October 24, 2009 by Joel.

I bought a copy of this book after seeing a reference to it on a mailing list to which I’m subscribed (the Flyfish@ list, for the curious). A quick trip over to Amazon and it was on its way. I’ll confess that the title sold it pretty quickly, though this book does explore a subject that interests me…the inability of centrist Democrats to connect with the “Red State” vote. Growing up in eastern NC and being within a decade of age of the author provided me a bit of affinity for the subject. For the past 30 years, however, I’ve lived in Chapel Hill, NC, which will skew your perceptions of North Carolina politics a little bit in the Blue direction . I thought reading this book would help me remember why there are a lot of Red folks in NC, and maybe give me a bit more insight into the illogical (to me) phenomenon that sends voters from economically depressed areas to the polls in droves, punting for the Republican candidate more often than not. These are the same folks that, out of concern over the possible policies of the then-putative Obama administration, bought guns and ammunition in droves.

On to the book…

I really enjoyed the read. I’ll confess that it got off to a slow start for me. The Introduction and the first chapter, “American Serfs” are, while descriptive, the area where I feel that I am the least in sync with Bageant. I do believe in capitalism (with appropriate regulation!) and I don’t think that globalization will be going away…rather than fighting globalization, we need to educate and adapt, and we need policies that support that. As the book continues, it resonated much more with me. This is where he delves into the cultural factors that influence the political leanings of the denizens of Winchester, VA. I thought that he did a really good job of describing, in very personal terms, the culture of gun ownership and use. Then, his chapter on religion, “The Covert Kingdom” was also good, and in particular Bageant’s discussion of his relationship with his brother, a fundamentalist minister. I thought his best chapter was “The Ballad of Lynddie England.” Here he talks about how the abuse at Abu Ghraib could come about, and the historical cultures that still have significant influences today.

Bageant’s key point is that to be relevant to this constituency, the Blue politician has to go where these people are and be a part of their lives. Technical, logical debates from afar may work with the classic urban liberal wing of the Democratic party, but in an increasingly complex and challenging world, having foot soldiers among the voters who can package issues in ways that are relevant to the lives of Bageant’s contemporaries is the key to success. Foot soldiers carrying the “Red State” vision are there today, and are being highly effective.

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October 11, 2009 by Joel.

A faint glimmer of hope? Cooperation between John Kerry and Lindsey Graham in an op-ed piece in the NYTimes. Given the counterproductive nature of most political discussion these days, it’s great to see folks from across the aisle willing to work together. I’d sure like to see some of this same spirit on the health care debate. In both cases, I’d say to those who are trying to subvert legislation, “what is your plan?” The status quo is not sustainable, neither in climate change nor health care. See also this op-ed piece by David Brooks for a reasonable, pragmatic view of the Baucus bill.

Yes we can begin to change the tenor of the debate to a productive dialog and actually get some things done.

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October 4, 2009 by Joel.

A win-win opportunity to reduce carbon, help support people in the developing world, and save some trees, too? As this article from The Economist says, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), given the scale of potential reduction, even if it doesn’t live up to some of the most optimistic projections, still likely could make a substantive impact on carbon emissions. Worth a try…

A key thought here is that it’s time to start with actions, even if they aren’t perfect. We’ve got to attack climate change on multiple fronts, try some things, and if they work great. Things that don’t work, well, we can try something else. We’ll not make progress if we expect all solutions to be perfectly formed and congruent with a particular worldview. It’s going to take innovation, flexibility, thoughtfulness, the public sector and the private sector to make a dent in climate problems.

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October 1, 2009 by Joel.

Another great article from Thomas Friedman. What happened to “we” and why can’t we have a reasonable, sensible dialog about the serious problems facing the country. Why do so many of us want to hear only the sound bites that that support our beliefs?

Neither left nor right…we just need to talk, listen, and yes, compromise!

