Wins, Losses and Unknowns

About a week and 1/2 ago I sat in the Washington Theological Union lobby in Washington D.C. and watched the presidential address to Congress. As Newsweek recently stated, this address was very much a “home run.” The ease with which our new president displays generosity while not compromising his ideals is remarkable to watch. Amid the jeers of the Rs he laughs confidently and not without a bit of irony at their lack of support for policies that just make sense–like the stimulus package, cancer research and the propagation of peace.

I have certainly been out of the blog loop. The return to work after recovering from surgery has truly sapped every bit of extra energy from me. But I have been no less interested in politics, both local and national. It is such an exciting time and as the traditional bastion of democratic politics in Idaho approaches this Frank Church weekend, I feel like making the effort to reflect on recent notable political moments is required.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not perfect. But we elected President Obama in order to give him a chance to address our struggling economy. It was thus only slightly surprising to watch Republicans childishly dismiss his first attempt. Idaho has been greatly affected by the economic downturn and there are inputs in the stimulus package that can jump-start a clean energy sector in the state, help with education, and supply needed support for healthcare. It was disappointing to see the Idaho Congressional delegation reject the bill outright. The “alternative” provided by Congressman Minnick was a caricature of a real solution, and the effect was the bolstering of Otter’s impulse to not take hand-outs from the feds. Thankfully, Idaho will be taking stimulus money, much of it going to excellent locations–like energy efficiency for schools.

I made my own attempt to impact energy policy in the nation last week when I attended Powershift and Capitol Climate Action in D.C. Powershift was packed with 10,000 people eager to learn more about climate issues and I am happy to report that each one of the seminars on the problems with nuclear energy were packed. Capitol Climate Action gave me a chance to learn more about civil disobedience and demonstrations. On a very snowy day in D.C. over 1,000 of us marched to the Capitol Coal Plant and occupied the gates for 4 hours. This was a symbolic action and I am yet to feel like it had a direct policy impact–however, Nancy Pelosi did call fro the conversion of the plant to natural gas–which is certainly an improvement over the dirty coal plumes now put out by the plant right in the heart of the capitol.

Here at home, while I was in D.C. a very important piece of energy legislation was moving through the Idaho Legislature. S 1119 would have allowed, not required, Idaho utilities to offer low-income assistance to people who cannot afford to keep their power on. Idaho is one of the only states in the nation that does not allow such programs and it was time to add social justice to energy via this bill. The Senate voted 18-17 against the bill–with opponents arguing that it would create a burden on rate-payers. This is the news flash folks–the one I should have and would have been discussing with a few of the “no” votes if I hadn’t gotten sick and even sick, if I had known how close the vote was–YOU ALREADY PAY EXTRA WHEN PEOPLE DROP OFF THE SYSTEM CAUSE THEY CAN’T PAY. This would simply have made that more transparent–and it is likely that any low-income assistance program would require energy efficiency education–thus decreasing overall energy consumption.

Politics is full of wins and losses and unknowns. It is also full of multiple possibilities, diverging views that somehow overlap, and missed opportunities or unexpected gains. Each day, we can only do what we believe we can to make the world a better place. And each day we face dissapointment and vicotry and we keep going.

In good Faith, support good Actions

My lack of post of late may indicate a post-inaugural apathy. It may appear upon the manifestation of Barack Obama as President, I have stopped watching politics, or have lost interest in policy. The truth is I have been busy promoting energy policy and honestly all extra creative expression has been squelched by exhaustion.

Nevertheless, the recent activity surrounding Obama’s stimulus plan deserves attention here. For weeks now I have been closely following the bill which would aim to inject new vigor into our economy. My interest has been focused primarily on aspects of the bill that would provide stimulus money for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

As of about a week ago the bill included (this was compiled by a Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free working group I participate in):
“About $52 billion for clean energy and efficiency measures, $4 billion for job training with priority consideration to “green” jobs and healthcare, $500 million for nuclear waste cleanup, and $1.9 billion to DOE for “for basic research into the physical sciences including high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences and improvements to DOE laboratories and scientific facilities.” It also includes long-term extension of renewable energy production tax credit, among other energy tax incentives.
Biggest $$ of the $52 package is $11B for a reliable & efficient grid and $8 B in loan guarantees for the energy generation and transmission projects. Additional moneys will be made available for government energy efficiency upgrades, including $6.2 B for home weatherization There is also money for transportation that would make transportation more energy efficient.”

