| Number 225 | October 10, 2003 |
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This Week:
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Greetings, This week I include one of my fantasies about living in a society with re-ordered priorities and values. I don’t know what came over me, but it isn’t ONLY a fantasy. If you want more nitty-gritty details about some folks who are working to make it a reality, go to the website and read my series on developing a National Social Report. For this week, just go along with my fantasy... Usually the “Quote” of the Week is mostly quote, and a little bit of context. This week it’s mostly context, with only a little quote. What does this mean? No one knows, least of all me. I noticed that I have lately been putting out issues of the Notes with only 2 or three lengthy articles. In the interest of variety, this week the Notes includes no fewer than eight short articles, (in addition to the ungainly “Quote” of the Week). These articles are so short, in fact, that I stuck them all under one teeny-tiny headline, then they all get their own even teenier headline underneath that. Boy, I know how to have fun, don’t I? Regular readers know that I had a minor operation on my heart about a month ago, and I missed an issue or two while I was recuperating. Since this is the editor’s column, I’ll take the liberty of including still another note on my health: I’m fine. I had my follow-up visit with the cardiologist this week, and he gave me the go-ahead to resume my regular activities (mainly soccer), which will make me much easier to live with, I think. I really appreciate the amazing number of messages, cards, and calls from folks who encouraged me to slow down and take care of myself. Apparently I’m not too good at that... But, again, I’m fine now. Thank you! It’s a good thing I’m fine, too, since my health insurance was cut back on October 1st, and very little of the care that I have needed in the past four months would be covered if I needed it now. I’ll say more about that when the time is right. It’s quite a story. Since this is already the longest editor’s note I’ve ever written, I’ll just take some more space to say Welcome! to all the new readers this week. I hope you like the Notes. Whether you do or not, feel free to write me and tell me what you do think. Until next week, Nygaard |
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On September 8, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed a “Citizen Forum on Health Care Costs” to “engage Minnesotans in evaluating what they want in a health care system and what they might be willing to give up,” as the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota put it. The chair of the Forum is none other than Dave Durenberger. Mr. Durenberger, for those who don’t recall, was one of Minnesota’s U.S. Senators from 1978 until 1995. Upon making the announcement, the Governor pointed out that Durenberger “gained national health policy leadership as a 16-year member of the Senate Finance Committee.” What the Governor did not point out is that Mr. Durenberger retired from the Senate in disgrace after being “denounced for reprehensible conduct, bringing the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” This had to do with his laundering more than $100,000 in speaking fees (enough to pay my health insurance costs for 33 years!), and other financial shenanigans. His license to practice law was subsequently suspended until March of 2000. He is now chair of the “Citizen Forum on Health Care Costs.” This is the age we live in. Anyhow... The first meeting of the 18-member commission was scheduled for last Monday, October 6. When some Jewish legislators protested about having a meeting on Yom Kippur, the public meeting was postponed. Sort of. The Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) reported on October 8 that 12 of the 18 members “met in a private session that was not disclosed to the public.” Mr. Durenberger “acknowledged Tuesday that 12 of the 18 citizen members of the panel met Monday” and, among other things, set the agenda for the whole group. For this Durenberger “made no apology.” Then he said: “If you call a dozen people getting together a meeting, then it was a meeting.” |
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Know Your Local Media There’s a lot of talk about media ownership, FCC regulations, and that sort of thing these days. If you want some real nuts & bolts information about who owns your local media, telephone, and cable companies, I have just the website for you: “Well Connected: The Database.” The site is run by the wonderful Center for Public Integrity, and it is a huge, searchable database that contains basic information on every radio and television station in America as well as every cable television system and telephone company. You can search by company, by call sign or by area. Activists should know this stuff. Find them on the web at http://www.openairwaves.org/telecom/analysis/default.aspx. New Independent Media: Support It! Supporters of truly alternative media take note: The good folks over at Z Magazine are planning to start a daily email news service, and want your input. They would assemble writings from dozens of writers, including Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Vandana Shiva, Susan George, Tariq Ali, Katherine Ainger, Dennis Brutus, Cunthia Peters, Sonali Kolhatkar, and Howard Zinn. Subscribers could choose to get just one commentary a day, or 20, on a range of topics, or only on the topic of your interest. I think it’s a great idea, but they won’t do it unless there’s sufficient interest. Read about Z Daily and take the poll that goes with it at http://www.zmag.org/zdailyletter.htm. What About the Election? Speaking of Z... Z Magazine’s own Michael Albert has written what I consider to be an excellent proposal for what to do about the 2004 presidential election from a third-party ORGANIZING perspective. Read his piece called “Election Plan?” at: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=41&ItemID=4041. This essay should be helpful for those progressive folks who are disgusted with the prospect of voting for “whatever” Democrat in 2004 just so Mr. Bush can be defeated. It should also be good for Democrats who are still angry with those who voted for Nader in 