Election Ruminations and Regrets

So last night I watched the election results roll in like all of you and I was of course disappointed in the national change in power in Congress.  Our fellow Americans appear to have a very short historical memory.  They are blaming Democrats for the problems caused by the guys who were in power before they were elected. But I am preaching to the choir here.

In any case,  last night and this morning I was following local election results at acgov, and was pleased that several of the candidates and state propositions I supported won.  Some did not, but in all races, even ones where I spent a lot of time volunteering (like the Rebecca Kaplan for Mayor campaign), the tone was positive and upbeat.  So yay for local voters!

This is where the post gets grimmer.  I've taken some time to gather information about national election results and reflect on what happened in general.  Beyond the issue with voters having no memory and no patience, we have a sad phenomenon which is the growing influence (and spending) of money in politics (Newsweek.com.)  This election cycle, campaign spending is projected to exceed $3.7 billion, up 30% over the last election.

I am first of all saddened that we are spending all this money on politics.  Just think what this country could be if that money were instead spent educating kids, or supporting our public schools, parks, and transportation.  Second, I am curious just how such a drastic increase in spending could happen in such a short time.  No doubt the recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision ("Citizens United") has had an impact.  In fact, according to Public Citizen, the undisclosed expenditures by independent groups influenced the election in in 58 of 74 "party-shifting contests" this cycle.

Beyond this disappointment with national trends and ever more increase spending, however, I have to be honest and confess that I have contributed to the "big money" mid term election this year through my own giving habits.  I compiled a quick list of my giving for political races this year.  Below I have tallied it:

Candidate Amount  Won Election?
Barbara Boxer $150  Y
Democratic Party $500  N
Democratic Party CA $100  N
Jesse Arreguin $50   Y
Kriss Worthington $125  Y
Progressive Major'y  $200  N
Rebecca Kaplan $100  N*
Robert Raburn BART $250  Y
Russ Feingold Senate   $100  N
Steve Kagan Congress $250  N
Vinnie Bacon Fremont  $50   N
Total: $1,875

* Oakland Mayor will not be decided till Friday, but it's looking unlikely that Rebecca will win.

I did not realize it until I compiled this list, but I spent a hell of a lot of money this year.  Part of it has to do with my impulsively generous streak.  I am not trying to boast here.  My giving made a difference in some races, and in others made no difference at all.  The point is, I am only one of millions of Americans who made a decision to give significant chunks of money to political candidates and/ or parties this year.  I represent one end of the political spectrum.  There are lots of people like me who gave to progressive causes.  And there are lots more who gave to conservative causes.  And then there are the corporations and "independent expenditure groups" that I mentioned above.  And where does that leave us?  With lots and LOTS of political ads.

Regrettably, I should have given more money to charity and less to political campaigns.  I supported public financing of elections this spring - which our own "enlightened" electorate in California defeated.  Perhaps that's the only thing truly worth supporting with money anymore?

Sigh.

2010 Oakland Mayor's Race

Here are my thoughts on the Oakland mayoral race.  Realistically, there are 3 candidates with the name recognition, experience, and connections to possibly win: Don Perata, Jean Quan, and Rebecca Kaplan.  A fourth candidate, Joe Tuman, is working hard to reach voters and appears to be benefiting from the general anti-incumbent mood (as well as his base among long time friends in Oakland.)  Then there are another 6 candidates, all well-meaning citizens, but who lack the campaign staff and infrastructure needed to make a serious run.  I believe all these candidates should be thanked for giving up months out of their lives to put themselves and their ideas out there..

As many of you know, I am active with the Sierra Club locally.  We conducted interviews to determine our endorsement in this race in late August.  I participated in all the interviews.  We endorsed Kaplan #1, Quan #2 and Perata #3.  Rebecca Kaplan (click for questionnaire) presented in superior vision and  for how to "fix Oakland" in a sustainable fashion.  She has an excellent plan to make Oakland a more transit and pedestrian (and bicycle) friendly city.  She knows who the key people are in the city to get things done, and admits that the next mayor will have a major role to play in appointing department heads over the next 4-6 years (many city employees are set to retire.)  Rebecca has excellent grasp of fiscal policy, as well.  Jean Quan, meanwhile, has very good "green credentials."  She is quick to mention the help she provided to the Sierra Club for our tree planting campaign (which is much appreciated), and I know she is passionate about watershed protection.  Don Perata had a good environmental voting record during his time as a state senator in Sacramento.  He won an award from the Sierra Club California for his work defending AB32 from Republican attacks.  So each has something to champion in terms of the environment and the things the Sierra Club cares about.