In short, this bill could be the driving force for both the reformulation of our energy system as well as the anchor for the instigation of a whole new green jobs sector. This is good. At a time when our big centralized grids and enormously consumptive transportation have left us paralyzed by the depletion of traditional polluting sources (like coal for electricity and oil for fuel) and shocked by rising costs, we need to transform this energy sector and this may be the vehicle.

There is little time left to investigate possible solutions for these problems without also acting as we determine what needs to be achieved. Both the climate crisis and the economic crisis require action on this issue to be immediate. Obama has seized this moment with the stimulus plan and has carefully integrated the myriad components needed to rethink energy in this country—and instead of talking conceptually about possibilities—he is actually funding (long overdue) action.

This is the main reason that I support his stimulus package. The more peripheral reason is, in fact, conceptual. We elected Obama based on the belief that he would make wise decisions and act rapidly to address our economic condition of late. We should, in good faith, support his first effort in this regard. That does not mean we don’t question and amend and critique—but none of these things should be done to defeat the bill—they should be done to improve it while still maintaining the integrity of the original document, so as to retain the full force of Obama’s prescription.

Given this belief, you can imagine my disappointment when I found out that Idaho’s congressional delegation voted against the stimulus package. I was particularly disappointed when I learned of Walt Minnick’s vote. In December I read an interview where Congressman Minnick said his first priority would be resolving the economic crisis. I am not sure I believe voting on the rationale of the minority party whose attacks against “unnecessary spending” appear to lack substance and overflow with irony given that this is the party which overwhelmingly voted to fund a devastating war quite measure up to my idea of what it means to be “solution oriented”. Moreover, from what I hear, components like the systemization of our healthcare databases would revolutionize medical care in this country and significantly reduce health care costs. If Minnick is concerned about this, he needs to communicate these concerns tangibly—as of now this example falls short in justifying his vote. At the most, Minnick and the rest of Idaho’s delegation have justified our Governor’s impulse to shrug off federal funding.

But my angst about that issue aside, I know this bill is not perfect. Yesterday, the senate added 50 BILLION in stimulus for nuclear R&D. As you can imagine, I had one of those “did you say million or billion?” moments when a colleague called to let me know about the addition. Of course my boss and I joked that that is only enough for 5 new reactors (given that next generation reactors are costing between 12-24 billion) but nevertheless, that is money I would rather see go to transmission, grid localization, energy efficiency and renewable development) that much money could make the difference in whether the new clean energy sector gets wings, instead of legs as it is built. To let Congress know you oppose excessive money for nuclear development sign this petition. To email your senator click on this link.

We all have interests. Depending on our work, lifestyles, chosen ideological systems we likely have things we like and dislike about the stimulus package. For me, even with the gloomy prospect of injecting the nuclear industry (certainly not a “shovel ready” sector) with billions in funds, the need for funding truly clean energy outweighs. I see little utility in killing this plan—it isn’t enough to elect a new president—we also need to trust him and support his actions (until we are given real reasons to do otherwise).

Poised on the Precipice of Change

The post I wrote did not publish. I waxed on about this moment…now Warren is being introduced…lets see.

Looking for the Silver Lining in Obama’s Choice of Warren

I believe the decision to invite Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration was a carefully calculated overstep rather than a misstep that actually demonstrates promise for lesbian and gay concerns around what the Obama administration will mean for LGBT rights (Please excuse my lumping of these movements into the normalized acronym–I know they are integrated, yet distinct).

This is my rationale: Obama considers himself so comfortable as an advocate for Gay Rights that he thought he could choose Warren in a genuine and obvious effort to heal divides without appearing to advocate for Warren’s position. All of his explanatory references indicate this was the case. Yet in the face of Proposition 8 and the wounds its passage opened in progressive communities across the nation, his action was understandaby interpreted with cynicism and shocked disapproval. Why does this action hold promise for this same group of alienated Obamites? Because it shows his commitment runs deep enough that he assumed it would translate. He was wrong, but the intention–to heal a divide by a demonstrative act of conciliation may very well create the bridge that can mend the incisions of discrimination Proposition 8–and the beliefs of folks like Warren–have created. If we can “disagree without being disagreeable”, then this act of respect for a view that is anethema to what Obama represents could very well be the best strategy for ensuring Gay Rights.

