I’m not sure that I should be writing about anything other than Obama at the moment. Last night, Keri, Tilden and I lay in bed listening to NPR and nervously watching the map. The first surge of excitement came when Pennsylvania went blue. When Robert Siegel announced Ohio, we cried. As we have likely all heard enough of this, I will leave the pontificating to other bloggers and journalists. Suffice it to say, I think for the first time in my adult life, I feel a palpable sense of hope that perhaps the world will begin to move in a more promising direction. I could carry on and on, but I will not. Instead, I send you a few links for more news about Of Great and Mortal Men (still timely I say):
(In this article, many of the contributors on the project were asked to tell what we would do were we elected president. While you can certainly go read responses from a whole slew of folks, I will put my answers at the bottom of this post, in some way to honor Obama.)
WNYC Interview
On another note, i share a link to a new page of my website where I will be embarking on an experiment. (In the future, you can access this page by going to the "other work" section of my site) In some ways this new experiment is quite apt, as it has much to do with being in the moment. That sounded lame. Being in the moment.
I should write that this may historically be viewed as one of the the best days in American History in decades. Perhaps I am overly optimistic about the inherent possibility of Obama’s next four years, but my god does it feel good. My son grows agitated in his not so happy “happy chair,” and my attention for the moment shifts. Amazing how quickly life can pull you back into its arms.
1. Media democracy: I would restructure our media, severely limiting the number of media outlets any one corporation can own and operate, and I would instill ways to reward media who report truthful and important matters.
2. Corporations and political funding: I would remove all corporate funding from politics, and overturn the law that exempts corporations from accountability for their actions. I would severely cut advertising and put in place strict laws limiting billboards, print ads, places where ads may be displayed, etc.
3. Farming: I would strongly subsidize small farmers.
4. Health care: I would severely cut our defense budget spending and put that money into a socialized universal health care system.
5. Education: I would put a great deal more funding into public education, cut standardized testing, put more money into the arts in schools, pay teachers considerably more than what they are currently paid, and revise outdated curriculum.
6. Environment: I would drastically alter the laws for automobile manufacturers regarding gas mileage on vehicles. I would develop a much more efficient public transportation system. I would offer rewards and subsidies in large sum that help offset and reduce our environmental footprint.
7. Peace: I would pull all troops from Iraq, and begin establishing peace in the Middle East by pulling Israel out of Palestine and giving Palestinians back their land in some form of compromise.
8. Internet democracy: I would work to make sure that the Internet remains a free and democratic space, keeping corporations out.
(of course this was written some time ago now so somewhat outdated with the financial crisis at hand...I also wanted to be somewhat brief, as I likely could have had 50 points.)
Posted by jeff pitcher at November 5, 2008 01:07 PM