In terms of the campaigns, Rebecca appears to be hitting the phones hard, is making appearances all over the city and appears to have a base among the artist / progressive / Oakland black chamber of commerce and younger environmentalist crowd.  Jean Quan meanwhile has a lot of neighborhood activists wearing "Taking Oakland Block by Block" shirts, and also counts many environmentalists among her supporters.  She has basically been campaigning for over a year and I think a lot of her hard work cultivating supporters and volunteers is paying off.  Don Perata, meanwhile, has the best campaign ads and videos.  He also has people walking the streets for him.  When I saw his ad showing him sweeping the street in East Oakland the first time, I had to laugh.  However, Don is allowing his friends the Prison Guards to try and influence the campaign with negative attacks on Jean Quan.

In summary, all three of the top candidates I mentioned could be a good mayor.  But who will win?  And how will they succeed in addressing some of Oakland's problems, such as the looming $589 million budget deficit?  I cannot predict it.  But the next mayor will need to work hard at getting their colleagues on the council to work together.  During the 5 years I have lived here and observed the city council, it has unfortunately been marred by a lot of divisiveness.  The missing element, in my opinion, is a mayor who can bring the warring council members together and get them to agree on important issues.  Will Don Perata be able to bring together the council?  He appears to have his favorites picked out already.  How will he get the rest of the council to work with him, if they do not agree?  What about Jean Quan?  I could see her getting the council to work together.  But there is pretty visible personal animosity between her and some other council members.  So I see Rebecca Kaplan as the best "coach" and "facilitator".  She is a fresh face, positive, enjoys good relations with other elected officials - but she's not inexperienced, either.  I am confident she is the best choice for mayor.

Come Nov. 2nd, I think Oakland voters will vote according to what they believe is best for the city.  America as a whole seems to only accept short term solutions, but Oaklanders in this respect appear to know better.  Maybe that's because they've been through long hard times as a city before.

Sierra Club convention, Feingold for Senate

I'm wrapping 2 posts in one here - one per paragraph.

Today I spent the day at the Sierra Club national headquarters with 60 other chapter delegates from across the country at the meeting of the "Council of Club Leaders."  This is like a convention where people all gather to work out their differences and propose new "rules of the Sierra Club."  It is essentially an excercise in democracy, except of course, we are all pretty much united by our belief in the "John Muir and Redwoods" goals to "explore, enjoy and protect" the planet and nature.  I also got to meet new ED Michael Brune as well as most of the national board of directors.  They are really hard working.  Especially the board always amazes me.  They do all this work for nothing except to serve the movement!  You basically can't do this and have a regular job at the same time.

In other news, I was sad to hear, through the Wisconsin delegate who attended the convention, that Russ Feingold from my home state is trailing in the polls.  This is deeply disturbing.  First, because Russ is a true blue progressive voice, who has never - or let's say much more rarely than any other politician I know - compromised his beliefs.  He was the sole dissenting voice who voted against the Patriot Act in 2001.  Secondly, Russ is such a solid debater, speaker and campaigner, that it saddens me that so many citizens of Wisconsin are buying the claims of his opponent that Russ is wrong for the state.  I took the time to listen to a good analysis of what is happening there posted on the nation online.  The idea that the changing media landscape is allowing a well heeled challenger who allies himself with the Tea Party to "dictate the message" to ignorant voters (because they don't get any news about what their current Senator is really doing) is pretty scary.  Here is what I think: if the people of Wisconsin actually took the time to understand what is going on, instead of blaming the current administration for the economic mess we're in, I cannot imagine that Russ would be challenged to win in a serious way.  And, what happens in Wisconsin is no doubt happening in many other states.  Anger is trumping reason.

Musings on the Green Mayors Forum

So last week I was in the news a bit for not inviting all the mayoral candidates to the "Sierra Club Green Mayoral Forum."  This was an interesting and unaccustomed role to be playing.  I'm usually not very public.  In fact I only joined the Sierra Club to go hiking and meet girls!!!  And I haven't exactly done a lot of either in the club, though I have certainly come to appreciate and respect what the club does (and that's why I spend so much volunteer time for them.)  Anyways, this little brouhaha was well publicized and, admittedly, self-created, since I sent out an unnecessary "sorry we're not inviting you" to the candidates, thus inviting recrimination right away, and in a very public way. Also, and this is probably the bigger error, I cc'd local blogger Zennie Abraham, who had been covering this previously, and then he promptly posted my entire email claiming I mistook him for a candidate!