I know, I feel a little bit like a mother who knows her kid did something wrong trying to find any way to excuse his behavior. I think he could have done this differently and I totally understand why so many Gay Rights activists are up in arms (not to mention the problematics of his position on abortion). I have waited to comment on this for some time, because I really was perplexed and could not figure out why Obama did make the choice he did. I do not mean to excuse him. I think his timing was perplexing and his explanation not quick or articulate enough. And btw–I really resent his (Obama’s)position on Gay Marriage and find it ridiculously politically motivated, problematic, and unacceptable. The religious arguments for the “sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman” are so absurd and the use of the bible as proof is laughable, since that document does not seem to hold marriage in very high regard. Yet maybe, just maybe, Obama does feel this way too and couldn’t say it during the campaign. Maybe, just maybe this move is a first step to beginning a dialogue that will result in the inclusion of gay couples in the cultural practice of marriage. Maybe, just maybe this is a signal that this issue will be one Obama is prioritizing and intending to heal. And maybe, just maybe Warren will say something about this issue that surprises us all. We will have to wait and see and I think we will know more after watching the whole inaugural show rather than prejudging it based on one isolated part. There could be a silver lining on the Warren cloud yet.

IMO: Michelle’s Dress

In a recent Newsweek article Allison Samuels writes, in regards to Michelle Obama’s pick for election night attire, “Her daring election night red speckled dress, designed by Narcisso Rodriguez, was hardly a cautious choice. It wasn’t all together flattering, but it showed that Michelle is searching for her own sense of style.” While I loved the majority of this article (pretty much like I love reading anything detailed about the Obamas) I was surprised that a Newsweek reporter had such a shallow analysis of what I had perceived as a very specific and meaningful piece of clothing. Yeah, I had read similar points of view in People magazine and OK (those trash mags really brighten a hospital stay I tell you), but I somehow expected more from Newsweek.

In light of this lack , I would like to briefly share my 3 initial interpretations of what Michelle’s dress meant. These impressions were simultaneously instantaneous in my brain when I watched her walk on stage with her family on November 4th.

1) Oh my god! It is the blood of all the slaves on her body. She is pointing to the ways in which African American people have historically sacrificed in order to make this great achievement possible. She wears the blood of slave mothers on her front to commemorate this.

2) In light of all the threats against Barack’s life, Michelle is pre-empting any assassination attemt by displaying the bloodshed she hopes to avoid. The choice of red and black was a strategic choice to create a metaphorical barrier from physical attack.

3) As a woman, we know the significance of our gender and our bodies of a monthly blood letting. The volcanic up-pouring on her body felt to me a signal of feminist power and strength.

So, now you get a better sense of the way I view the world. These interpretations may seem, at first, to give too much intentionality to Michelle’s clothing. I can almost hear you saying right now, “Oh jeez, get a grip Liz! Its just a dress!”

In some ways that may be true. Michelle may not have had any of these things in mind when she chose that striking garmet. But I am willing to bet that at least one of them occurred to her. I think it is a disservice to her and her savvy to believe her choice was merely a “search for her own style” Really? Do we think her so shallow that on the night of her husband’s historic election she was thinking “Huh, now how do I make a fashion statement?” No way. Our clothing is the costume we wear to express so much more than an aesthetic of commodified beauty. It is a way to communicate messages that go beyond what “looks flattering.” I firmly believe that Michelle was making a profound political point with that dress, and I will say, when I saw her in it, I fell completely in love with her because of it. She is a beautiful woman, and she is a brave woman. That is what Michelle’s dress meant to me.

Michelle's dress choice was not about style--it was political.

Michelle and Barack Saved My Life

Directly prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, I found myself in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. All appendectomies are emergency procedures, because, if infected, you need to make sure to remove this archaic, and useless (me, bitter?) organ before it ruptures and infects everything around it…namely all your intestines and well…nuf said.

My situation was actually pretty serious since it did rupture. I had let the pain go 4 days before realizing what was going on, so by the time I got to the ER I was hurting something terrible. Shortly after the Morphine shot, when the doc told me I would be undergoing surgery to remove the appendix (at this time he did not know it had ruptured) I said, “Well, good, I’m just gonna look at it like your excising that useless Bush Administration from my body, ha ha ha…” Er…

He didn’t really smile, he did look shocked and the nurse, I think, gasped. Of course my dad and husband chuckled, since such outlandish statements should be expected from a feminist obamite like me who studied the way material bodies are affected by political systems. I have mentioned this here before, but let me recap: I believe that bodies develop disease as a form of dissent to political paradigms. “Stress” is one factor that bridges the gap between the “body politik” at large and what are percieved to be the individuated bodies of political subjects. You know, you and me, our flesh and blood and bowels and all that.

All of my evidence is anecdotal, and this is another instance of that. While I know my appendix burst because of anatomical blockages near my colon, I also know those blockages are linked to the martyr like freaky way I have been living under the Bush Administration. Seriously, and the last few months I didn’t sleep, eat, or relax much–as I was fully into my work to oppose a nuclear facility, doing all I could to help with the Obama Campaign and taking care of two young children. People had been saying I didn’t look well, but I didn’t care. My body did though, and it broke. The removal of that appendix was, in essence, the freeing of my corporeality from its resistance mode during 8 years of political catastrophe.

