Daily Archives: May 9, 2008

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Is AB 32 merely symbolic in the battle against CO2 emissions?

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I’m a nerd. I’m actually a bit bummed that I don’t get gadgets to review like the gadget blogs. (Hey, as an aside, I might begin a weekly non-politics review of random stuff…let me know your thoughts.)   Long story short, I read all the tech blogs.

Yesterday, over at Wired, there was a post about a report commissioned by the airline industry about emissions. Turns out the report didn’t come out in their favor so they politely “declined” it.  How sweet.

But this report shows that we have a long, long way to go.  We will need to rapidly change how we live, how we do business if we are to really change the course of climate change.  Airline emissions are really, really high:

A recently disclosed report finds that airlines are spewing 20 percent more carbon dioxide into the environment than previously estimated and the amount could hit 1.5 billion tons a year by 2025. That’s far more than even the worst-case predictions laid out by the International Panel on Climate Change.

If you’re looking to put that number in perspective, the European Union currently emits 3.1 billion tons of CO2 annually. Yup, that’s the entire 27-nation, 457 million person EU.

“Growth of CO2 emissions on this scale will comfortably outstrip any gains made by improved technology and ensure aviation is an even larger contributor to global warming by 2025 than previously thought,”  Jeff Gazzard, a spokesman for the Aviation Environment Federation, the group that uncovered the report, told the Independent. “Governments must take action to put a cap on air transport’s unrestrained growth.” (Wired 5/7/08)

California is a big source of emissions. I would tell you how much, but unfortunately, the CA Climage Change Center seems to have taken down their report on Trends in California Emissions Levels. That’s too bad, because it had all sorts of information on emission levels. Nonetheless, I can tell you the report was measured in millions, rather than billions of tons. So, even a 20% reduction in our emissions levels only puts a small dent in the problem.

We need to do more. Much of that has to be done by individuals like us who are living in “rich nations.” We most consciously choose to eschew waste. That being said, even the poorest of Americans still has a carbon footprint more than double the world average, according to a study by an MIT class. AB 32 should not be considered an endpoint, but a first step.  

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Nebraska Senate Race Features Candidate of Change

Cross-posted at Beyond Chron.

With the presidential primary fight now behind us, activists can focus their attention on Congressional races to expand the Democratic majority.  On May 13th, Nebraska will hold a statewide primary for a U.S. Senate seat currently held by a Republican.  And Democrat Scott Kleeb, a 32-year-old rancher, is running an Obama-like campaign for change.  His opponent, Tony Raimondo, is a manufacturing executive who switched parties because the Republican establishment rallied behind another candidate.  Like Obama, Kleeb’s campaign has been fueled by small online donations – and has grassroots appeal that has energized the Democratic Party.  If 2008 is going to be the year of change like many are predicting, Kleeb should do better than expected.

“I’m running for the Senate because I want to be a part of this moment in history,” said Kleeb.  “It’s happening at the presidential level, and will affect the future of our country.  I know that I have something to contribute on a number of issues, including energy conservation.  I want to be part of this overwhelming call that people have for engaging in politics, and inspire people to get involved.  It’s a year of change because people are re-engaging and re-enlivening our democracy.”

After getting his PhD in history at Yale, Scott Kleeb moved back to Nebraska in 2006 and ran for Congress in the state’s most Republican district.  He got 45% of the vote – in a district where John Kerry only got 22% just two years earlier.  He got married after the election, had his first child and took a teaching job at Hastings College.  When Senator Chuck Hagel announced his retirement at the end of his term, Kleeb entered the race to replace him – giving Nebraska its first competitive Democratic primary in decades.

Nebraska’s a solid red state – but with Obama at the top of the ticket, Democrats sense an opportunity to expand the map.  A Survey-USA poll from early March showed John McCain winning Nebraska in a match-up with Obama, but only by a three-point margin.  Nebraska awards its electoral votes by Congressional district – so Obama could win a few there, and his campaign could help elect more Democrats to the House and Senate.

