
- Rep. Susan Fisher: Susan.Fisher@ncleg.net
- Rep. Bruce Goforth: Bruce.Goforth@ncleg.net
- Rep. Jane Whilden: Jane.Whilden@ncleg.net
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Asheville resident Bruce Mulkey (bruce@brucemulkey.com) is president of WNC for Change (http://wncforchange.com).
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Support publicly-financed elections in Asheville!
WNC for Change supports move toward publicly-financed elections by Asheville City Council.
As you are no doubt aware, big money currently plays an enormous role in our elections. From city council races to the election of the President of the United States, PACs, lobbyists, corporations and wealthy individuals threaten the concept of “one person, one vote” merely because they have deep pockets.
Here in Western North Carolina, we now have an opportunity to reclaim our power from the special interests. We have a chance to take a step toward publicly-financed campaigns in Asheville. And we need your support.
Bothwell to offer resolution to Asheville City Council
At the Tuesday, May 25 Asheville City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell will offer a resolution in support of local campaign finance reform. If passed by the Council, this resolution will call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to enact legislation that gives larger towns the authority to sponsor a public financing program for their local elections.
Bothwell’s resolution does not mandate implementation of public financing for our municipal elections; it merely puts Asheville on record as supporting the legislation that would allow our city to choose whether or not it wishes to implement public financing of local elections. By doing so, it becomes more likely that Asheville will be included as a pilot city in the legislation before the General Assembly.
Let your voice be heard
Whether or not you live within the Asheville city limits, this is a matter of concern for all of us. It appears that some members of the Asheville City Council and some members of our North Carolina legislative delegation have been reluctant to support publicly-financed elections for Asheville. So it’s time once again for grassroots action to let our elected officials know where we stand, to let them know we want a community that works for all of us, to let them know that we want big money out of our political process.
Actions you can take right now!
- Call or email Sen. Martin Nesbitt requesting that Asheville be included in proposed legislation that would give our city the authority to choose whether or not it wishes to implement public financing of municipal elections: (919) 715-3001 or (828) 252-0490, Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net. Contacting Sen. Nesbitt is probably the most important action you can take since he is the NC Senate Majority Leader and, thus, has a great deal of authority in determining what transpires in the General Assembly.
- Email all of the members of the Asheville City Council expressing your support for Cecil Bothwell’s resolution for local campaign finance reform options. To reach all City Council members, send your message to AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov.
- Email our state legislators expressing your desire that Asheville be included in proposed legislation that would give Asheville the authority to choose whether or not the city wishes to implement public financing of municipal elections: Jane.Whilden@ncleg.net; Susan.Fisher@ncleg.net; pjkeever33@bellsouth.net
- Write a letter to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times (letters@citizen-times.com) and/or the Mountain Xpress (letters@mountainx.com) expressing your support for Councilperson Bothwell’s resolution and publicly-financed municipal elections in Asheville.
- Post a link to this post on your blog/website and Facebook.
- Forward this email and ask your friends and neighbors to take these actions too.
Suggestions for your emails, calls and letters
Here are some suggestions for making your communications with our elected officials as effective as possible. You may also want to keep these suggestions in mind when writing a letter to the editor.
- Always be respectful in your content and tone.
- Put your message in your own words rather than repeating someone else’s.
- Use an email subject line that will grab the attention of the reader.
- Make your point briefly and clearly.
- Remember that the Asheville Citizen-Times limits letters to the editor to 200 words while the Mountain Xpress has a 300-word limit.
- Call or write today!
If you have any questions or want assistance with any of this, merely reply to this email.
Let’s join other North Carolina cities!
Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Cary, Wilmington and Greenville have already passed resolutions similar to the one that is being offered on May 25, and the Chapel Hill pilot public financing program worked well last fall. Let’s join these cities in the march toward a more democratic society.
Please take action today!
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Read Cecil Bothwell’s draft resolution by clicking here.