There is always a silver lining, however. Zennie's blog and the attention it brought us I think drove up the interest among the public quite a bit and (I think) as a result, we were able to really pack the room last week at the Eastbay Community Foundation.   Also, partially as a result of the firestorm of attention Zennie and other local bloggers brought us, we decided to change the format of the forum to avoid nasty confrontations with the non-invited.  9 of the 10 registered candidates for mayor showed up, which I guess is a first, and the discussion that was had was interesting, though very limited by the time limits we had to impose (several candidates told us they had to leave at 7 p.m. so we kept the entire forum part to about 75 minutes and each candidate could only talk on any given issue for 2).  You can read more details about the event here (thanks to Oakland Local for covering it, by the way.)

In the end, I'm glad we did this (and big thanks to Andy Katz and Igor Tregub who were the primary event planners besides myself.)  The event generated more positive attention than negatives for the Sierra Club, and gave everyone a chance to hear the candidates talk about what their "green vision" might look like.  Next time, hopefully, we will be able to structure it so we can have more in-depth discussion.

Hope, Restored

Dirt mixed with bark and twigs

As I walk down the trail,

Click, Click 

Goes the walking stick

Making me feel old and frail

Approaching middle age,

Moving through dark forest.

The mountains around me

Stare down impassively

No mark of progress

Nothing to distract me

Only rocks

Dotting the steep slopes

Intermingled with snow.

My thoughts turn inward,

Like a burrowing plow

Under forest pine-bough

Unearthing, laying bare

Regret and despair

My memories,

A ball of worms

Writhing,

Unaccustomed to light.

Red paintbrush, violet lupine

A splash of color, a sign

For stale thoughts to retreat

As soft grass brushes my feet

How can I dwell in wrong?

Listening to faint birdsong

Pulling me back from slumber.

Sunlight breaking through trees

Melancholy darkness recedes

Beautiful meadow, soft, green

Fed by clear blue water, so clean

Rushing, tumbling, rolling

Overpowering winter

Giving life, washing wounds,

Restoring hope.

Novella's Book, and the Trinity Alps

It's been awhile since I last posted here but I wanted to write that I finished Novella Carpenter's Book, Farm City, about 3 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  This is an entertaining first-hand account of Novella's quest to establish a garden - or if you will, an Urban Farm - to sustain herself and her neighorhood with fresh healthy food.  It was personally interesting reading this book because I know a few of the characters that appear (including the author) and the location (I once visited the site, several years ago.  It's only about 1 mile from the office where I work downtown Oakland.)  Beyond that, the book is an entertaining read because of Novella's humble, witty style and her ability to tell stories within the story.  It's also educational and taught me several things about gardening, for instance, that bees and turkeys are difficult, ducks and chickens less so, and not to get all bent out of shape if one or more plants get damaged by an animal or human intruder.  Novella basically attributes these events to karmic law, in that what you lose today, you will gain tomorrow.

I look forward to her next book and hope you get a chance to pick this one up at a library or bookstore near you.  (I got mine at Pegasus in Berkeley.)

Also I can report that I had a fantastic time hiking in the Trinity National Forest in northern CA (near Redding) with a group of folks from the local Sierra Club.  The scenery was truly beautiful and it was a treat to be able to get to an area where no cars, campers, RVs or fireworks were allowed!  My shoulders and legs are still a bit sore, but that is part of the deal with backpacking.  I'm not 25 anymore ...

Though it was over 100 degrees only 1 hour away by car, in the mountains where we were, temps were cool and we looked up at the snow and swam in an icy cold mountain lake.  There were a lot of backpackers up there and it was impressive that everyone picked up after themselves (well, almost everyone) and the place was so clean and spotless.  California is truly a beautiful place, and I think most folks who live here do appreciate  it.

A most hardy garden perennial

Everybody knows about California's most famous weed, but what about the other kind that is used commonly for cooking and will take over an abandoned garden if left to its own devices?  That's right, I'm talking about oregano, which I am lucky to have growing in ample supply just down the street.  Some of you loyal readers may recall my efforts to plant a garden behind my former apartment in 2005.  Well, that garden has been laying fallow now for 3 or more years with the result that only the most hardly, drought resistant plant survived.  That would be ... oregano!  Now, in 2010, there is a regular weed-patch of oregano growing back there, especially now after the wetter than normal spring we had here in Northern California.  The plant has completely choked off all other growth (sorry, I don't have a picture of it handy).