So, I did sort of regret what I said as I contemplated whether the nurse, who now was wheeling me to the OR was a right wing fanatico that, with my life now in her hands, would contemplate ridding the world of yet another crazy lady liberal. Luckily, I made it out of surgery, but only after 2 unexpected additional hours, seeing as how the toxicity of the rupture had spread throughout my system.

Given the severity of the dis-ease and illness I was experiencing, my recovery was really, really uncomfortable. Believe me, I know people go through way worse, but I really can’t quite imagine it. My pain, on Wednesday, was totally unbearable (Not to brag, but just for scale, I had two children at home and that was nothing compared to this). The pain killers made me sick, I couldn’t breathe well and I was attached to 5 different tubes. Plus, I was on two anti-biotics that made me really nauseous. I thought I would die.

My husband came to visit me that night. I could barely bare to look at anything and was suffering from a big sense of depression and I was also afraid. “Hey” he said, “We should watch the Barbara Walters Special tonight–she’s interviewing Michelle and Barack.” Instantly I perked up. “What time?” I mumbled “What?” W…h…a…t.. time” I said with huge effort. “10 pm” he said. That wasn’t good enough! That was two hours away, that seemed like a lifetime!!…” “Mountain time?” I said. Ah Ha! So he looked it up and we only had to wait 20 minutes and I watched the whole interview and I loved it. I laughed and I cried, my pain receded as I watched these two lovely, smart people share parts of their story with one of my favorite interviewers. Barabara Walters asked Obama tough questions too, and I loved seeing the surprise on his face at that. I loved his honesty and comfortability, I loved Michelle’s wit and warmth and willingness to tell it like it is as a woman. And this is our first family. Of course, my memory of this is both dull and vivid, since I watched it in a morphine haze, but I will never forget it.

When it ended I felt bad again, and that lasted a few more days. If I could have, I would have watched it over and over again, because of what it did for my pain. While I would have made it one way or another, the Obama’s really did save my life. And I believe they will help all of us save ours. In any case, based on my analysis, I would conclude that we can look forward to a much healthier embodied state as our nation heals from the useless toxicity of Bush.

One of those People

I sat in pure ecstasy this morning. Shocked ecstasy. All things in the house paused and faded into the periphery. Our President Elect was addressing the nation and I insisted my children stand at attention. Assuring all that the importance of the moment was far more relevant than a timely arrival to school.

I realized in that moment, in a strange present fast forward, that I was beginning to be “one of those people.” Those people are the ones who are sitting in their lazy chairs watching the president’s address and looking pridefully at the portrait of him they have hung on the wall. Those people are the ones that you see in old magazine stories where a family sits smiling at their radio with the caption “FDR addresses the Nation.” I always looked at those in a confused way before. Why do they feel that way? I would think. Or more importantly, why don’t I feel that way?

Listening to Mr. Obama today, as he introduced his national security “team” (even that was delightful, the novelty of the cultural reintroduction of collaboration) I smiled broadly. The picture I have of him from a magazine on the cabinet at my side. Again the dualisms were reconciled, security and diplomacy, power and moral vision, working hard, and enjoying the country we live in. Stunning.

Growing up, the story of JFK was a staple. I was tremendously affected by how effected both my mother and father were by this former president. School taught me all about MLK, and a greater hero I have yet to find. RFK’s story still makes me choke to this day, holding back a sob from a history that was not, but nevertheless somehow is, a part of my time. Obama is my JFK, my MLK, my RFK, all entwined in the fabric of a hope for the futrue I hold for my children. He tells the truth, he smiles, laughs, and oh wow is he smart. For the first time in my lifetime, I feel like part of a generation. I am so grateful to live through these moments.

I know to be wary. I know the threats of idolatry and nevertheless, for now, I will ride this wave gleefully and enjoy finally knowing what it means to be “one of those people.”

The first post since the election.

It took me quite a bit longer than I had thought. I was initially overwhelmed by the responsibility Obama put on the American people with his election. I was struck by a clear commitment to encourage all of us to contribute to the collaborative work of transforming what it means to be American at this time.

I noticed too, a jet lag of consciousness. I noticed replays of Sarah Palin skits from Saturday Night Live. I noticed NPR playing a story from before the campaigns–a story evaluating McCain’s health plan vs. Obama’s. I sat in the parking lot listening in a quintessential “NPR moment” thinking–why does this even matter right now?