For more information on publicly-financed elections in North Carolina, visit the following websites:
North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections
Friday, May 14th, 2010My picks in the Democratic Primary
As usual, I intend to vote in the Democratic Primary and hope you do too. Of course, all registered Democrats are welcome to do so, but you can also vote in the Dem Primary if you are registered as Unaffiliated.
Remember, early voting has begun and Tuesday, May 4 is Primary Election Day. For more information on voting visit Buncombe County Election Services.
Below are my picks in the Democratic Primary.
NC House of Representatives/District 115: Patsy Keever
Patsy Keever has the intelligence, empathy and experience to serve us well in Raleigh. She has put forward pragmatic, progressive solutions to the critical challenges confronting our region. When elected, Patsy will be a powerful voice for the protection of our environment, support of local businesses and entrepreneurs, equal rights for all our citizens and upgrading the education of our youth. A vote for Patsy is a vote for a community that works for all of us.
U.S. Senate: Cal Cunningham
Personally, I could get behind Cal Cunningham, Elaine Marshall or Ken Lewis. However, I think Cunningham has the best opportunity to beat Republican Senator Richard Burr in November.
U.S. House of Representatives/11th District: Aixa Wilson
I’ve spoken with Aixa Wilson and believe that he is a principled man willing to take on Heath Shuler, an incumbent with lots of money and name recognition. While Wilson has virtually no chance to beat the incumbent, I intend to vote for the challenger to send Shuler a message regarding my disappointment with his numerous votes with the Republicans.
Buncombe County Sheriff: Van Duncan
Van Duncan is a man of honesty, integrity and authenticity. During his first term in office he has moved the Sheriff’s Department toward greater professionalism, accountability and openness. I fully support electing him for another term.
Court of Appeals Judge: Jane Gray
Gray has a sterling record as an attorney and judge and has been endorsed by the Durham People’s Alliance, a grass-roots environmental and social justice group.* Update: Gray has also been endorsed by the Equality NC PAC.
Court of Appeals Judge: Leto Copeley
Copeley seems to be on the right side of the law in terms of standing up for the rights of citizens in the face of the overwhelming power of the state. Copeley has also garnered endorsement from the Durham People’s Alliance.* Update: Copeley has also been endorsed by the Equality NC PAC.
Superior Court Judge/District 28: Marvin Pope
Pope has a great reputation and experience as a criminal defense attorney. In a world where most judges are former prosecutors, we need more judges who have been on the other side of criminal cases, to understand that there really are two sides to every story.*
Let’s all get out and vote right now during early voting or on May 4!
* From Cecil Bothwell’s picks in the judges’ races in the Democratic Primary
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010PARC Candidate Forum Today!
Please join PARC for a Candidate’s Forum today, Tuesday, April 13th, 7PM.
PARC (People Advocating Real Conservancy) and MVA (Mountain Voices Alliance) will host Patsy Keever and Bruce Goforth, Democratic candidates for the NC House 115 District Seat. This is an interesting election. Keever and GoForth differ on many land use issues that affect all of us, like steep slope development. Did you know that…
- There is no landslide insurance in NC! If your house is damaged or lost to a slide, you are not covered.
- Builders, developers and realtors are not required to warn buyers of the potential dangers of landslides – and they cannot be held liable for concealing this information if one occurs.
- Land, mud and rockslides are increasing in WNC, costing millions in tax dollars for repairs. In the last six months, land, mud and rockslides in WNC and east Tennessee have destroyed parts of three major highways, and damaged at least five
- In the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Frances, 140 landslides occurred, destroying 27 homes and killing 5 people.
There are people whose homes have been condemned because of damage from land, mud, and rockslides who cannot return to these homes… but they’re STILL making mortgage payments!
This is just one of many issues to discuss with Keever and Goforth. Please come out and hear what they have to say.
The primary election takes place May 4th, and early voting begins April 15th. We know that many of you have questions for Patsy Keever and Bruce Goforth. Please email them to us at info@ashevilleparc.org. Call Elaine at 273-1781 for more info about the Forum.