And the Obama campaign has energized Nebraska Democrats.  “We’re seeing people coming into our campaign offices,” said Kleeb, “and it’s enlivened people to become involved.  What I learned in 2006 is that people don’t get involved in a campaign because of you.  They get involved because of them.  And we’re seeing that impact across Nebraska.”

At this point, the Kleeb campaign has recruited about 2,500 volunteers – and has raised about half a million dollars (mostly in small donations.)

That’s how much his primary opponent, Tony Raimondo, has raised by cutting himself a check – and who’s now outspending Kleeb 3-1 on television.  A millionaire industrialist who was George Bush’s first choice as manufacturing czar, Raimondo had planned to run for the Senate seat this year as a Republican.  But once the GOP establishment rallied around ex-Governor Mike Johanns, he saw no chance of winning the nomination and switched parties to run as a Democrat.

Raimondo was recruited to run by Senator Ben Nelson, the most conservative Democrat in the U.S. Senate – and Nebraska’s only statewide elected Democrat.  For years, Nelson has built a political career in Nebraska by running against his own party – and campaigns with photos of himself hugging George Bush.  It’s helped him get re-elected in a deep red state, but does nothing to build the Democratic Party or push progressive causes.

Kleeb believes that to be competitive in Nebraska, Democrats must invest in the state party’s infrastructure – and field candidates for local and county office.  “If you grow up in a town and there’s only one church,” he said, “what denomination do you think you’ll end up joining?  Well if you want to get involved in Nebraska politics, you end up being a Republican. Democracy demands conversation.  When we don’t build parties, we don’t build that conversation.  We need to engage people who’ve never met a Democrat.”

Kleeb’s campaign has energized Nebraska Democrats – many of whom resent that Raimondo is running in their primary.  The state AFL-CIO has endorsed Kleeb because he supports the Employee Free Choice Act, and probably because of Raimondo’s labor record.  “Unions have been a strong force for the middle class in stopping stagnant wages,” said Kleeb, “pushing for retirement health, and a strong voice for education.”

As a college professor and an Ivy League graduate, Kleeb has endured predictable right-wing attacks of being elitist.  Raimondo has even shot a TV commercial calling him an “academic.”  But Kleeb doesn’t shy away from that target.  “Education is a strength,” he said.  “When we talk about health care, when we talk about energy, we’re ultimately talking about education.  It’s the silver bullet that touches on each of these things, and is something that we should celebrate.  Let’s not run from education.”

Loyal readers may recall my prior conversation with Scott Kleeb in August at the Yearly Kos Convention, where we had some disagreements on how to get out of Iraq.  It’s an issue that should give progressives pause, because Kleeb would not be replacing just any Republican in the Senate – but Chuck Hagel, the most vocal and consistent Republican critic of the War.

But Kleeb assured me that his position on Iraq is no different from Hagel.  “There is no military solution in Iraq,” he said.  “We must signal right away to the Iraqis that we won’t be there forever, and that their future is ultimately up to them.  We will start reducing our troop presence, and we must use our diplomatic levers. Any future funding must be tied to political and economic benchmarks.  The War has made us weaker, not stronger – but the real question now is how do we get out responsibly.”

On Iran, Kleeb echoed Barack Obama in saying that we must be willing to meet with foreign enemies.  “We have a lot of leverage with Iran – diplomatically, economically and politically,” he said.  “JFK said that we should never negotiate from fear, but we should never fear to negotiate.  We can recognize and achieve a common cause that is beneficial to the United States – without always turning to military strength.  Diplomacy, if done right, is a great tool.”

It will be a tough battle for Kleeb to win the primary on Tuesday, and it will be an even greater challenge in November against Mike Johanns – the popular former Governor of Nebraska, and George Bush’s former Secretary of Agriculture.  Right now, the Nebraska Senate race is not on the radar of most political observers – as conventional wisdom says that Republicans will keep the seat handily.

But Kleeb could benefit from a “perfect storm” of this year’s political dynamic.  Voters are demanding change, Obama’s campaign will make Nebraska competitive for local Democrats, and Kleeb fits the bill of the young idealistic candidate who is popular at the grass-roots level.  I predicted in January that 2008 will be the year of change – which creates the perfect opportunity for Kleeb to run for the Senate.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Paul Hogarth has made a few small donations to Scott Kleeb’s campaign.