Today I also took the time to watch the 60 Minutes interview. It took me a while to piece together, as it was hard to find the divided segments listed consecutively on-line. I watched the question about “when it had sunk in” about 6 times before I learned its multiple internet guises. In the meantime, I read a large part of the transcript–continually struck by his intelligence and attention to detail. He is a truly great communicator–he sees from many sides–multiple visions. Neverthelesss, he is grounded in his abiltiy to have clear vision. It is his goal.

Yesterday I asserted that I was going to stop writing on this blog. I decided to let it be a historical document of the 2008 election. Then I realized that since I had put so much effort forth in sharing my view on why this person should be president, it would be responsible to share my support and viewpoints on his presidency. I think the disequillibrium created by this profoundly historical ( and by that I mean history in its finest sense of the word–where it is about past, present , and future–not just the line but the circle) event is beginning to balance. Perhaps, at least, it has sunk in on the first level.

From Margin to Center

That is my prediction for the 2008 presidential election. The margins will move to the center, both from the African American populations and other minorities and from the youth vote. The country will be overwhelmed by the ways in which the Obama candidacy has inspired those previously disenfranchised to come out and cast their vote.

I spoke to a friend yesterday who was predicting what, I suppose, is the opposite–that racism will drive people to the polls. Especially, in particular, those who are racist but unwilling to admit it. This point is a perfect place from which to illustrate my departure with this belief. I feel strongly that the racist drive will have less of an effect than the determination present in Obama supporters. In other words, voting for Barack Obama because of what he stands for and his leadership and yes, his African Americaness, is a stronger force than intolerance and the historically situated racism that exists in this country.

I am harried today, trying to get my littlest to school, too tired I was to write last night, and eager with anticipation to vote. But the final point I would like to make, before the throes of election results start coming in is that this entire election cycle has felt significant in a way no other has before. I know that it is easy to associate oneself with significant historical events, as when you live through them they feel so important, but this time is something special. Our country is hurting terribly, and we have a choice today. We are looking at two options–both very different. One is driven by a tortured history of redemption and the other is focused on overcoming oppression through hope. In all places we see a contrast and it is a moment we must seize to remake the fabric of what we believe it means to be American. The choice we make today will have magnified consequences, the rapidity of those effects will be apparent only after the fact. Today, I call to the margins of this country and to the margins in myself and my community to have a clear vision of where we need to go. NOW IS THE TIME. Tomorrow we will have elected Barack Obama as President of the United States and our transformation will be just beginning.

Waiting to Heal

The body politic is a stress processing machine. At the point at which the level of stress/pressure/anticipation exceeds the capacity of the body politic and the embodied individuals that enliven that mass to process this stress, that body experiences dis-ease.

In grad school I made this argument relevant to the historically situated body of Frida Kahlo. Her ailments mirrored those the revolution and development cycle wrought on the country of Mexico. during her lifetime

At the current moment I sit with a hot pad on my right shoulder. Starting Wednesday I felt a pinched nerve in my back. By Friday I was debilitated, and now I am very affected–the pain at the forefront of any action I take.

I went to see our family’s caregiver for acupuncture. He explained to me that in Chinese Medicine one segment of the body, like the leg, reflects the body as a whole. In other words, your ankle may represent your neck, or the same may be true for your elbow. You can take any part of the whole and mimick/mirror the whole with that part.

I feel as though my body is experiencing the stress of the nation. I don’t mean to equate myself with Kahlo, by claiming to have an in tune sensitivity that others lack. I think we all have this connectedness. And I wonder if you can identify the symptom, or embodied manifestation of the upcoming election in your body?

But the question then remains, how is this connectedness achieved, what is the immaterial materiality that connects the culture to the bodies within it? Michele Foucault argued for a view of politics through geological metaphors. He spoke of resistance, or dissent, subversion, maybe what used to be called revolution–as tectonic shifts. One quake, combined with others leads to a total restructuring of the ground our political system stands on. We are at such a juncture now. The same way my spine pulled deeply apart from its vertebrae ordering, so too are we nearing a massive repositioning through a painful experience of stress. The catharsis–voting–has not succeeded in containing the excess of our expectations in the past. In fact, it has proven itself to be inadequate to reflecting the embodied political will. In this election, the movement has been different, widespread, overarching. The catharsis has come through widespread activation, but there is also a tempered expectation, the loss of belief in being able to affect the outcome has induced a certain amount of paralysis.

I wonder if I will be moving my neck before Tuesday, or if my body will wait to see the outcome before it determines whether it will heal.