Come join the fun on Tuesday April 13th, from 7-9PM. Doors open at 6:30.
LOCATION
The UU Church in Black Mountain
500 Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
DIRECTIONS
Take I-40 East of Asheville, to Exit 64 (Black Mountain).
Go left at the end of the exit, and go north on Route 9.
The UU Church will be on your right in about a mile.
Eulogy for Granny D
Dennis Burke’s Eulogy for Granny D
Dublin, New Hampshire, March 14, 2010
Thousands of news services, from Peterborough to Bangkok, from personal diaries to the New York Times, have reported these last few days on the life and death of Doris Haddock. In her life, she did not cure a disease or end a war. She did not write ten symphonies or do whatever normally occasions such notice. So what did she do? It is worth thinking about in this moment.
If people no longer spoke aloud, or if they no longer looked at things with their own eyes or through their own thoughts, if they let others do those things for them, then they would take it as unusual if one among them suddenly spoke up and dared see the world independently, describing without filter or permission the vivid colors and true conditions of the world.
It is difficult to understand why a lady from New Hampshire who did little more than take morning walks–though she sometimes did so without coming back for several years–should be so lionized in death, unless we also consider what has become of the world around her that made her exceptional by comparison. She is seen as exceptional perhaps because the rest of us have become a little too reticent, a little too slow-moving, in response to these times of high challenge.
A thousand people have told me that, when they reach her age, they want to be like Granny D. I have always agreed with them, but we have had it a little wrong. We must not wait until we are 90 or 100; we have to be, even today, a little more like Granny D. Our challenges will not wait for us to age. (more…)
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010Just say no to megabanks: Asheville jumps on Move Your Money bandwagon
Below is my commentary about the Move Your Money project in this week’s Mountain Xpress.
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Outraged by the federal government’s multibillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street, Asheville residents are registering their displeasure by withdrawing their assets from arrogant “too-big-to-fail” megabanks in favor of local institutions that serve their own community. Joining forces with fellow citizens nationwide, Ashevilleans across the political spectrum are voting with their bank accounts, sending a strong message to both Washington and Wall Street.
Despite the latter’s direct responsibility for precipitating the financial crisis, these huge institutions remain unrepentant — even after receiving tens of billions of taxpayer dollars via the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Refusing to lend to small businesses in a meaningful way, they continue their high-risk activities, award huge bonuses to their chief executives, and spend millions lobbying Congress to defeat financial reform, ensuring that taxpayers will also have to pick up the tab for future financial fiascos.
Meanwhile, our political leaders in Washington appear to lack the will to resolve the problem. And some citizens, awash in cynicism and hopelessness, say this is just the way things work in our nation: socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest of us. But a small band of visionaries has devised a simple, effective way for ordinary folks to take direct action on their own behalf: the Move Your Money project.
The concept is simple: shift your checking and savings accounts from such Wall Street behemoths as Bank of America, Wachovia and Citibank to a community bank or credit union.
Area residents speak out
To get a sense of how this movement is shaping up locally, I put out a query on Facebook. Here are some of the responses:
Lael Gray, Asheville: “My husband and I decided that our real power as citizens lies in where we put our dollars. We’re always on the lookout for ways to buy local, so the Move Your Money project caught our attention immediately. So far the main advantage of working with the local bank we selected is that we’ve gotten a much better deal on our checking account that now earns interest! And there are no monthly fees for online banking.”
Eric Miller, Asheville: “I think it really hit me when all the TARP stuff was going on. I was going out of my way to get local meat from Hickory Nut Gap, trout from Sunburst Trout Farm, etc., yet I was going to the Wal-Mart of banks. My new bank made everything very easy, with much shorter waits (if any) and much more personal attention. … We also get interest on our checking and can use any ATM.”
Laura Collins, Asheville: “I recently moved my main checking account from Wachovia to Asheville Savings Bank. The interest checking there really appealed to me, and their customer service is among the best I’ve ever come across.”