Last week I walked over to the old garden, scissors in hand, and was able to harvest a whole bunch of the weed without really making a dent in the overall patch.  Below is a picture of my home drying operation:

Note: no electricity was used for this operation.  The drying all occurred in the open air / on top of the oven.

The other night, I made a pork tenderloin (purchased at Mandela Foods Cooperative in West Oakland) in wine sauce according to an online recipe and used some of the above leaves as a substitute for the recommended basil.  It was heavenly.  The oregano that grows here, especially in the un-watered state, appears to be especially pungent and aromatic.  I normally don't go to great efforts to prepare food at home - I'm a lazy cook.  But, this time, the spice made the difference.  Since I ate the entire roast myself, though, nobody else can vouch for it - you'll just have to believe me.

UPDATE (6/6/10): I tried to send some of my finished, dried oregano in plastic baggies in the mail as gifts.  Sensing this might seem suspicious, I talked to the clerk in the post office before trying to send it.  The clerk, who used to work in the mail sorting center, advised me not to do it.  He said that a "post inspector could come knocking on your door asking why you are trying to send this weed."  So I will have to give out my "gifts of spice" the old-fashioned way...

Farmer Jane Book Launch

Today I had the pleasure of attending the book launch party for "Farmer Jane," a new book by Temra Costa.  The party took place at a remodeled restaurant right in the heart of downtown Berkeley, Revival Bar and Kitchen.  Several women connected to the "local food movement" (or organic food and food justice) spoke to the crowd of approx. 200.  The place was bustling and I had a good view from my corner (where I was promoting the Fundraiser dinner for City Slicker Farms) and some good conversations.  Next to me were representatives from Community Alliance for Family Farmers (CAFF) who told about their work trying to "inspire hundreds of thousands of California eaters to Buy Fresh Buy Local."  Knowing some of these folks as I do, I can vouch that they are indeed contributing to a better, healther food system.... and you don't have to watch Food, Inc. to know that this is important. (ever driven past a feedlot in Colorado or Texas?)

Winter Olympics 2010

I haven't updated this blog for awhile and am not feeling really inspired.  So it's time for some "filler."  I've been spending quite a few hours in the last weeks watching the winter olympics.  For whatever reason, I find the winter olympics more entertaining than summer.  Maybe because the summer games are all about the short "power" events: weight lifting, shot put, track and field (less than 200 M).   I'm more into the thrill of speed and the drama of a tight competition between top athletes (the 400 M and above do offer that in summer).  In the winter olympics, skiing (downhill and x country) are my favorite sports to watch.

Downhill skiiers like Lindsey Vonn (pictured at left) go screaming down the slopes at a death-defying speed ... and make it look sooooo easy.  And then sometime they crash, giving us viewers what we were HOPING to see - a spectacle of a near-death experience (I missed Lindsey's crash).  I ski a little bit - really, not very well.  It allows me to appreciate what those athletes do.  I wish I had a picture of me on skis to compare to Lindsey.  That would be funny.

My favorite athletes of the games?  I don't know ... our U.S. downhill women (Vonn and Mancuso) are great competitors, and beautiful too.... but I think I like the Canadian men's curling team.  Here are a bunch of guys that could be working in my office at Kaiser, competing in the Olympics.   Featured below are Kevin Martin and Marc Kennedy of the Canadian curling team.  I wish NBC would show this sport!

It's frustrating to have to watch so much figure skating.... all that glamour, drama, and pretty outfits make me feel old, inflexible and lame.

My final rant is about the "new" sports: snowboard half pipe, free style skiing, ski cross, aerials, moguls, etc.  It's like a showboat competition.  I get it - you have diving in the summer, you can have aerial ski jumping in winter.  But really .... diving at least lets you watch the athlete up close and nearly naked.  With aerial skiing, you see a bunch of youngsters clad in heavy clothing doing crazy stunts in the air.  Am I supposed to really be able to tell the difference?  Sadly, they have created so many new "games" for the winter olympics in recent years (and I realize, curling is one of those) that it's impossible to watch any particular sport for long enough to really appreciate it.  I am thinking of how NBC hops to the next event as soon as the top contenders are done.  It's anticlimactic.  How about the bottom finishers?  I suppose I could subscribe to some kind of pay-per-view, and get those sports I want.  But cable TV?  please... don't want it.

new

Berkeley Daily Planet to cease printing

It is truly a sad day for free speech when the East Bay's most independent-minded, intellectual and progressive newspaper announces it will cease print operations.  I just read about it in their online edition (which will continue, for the time being).  Basically their funding problems are varied, but all revolve around the lack of advertising money.  It appears that the tipping point was the just recently disclosed fraud committed against them and other area non-profits by a payment processing company, Clickbooks.com, whose owner absconded with millions of dollars to the Philippines.