The older I grow, the less sure I am that I alone know the right answers. I’ve been certain I was right too many times and then realized that things were not as I thought. We’ve got many complex problems facing this country and the world. Global warming. Health care. Terrorism. Nuclear proliferation. These can only be addressed through serious, reasonable, rational dialog. Let’s work together!

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September 27, 2009 by Joel.

Great article by Thomas Friedman in today’s NYTimes. We can continue to support the entrenched status quo. We can say we like oil, gas & coal…it’s more important not to disrupt today’s economy…and then bequeath to our children an economy dominated by those countries who were willing to create disincentives to fossil fuel consumption, and support the development ofrenewable energy.

Or, we can decide that we need to mobilize, even if that means (gasp!) fuel taxes and continued incentives for alternative energy to really jump back into the race.

Oh, and we may save the planet in the process

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September 4, 2009 by Joel.

Fascinating development on September 3rd. I make no secret of my political leanings. I am a democrat and and am strongly in favor of Healthcare Reform. As a technologist, I understand the revolutionary impact that the Internet, with collaboration and communication applications have had on politics. I was still fascinated, though, to see a very simple thing in action. One of my colleagues posted a Twitter status requesting others to retweet or post a Facebook status. The message was simple:

No one should die because they cannot afford health care; no one should go broke because they get sick.

The poster was encouraged to leave this as the status on Twitter or Facebook all day. I was surprised both by how fast I saw similar updates on my Twitter feed and on my Facebook status feed. It was inspiring. I know that a) we got similar requests from many of our friends, and b) of course many of my friends are going to share my beliefs. Still, I was impressed.

Now, if we can just encourage all sides on this issue to dispense with the polemics and have a rational discussion and actually do something to help the 47M Americans who don’t have health care.

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August 9, 2009 by Joel.

I probably should be more active in the political process than I am…I try not to throw gasoline on the virtual fires with hyperbole and vitriol. I was catching up on reading the online version of the NYTimes (gee, too bad I couldn’t get my Sunday Times delivered to me on vacation) and two articles in particular struck me…one on the health care debate, and one on the Twitter DDoS attack. Both seem to be variations on a theme. If you are loud and noxious in your verbiage (voice or virtual), then you keep civil and rational political discourse from helping to achieve real, viable solutions to our problems.

The health care system in this country isn’t perfect. It does cost too much. I’m fortunate in that I have good health care coverage, and will have it in retirement, but we need to think beyond our own wallets. Lots of things need to change…and yes, I agree that tort reform is one of those things, along with universal coverage. Is a government-run system the right answer? I don’t know. Maybe we should try it and see. Medicare seems to have very satisfied customers, even those who don’t know it’s a government program However, because the actions of a minority of folks with more volume than thoughtfulness drown out discussion, we can’t have the conversation we need to have. The Twitter DDoS is the same sort of thing. The Russians and Georgians have substantive differences that need to be talked out; engaging in polemics and doing things to shut down a rational speaker (from what little I know of the debate) while ignoring the collateral damage is irresponsible. Is it reasonable to just yell louder than the other guy? No. Do we have to tolerate those with different opinions than our own? Yes. The Norman Rockwell ideal of civil respect for the opinions of all is not the world of today, I fear. Does it really bother you to let others talk?

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November 5, 2008 by Joel.

It’s Obama! A new day has dawned…

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October 30, 2008 by Joel.

An eloquent endorsement of Obama by The Economist magazine. Read this endorsement, watch the Colin Powell endorsement on YouTube…I think that the choice is obvious.

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October 29, 2008 by Joel.

What else can you say? I’m 51 years old, and I’ve never volunteered for a candidate before. We’ve canvassed voters two weekends, my wife will work be working the polls on election day, we contributed to Obama’s campaign fund. He has the skills, the message, and importantly can restore the hope and faith of this country. I’m out of town at a conference, and I missed the broadcast version of the Obamercial, but I just watched it on YouTube. It just makes you want to run out and do whatever you can to help actualize the vision…

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