A community banker weighs in
“Bank of Asheville’s deposits were up 20 percent during 2009,” reports President and Chief Executive G. Gordon Greenwood, “moving us from 12th place to eighth place out of a total of 19 banks in Buncombe County. Other community banks are experiencing something similar.”
People are realizing that we offer all the services of the bigger banks — online banking, bill pay, credit cards, debit cards and so on,” says Greenwood. “And of course, there’s a definite advantage to being able to talk face to face with an officer who can actually make a decision for the bank. Plus, 95 percent of our loans are made to consumers, mortgage holders and small businesses right here in Buncombe County.”
How about it, Asheville?
Now it’s time for the city of Asheville to transfer its money from Wachovia/Wells Fargo, Bank of America and BB&T to community banks. During the Feb. 9 City Council meeting, Council member Cecil Bothwell proposed considering just such a switch.
“In light of the poor management decisions evident among banks considered ‘too big to fail,’ I suggest that the city of Asheville might do well to bank with local banks which have proven to be resilient and responsive to the needs of our local community,” Bothwell explains. “It seems to me that local tax dollars collected and distributed by the city government would better serve the community if we banked locally. Council has embraced the idea that we should bolster the local economy and local small businesses whenever we can, and moving our money can be part of that effort.”
Move your money!
Some might claim that switching from their current bank is too much trouble. But the Move Your Money Web site (moveyourmoney.info) lays out a very straightforward process. Read the FAQs and checklist and then proceed to “Find a Bank/Credit Union,” where you can choose a local institution that meets your specific needs. (To view a list of highly rated WNC banks and credit unions, click here.) Before moving your money, however, you’ll also want to check the institution’s safety rating and whether your deposits would be FDIC-insured.
With a little foresight and perseverance, you can make this change with grace and ease. And the rewards are huge — more personalized service, lower fees and higher interest, a focus on the needs of local families and businesses, and loans made where customers actually live and work. What’s not to like?
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Support equal rights for all Ashevillians
Let the Asheville City Council know that you support same-sex domestic partner benefits–equal compensation for equal work–for all Asheville city employees by emailing the mayor and all city council members at AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov. This issue comes before the council next Tuesday, February 9, and I encourage you to attend that meeting to show your support for equal rights for all Ashevillians.
From Councilperson Gordon Smith at Scrutiny Hooligans
Let the Asheville City Council know that you support same-sex domestic partner benefits–equal compensation for equal work–by emailing the mayor and all city council members at AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov. This issue comes before the council next Tuesday, February 9, and I encourage you to attend that meeting to show your support for equal rights for all Ashevillians.
I’m writing to let you know that I support same-sex domestic partner benefits–equal compensation for equal work. Adopting such a policy will be a very positive step toward equal rights for all Ashevillians.
On Feb. 9th your Asheville City Council will consider the question of whether to provide equal compensation for equal work. Domestic Partnership Benefits (DPB) for city employees with same-sex partners address a number of very important social and economic factors:
- Improve recruitment and retention of quality employees
- Provide equal compensation for equal work to our employees who are denied the option to marry
Providing Domestic Partner Benefits to same-sex employees will also:
- Improve Asheville’s reputation as one friendly to our LGBT citizens
- Improve Asheville’s reputation as friendly to gay tourists
- Strengthen families through health, stability, and respect
- Compete with private sector employers
- Bolster Asheville’s reputation as a creative, accepting, diverse economic climate for entrepreneurs
I’ve moved forward with this initiative now because City staff will be presenting an analysis of our health and benefits packages in a worksession on March 9th. Including our LGBT employees is crucial. Seven other government entities in North Carolina have already passed DPB. Three of them, including Mecklenburg County, passed same-sex only DPB. It’s perfectly legal, responsible, and just.
Read more by clicking here.
Hope to see you at the city council meeting next Tuesday!
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