The BDP, in contrast to other "free newspapers" in the Bay Area (like the East Bay Express or the SF Bay Guardian, which are valuable information sources in their own right), did not rely on pages upon pages of "personal ads" which mainly appear to be semi-legal sex advertisements.  It included sections devoted to local politics, national politics, poetry, gardening, the environment, and of course, their most popular feature, the letters to the editor and the op-eds (to which I myself have contributed).  The Berkeley Daily Planet was certainly widely read preceding the 2008 city council elections in Berkeley.  I found it a valuable resource for keeping up to date on happenings in the City of Berkeley (being a Sierra Club volunteer leader I am supposed to know what's going on in cities in Northern Alameda County).

The BDP is truly a reflection of the intellectual breadth, depth and power of the people living in Berkeley and the East Bay.  Its passage - which I hope is temporary - is a loss for everyone.

Tree Planting

Today I joined with some folks from the local chapter of the Sierra Club to plant trees in Oakland.  I had been hearing about this project for several weeks (I sit on several committees in the local Club) and was sort of excited to finally be able to go out and participate myself.  It was a real learning experience.
Basically this volunteer-run project involves planting trees in front of homes throughout Oakland where the owners have made requests to the Oakland Tree Services Division (which I understand belongs to the Dept. of Public Works) for trees.  Since the City of Oakland has drastically reduced the budget for tree planting, it can no longer keep up with demand from residents for new street trees (which involves planting small trees from local nurseries between the sidewalk and the street in selected locations).  There appears to be a backlog of anywhere from 3 months to 3 years (really - one of the property owners we talked to today said he had ordered his tree "3 years ago.").  Our role as volunteer planters, then, is to supplement or even replace city staff in planting trees.

One good side effect of this effort was that we all learned something about planting trees.  For instance, you need to "break up the root ball" before you plant the tree in the ground.  Second, surround the root ball with compost, if possible.  Third, put some mulch / bark on top of the root ball to prevent water "burn off" by the sun.

The homeowners we talked to were grateful for our services.  In light of the slow response by the city to tree requests, who can blame them for being upset, and therefore happy when volunteers come to do the job (that many feel) the city should be doing.

Cat on my Lap

Cat on my Lap

Oh cat on my lap how you purr

like a living pillow with fur

not much to talk about

your eyes I have no doubt

betray not one emotion, demur.

Such a child you are, but so sly

pathetically, sadly, you cry

Squeeze me! Pet me! Touch me! I sigh-

knowing, not how, but why

you will convince me to once again to comply

Those Egyptians sure knew what to do,

to raise, to breed, ones like you,

with your ability to seduce,

my unwillingness to reduce

I would like your talent some time too.

Chestnuts

On New Year's Day I was hiking in Marin County (near Fairfax, off Bolinas Road) and picked up some nuts that looked like chestnuts.  They were bitter to taste, so I brought them home and baked them in the oven for a while.  Now they have a more mellow taste, though I am still finding them somewhat bitter.  Seems like there is lots of natural oils in these nuts.  I did a little research before I began chewing (just to make sure I wouldn't poison myself).  I found a wikipedia entry but not much else.  I thought they were Japanese chestnuts.  Then I asked a friend and he said they are california buckeye, a seed that is considered poisonous.  Wooops!

Next time, I'll try to leach them first, like the Indians did, to remove the toxins.

Regret

Regret,
The feeling you have missed a chance, why did you, if you only had ...
the consequence of a real event? just a current malaise? maybe, a former one?
The mind a flytrap, no matter how hard you shake it,
  unable to shake an uncomfortable thought.
Losing sleep, restless, looking to escape
For a moment, escape, a sudden realization
  on a sunny day, the clouds, lifted.
There is clarity, fleeting,
then, later, much later,
The heaviness of doubt, questions, return.