California

What is CSU’s Problem with the Loyalty Oath?

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Last week I brought you the story of another CSU teacher who was fired for wanting to change the state’s ridiculous and anachronistic loyalty oath to suit her religious beliefs. Today’s LA Times brings us the update on her story:

A Quaker who lost her appointment as a Cal State Fullerton lecturer after she objected to a state loyalty oath submitted a revised statement of her beliefs Thursday in a bid to win the job back.

People For the American Way, a Washington-based civil rights group now representing lecturer Wendy Gonaver, called on the university to reinstate her and adopt a policy protecting the religious freedom of all California State University system employees.

“She is willing to sign the oath as long as she can exercise her free-speech rights and note that her views as a Quaker would prevent her from taking up arms,” said Kathryn Kolbert, president of the organization and a constitutional lawyer. “We would like to avoid filing a lawsuit, but we are certainly prepared to do so if we need to.”

PFAW has clearly stepped up on this, and rightly so – this is a clear-cut case of violation of constitutional rights and Wendy Gonaver deserves support. They have proposed a new CSU policy regarding the oath in a letter to the Cal State Fullerton administration:

CSU recognizes that some of our employees may have religious or other objections to taking this oath.  It is our policy to accommodate the religious and other beliefs of our employees by allowing an employee to append an explanatory statement to the employee’s signed oath.

This would be a sensible policy, at least until the state finally does away with the moronic oath. No word yet on whether CSU is going to accept this, but the recent incidents suggest that CSU needs to reexamine their practices regarding the oath and need to adopt proposals such as this to guarantee the rights of their employees. There is absolutely no reason for them to resist this.

Unfortunately for Wendy Gonaver, Cal State Fullerton is resistant on offering her the job again:

[CSU General Counsel Christine] Helwick said the campus might not be able to rehire her despite the revision: “The addendum she is now proposing is different in tone, scope and content from the one she originally presented. However, the position for which she originally applied last August had to be filled by someone else when she refused to sign the oath.”

This is BS. It wasn’t Gonaver’s fault, as the CSU implies, but their own. The CSU system, and CSUF in particular, should be able to offer her another position. And the CSU system needs to implement the PFAW’s proposed policy change as well as get behind Alan Lowenthal’s effort to do way with the oath. Enough is enough.

California

Stories from the Strike: Saras Chand

Dave Johnson has been posting about this strike and its big picture implications, but I also wanted to share some of the individual stories from the workers on the front lines. Here’s Saras Chand from Fremont:

I am a security officer with Inter-Con at the Kaiser Fremont Medical Center. I live in Fremont as well. I’ve worked here for about 1 year and 5 months.

I am from the Fiji Islands. I left the Fiji Islands to come here because it’s hard to survive back home. You can’t get a good education for your family and it’s hard to earn enough to support them. I have 6 kids and my family is important to me.

I’ve worked other security jobs. In a hospital, security has a lot of responsibility and risk. We come into contact with sick people frequently. Despite that we get paid less here than I have at other security jobs.

I do a good job. I always come on time to work. If something is part of my duties, I do it. My heart tells me I should always do a good job and work my best, no matter where I am. I do my best for Kaiser patients and staff – I am committed to doing my part so no one gets hurt.


But we don’t get respect.


We don’t have paid sick leave. If I get sick, I miss pay. That means when we are sick, we think about coming to work anyway since we don’t want to lose pay. That’s not good for us, for patients, or Kaiser staff.


Some people think security is an easy job. But that’s because they don’t know our responsibilities or how hard we work.


When I was in Fiji, I thought, “America is a good country. I will make good money and support my family there.” But we don’t get respect over here.


When I wake up each morning I pray to God that he will help me do my best for my family, my friends, and at my job for Kaiser.

I am an organizer for SEIU.

