Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Lay off my water, Phoenix. (4:09 pm)
Read this sweeping, hilarious look at the demand for Great Lakes water in the Sunbelt, courtesy of Chicagoan Edward McClelland.
For the last half-century, the Great Lakes states have been on the losing end of a migration that would have baffled our nomadic ancestors. Ignoring thousands of years of prophetic wisdom, from Moses to Sam Kinison, Americans have been moving away from fresh water and into the desert. In the most recent Census Bureau survey, the two fastest-growing states — Nevada and Arizona — were two of the driest. Michigan and New York, states awash in water, actually lost people. Some of these migrants were looking for work, following factory jobs down South. But others just couldn’t stand the gloomy Northern winters. Now, those cold-weather refugees are discovering that the climate that’s so well-suited to year-round golf is not so well-suited to providing millions of people with life’s most essential element: H. Two. Oh.
In some ways, the piece is inspiring. While I don’t quite agree with the method of “calling up the [Michigan Militia],” I admire the outage of someone like Rep. Vernon Ehlers, who has every right to defend his region’s water supply. People who move to locations known to have resource deficiencies should suffer some of those consequences. And it’s nice to see public officials stand up for residents who don’t make the easy decision and jet to “paradise.” Even if McClelland’s plea for a population U-turn isn’t likely any time soon — people’s housing choices are shaped more by short-term preferences than sustainability — it’s nice to think about. Unless my rent jumps. Then y’all can move back south.
posted by Adam Doster | start the discussion
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Taxes vs. Charity (8:29 am)
Exhibit A on why charity can’t be substituted for progressive taxation.
The shift from public money to private wealth in shaping the nation’s cities is evident in national data. Government outlays on physical infrastructure have declined to 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product, from 3.6 percent in the 1960s. Philanthropic giving, in contrast, has jumped to nearly 2.5 percent of G.D.P., from 1.5 percent in 1995 and 2 percent in the ’60s.
And why does this matter?
Philanthropic spending adds mainly to the nation’s stock of hospitals, libraries, museums, parks, university buildings, theaters and concert halls. Public infrastructure — highways, bridges, rail systems, water works, public schools, port facilities, sewers, airports, energy grids, tunnels, dams and levees — depends mostly on tax dollars. It is hugely expensive and the money available, while still substantial, has shrunk as a share of the national economy.
posted by Adam Doster | 6 comments
Monday, January 7, 2008
January Boom (7:22 pm)
Can’t remember the last time in my life there was an early January thunderstorm in Chicago.
posted by Jarrett | start the discussion
Clorox the Green Giant? (3:53 pm)
The New York Times asks if Burt’s Bees, which was recently bought for close to $1 billion by Clorox, can help the corporate chemicals behemoth transform into a green giant.
posted by Jarrett | start the discussion
Huckabee’s Connections (2:53 pm)
From In These Times reader Spooky Tunes:
You may want to review Huckabee’s ties to evangelist Bill Gothard, the subject of a January 9, 2006 In These Times cover story, “Cult of Character.”
Here’s that article: http://tinyurl.com/37a3rh
Here’s a page detailing the Huck-Gothard connections: http://huck-hearts-gothard.true.ws/
Thanks for the links. If anyone else has any info on Huckabee connections or his use of language to signal his intentions to the radicals and dominionists of the Christian Right, leave a comment.
-Jarrett
posted by Jarrett | 1 comment
Saturday, January 5, 2008
More “Crypto-Evangelical Code” From Huckabee (12:23 pm)
Talking Points Memo catches Huckabee’s repeated and awkward use of the word “vertical” in his media appearances and connects it to the parlance of the Radical Christian Right.
UPDATE:
The Carpetbagger Report has more on Huckabee’s vertical-ness. Seems ol’ Huck wants us to celebrate “Vertical Day.” No one really knows what that is, but considering who he is I’m imagining it’s Crypto-Evangelical for something relating to God up above, giving UP your sins to God, getting right with God in HEAVEN ABOVE. I’m imagining a vertical column of souls rising to heaven during the Rapture while all non-believers are “left behind.” Carpetbagger links to a DailyKos entry on the matter in which this language is described as a “dog-whistle” for evangelicals who want a Radical Christian-Right President and Radical Christian Right America.
posted by Jarrett | 4 comments
Friday, January 4, 2008
I Believe In Jesus, Except When I’m Campaigning In New Hampshire (1:21 pm)
Nichols on Huckabee the hypocrite.
posted by Jarrett | 2 comments
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