2000, since they think that Nader voters gave the election to Bush. (I know, Bush didn’t really win the election, but it was close enough that the scam worked.) For those who need to be reminded of the limitations of the possible Democratic candidates, Green Party member Howie Hawkins has a piece online called “For a Green Presidential Campaign in 2004.” I don’t agree with his prescription, but his critique is compelling, and worth keeping on hand as the interminable “campaign” grinds on. Thanks to Green reader Jenny for giving me the heads-up on this piece. Read it at: http://lists.gp-us.org/pipermail/texgreen/2003-July/002692.html. Clerical University Employees Need Support I know a number of Nygaard Notes readers are connected in some way with the University of Minnesota. As you no doubt are aware, the clerical workers at the University— 93 percent of whom are women and many of whom are single parents—are preparing to strike in opposition to the unfair contract offered to them by the University administration. The decision to strike is a serious and traumatic one, and especially so for workers who make so little that they don’t have much to fall back on while they’re not working. As State Senator Sandy Pappas says about the clerical workers, “They are among the lowest paid employees at the University, and yet they are being expected to bear the brunt of health insurance premium and co-pay increases.” This fight is worth learning about and supporting, as it is exactly the kind of struggle—low-wage, low-status workers being asked to shoulder the burdens of our “no new taxes” political environment—that may be setting the precedent for all of us who work for a living. Learn many of the details on the site of their union, AFSCME Local 3800, at http://www.afscme3800.org. State Employees Need Support In related news, huge majorities of the unionized workers who labor for the State of Minnesota voted at the end of September to reject their contract offer from the Pawlenty administration. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 6 represents some of the lowest-paid and hardest-working public employees you will find—nursing home aides, clerical workers, maintenance workers, and others. The Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) represents parole workers, counselors and therapists, auditors, and on and on. The Pawlenty administration continually compares the wages and benefits of public workers to those in the private sector, openly seeking to create a sense of competition among workers in an environment of manufactured scarcity. Meanwhile, the rich get tax breaks and private-sector CEOs take home millions. That’s scarcity? Get the union’s side on this precedent-setting conflict at the AFSCME site (http://www.afscmecouncil6.org/) and the MAPE site (http://www.mape.org/). Rally in DC on the 25th These are good times for organizing people, that’s for sure. One of the encouraging signs, in my view, is the current alliance between two groups that are not usually too friendly with each other. The two resistance groups—United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER)—are co-organizing what looks to be a great national rally in Washington DC on October 25. The two groups represent quite different constituencies, and have different analyses about exactly what is going on and what needs to be done. That’s why it was so encouraging when they announced in September that they would join hands on this rally. If you haven’t ever gotten on a bus and gone to Washington DC for a rally or demonstration, consider doing it this month. The bus ride is often exhausting, uncomfortable, and interminable, and you have to take a day off of work (if you live in Minnesota). But it’s worth it when you consider the people you meet, the ideas you come across, and the energy you get from coming together with other committed folks. Check out the two groups at their respective websites—http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ and http://www.internationalanswer.org/. If you’re in the Twin Cities, look at http://www.antiwarcommittee.org/ or call the Anti-War Committee at 612-379-3899. The Be Safe Campaign One of the most exciting ideas to come out of the environmental movement is an idea called the Precautionary Principle. The standard approach to environmental issues in this culture has long been what may be called the Guinea Pig Principle, under which, “...in the face of scientific uncertainty about cause and effect...[t]he public has typically carried the burden of proving that a particular activity or substance is dangerous, while those undertaking potentially dangerous activities and the products of those activities are considered innocent until proven guilty.” The Precautionary Principle says the opposite: That we need to KNOW for certain that a given chemical or technology is not harmful before we go ahead and put it helter-skelter into the environment. The United States has officially endorsed the Precautionary Principle, since we signed and ratified the so-called Rio Declaration of 1992, which said in part: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” Now we are about to see the launching of a national effort called the Be Safe Campaign, a “nationwide initiative to build support for the precautionary approach to prevent pollution and environmental destruction before it happens.” And not a moment too soon. I don’t know how many groups are going to sign on to this effort, but I encourage you or your group seriously consider doing so. You can endorse the campaign, or simply learn more about it, by traveling to their website at http://www.besafenet.com/ or calling them at 703-237-2249. Still Waiting to Hear Just for the record: Back on August 15th I wrote a letter to the local newspaper, the Star Tribune (Newspaper of the Twin Cities!) about some misreporting on economic news that they had stuck on the front page. (I published the letter in Nygaard Notes #218, “Economic Good News, Sort Of.”) The Star Trib article was about how “military spending” has been good for “the economy.” My letter, sent to both the reporter and the newspaper’s ombudsman, was about how military spending has not been good for the economy. As usual, I had all sorts of facts to back up my point. I sent it off about two months ago. Haven’t heard anything yet. |