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Spotlight on Nancy Skinner — AD-14

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While attending UC Berkeley, I ran the ASUC student body elections and that is where I first met Nancy Skinner who was a candidate for Academic Affairs.  Nancy was a young woman who had already recognized her future in the political arena.  Nancy won that election to become Vice President of the ASUC Academic Affairs in 1981 and while in Graduate school she served as the Executive Director of the Graduate Assembly – the independent graduate student government.  Nancy’s collegiate political career is a perfect example of how the political pipeline — a sustainable flow of women advancing up the ladder of elected offices — works.

 

In 1984 I met Nancy again when she was a candidate for Berkeley City Council.  Again Nancy won her election and became the first UC student to be elected to the City Council in Berkeley.  Her dedication to her fellow students and the community at large was evident and college politics was the perfect place to cut her legislative teeth.

A long time community activist and environmental innovator, Nancy authored the first ban on Styrofoam at fast food outlets, resulting in McDonald’s stopping the use of Styrofoam throughout the United States.  She worked as the Director of The Climate Group, an international organization working to bring business and governments together to find solutions to global warming.  Looking out for future generations; Nancy co-authored the best selling book series, 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth.

In 2006 Nancy was elected to the East Bay Region Park Board in Ward 1 with 84% of the vote.  She represents Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Kensington, Richmond, San Pablo, part of Pinole & Oakland.  Since joining the Board, Nancy has been working to add acres to regional parks and expand Park District programs for youth and schools.

It was no surprise when I met Nancy as a candidate again last year when she approached the CALIFORNIA LIST for support for her campaign for the Assembly seat in District 14.  I know first hand how Nancy has developed a political career with strength and experience.  She has built a firm foundation of electability by moving up the political pipeline — a pipeline CALIFORNIA LIST has been helping to build for the last 6 years.

Even as a young woman back in college, Nancy was already thinking out of the box and using local action as a catalyst to larger social change. CALIFORNIA LIST is proud to endorse Nancy Skinner for State Assembly in District 14 and I urge you to support her in the upcoming June 3rd primary.  Visit our website to make a contribution to Nancy’s campaign today!

Bettina Duval is the founder of the California List, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.

California

Unions: Sticking Together to Fight Corporate Power

(Proud to be working on this. Solidarity! – promoted by Bob Brigham)

I have been writing about the strike by California Kaiser Permanente security guards working for contractor Inter-Con Security, who are demanding that laws be enforced and their rights be honored.

SEIU sent out a press release on the situation, titled, Workers With No Healthcare Protecting Kaiser Facilities, Security Contractor May Be Misleading California’s Largest Healthcare Provider.  In summary, the security guards at Kaiser are supposed to be provided with individual healthcare after working for 90 days, but it turns out that many are not.  The security contractor Inter-Con Security has found a way around the promise: they classify workers as “on-call” instead of permanent.

As more and more workers report that Inter-Con is keeping workers on temporary or “on-call” status for months or years, it’s still unclear whether Inter-Con is misleading Kaiser or if Kaiser is simply turning a blind eye to these tactics which short-change workers.

And their families are not provided with health insurance at all.  The security guards — paid as little as $10.40 an hour — are supposed to buy it.  The result is that 41% of the officers who responded to a survey cannot.  And without paid sick days they cannot afford to take the time off to see a doctor anyway.

So here we are with a company finding ways around a promise by changing the classification of the workers to “on-call.”  This points out yet one more problem of workplaces that do not have unions.  How many people are classified as “temporary” or “contractors”?  This is one of the bigger scams that is going on these days.  One reason companies do this is because if someone is not an employee the employer doesn’t have to pay their share of the Social Security payroll tax.  (There are other reasons as well, including avoiding paying promised benefits.)

How do you know if you should be called an employee or an independent contractor?  For a quick guideline, let’s go to the IRS.  They say that by-and-large you are an employee,

if the organization can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even if the organization gives the employee freedom of action. What matters is that the organization has the right to control the details of how the services are performed.

Yet most of us see examples of people in this situation who are called “temporary workers” or “contractors” all the time.

Companies are not supposed to do this to us, but here’s the thing: What can you do about it? You and I are individuals, alone.  But corporations have the ability to amass immense power and wealth and influence.  You and I as individuals must stand alone against this power and wealth.  What can you or I or anyone else do on our own?  The average person in our society has very little ability to stand up against this kind of power and wealth.

Over time people discovered that there are some things they can do that will work.  One of these has been to form unions.  By joining together the workers in a company can amass some power of their own.  The company needs the workers in order to function so the workers — if they stick together — have the ability to make the corporation obey employee/employer laws, provide decent pay, and all the other benefits that the unions have brought us.  This is why they are also call “organized labor.”  By organizing into a union and sticking together people have the ability to demand respect and compensation for their work.

This is what the security guards at Kaiser are trying to do.  This is what you should do.

I encourage you to visit StandForSecurity.org.

I am proud to be helping SEIU spread the word about this strike.  sfs-234x60-animated-v2

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(CA-50) Leibham bio ad, well worth a gander

The Leibham campaign (CA-50) has come out with an extended biographical ad that is now available on Youtube. Really worth checking out. Even having followed the campaign pretty closely, I got a new appreciation for what Nick brings to the table from the ad. Leibham is the son of a Vietnam veteran and his resume includes teacher and prosecutor. Leibham does a nice job of not only mentioning these resume highlights, but explaining how they translate into his political philosophy and what he would do for people in our district.  

Bonus–it has some nice photos of our district. I live really close to those beautiful Carlsbad flower fields!

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Hey Californians! Judicial Races Matter, Too

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( – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Lost in all the presidential primary news is the fact that California has another important primary coming up on June 3rd. Many of us are boning up on Prop 98 and 99 and understanding the importance of our votes on those measures.

But most of us are woefully unprepared for decisions in other contests, especially those for the office of Superior Court judge. And with turnout expected to be light, we could wind up with some very scary judges if people don’t pay attention and vote.

Normally judges are appointed by the governor, serve out their six-year terms and are then considered reelected if there are no challengers.  But this year, ten seats in LA County are open because the incumbents retired and Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have enough time to appoint successors, or otherwise decided to leave the decision to voters. Similar situations exist throughout California.

If you’re like many people I know, you leave this part of the ballot blank and feel a bit guilty. Or worse, you pick one like some people pick a horse race, by a picture, the sound of their name (seriously)  – or even by a coin toss. Lest you think that the vote doesn’t matter, consider the role these people serve in our judicial system. As the Times notes, they can “dissolve a marriage, break up a family, impose the death penalty, appoint conservators and decide whether a drug user ought to go to prison or deserves a break”.

And if you still think your vote doesn’t matter, consider two very different candidates among the many running in Los Angeles County for these seats.

A Good One. Thomas Rubinson, running for Office 82, is endorsed by the Metropolitan News-Enterprise, LA’s daily for the courts and legal issues. The paper says he is “the only candidate for Superior Court Office No. 82 who possesses the qualifications for the post.” It goes on to quote from a recent performance evaluation in his role as criminal prosecutor: “He is experienced, intelligent and well versed in criminal law and procedure. He has demonstrated good judgment in his handling and evaluation of cases. Mr. Rubinson is a reliable and dependable employee, often staying beyond regular working hours to ensure that the job gets done. He maintains a professional manner and demeanor at all times and possesses the highest of ethical standards.”

A Scary One. On the other hand, Bill Johnson, running for Office 125, is the subject of a scathing LA Times editorial, which notes that “Los Angeles voters, if they don’t pay attention, could hand judicial robes to a racial separatist who called for restricting U.S. citizenship to persons ‘of the European race’ and deporting blacks, Asians, Latinos and others who don’t meet his racial criteria.” Calling it a “stealth election” the Times explains that he’s run for different offices under different names, and wrote a book supporting racial exclusion in the Constitution.

Would you have known this going into the polls? Absentee ballots are already going out. Make sure you’re registered to vote. Get your absentee ballot. Know about your candidates (one good local resource in LA is the Metropolitan News-Enterprise). And vote on June 3rd!

Share your insights on judicial candidates in comments below.