We’d Like To Thank. . . aaah, heck!

In the November 15-21, 2006 edition of the Syracuse New Times the “Best Of Syracuse” awards were announced. This year, instead of a blank form there was a two stage process that determined both nominees and winners. Syracuse United Neighbors was nominated for “Best Activist Group.”

It really was an honor to be nominated, since our community isn’t a real “New Times” kind of crowd and we were publicly slagged by the paper a couple of years ago for being rude to County Executive Pirro and protesting in front of his home on a Saturday morning.

Anyway, congratulations to the Updowntowners for their victory!

Also, does anyone know when the New Times is going to get back on the internet? They had a falling out with their old site host and the new website has been under construction for months.

Organizing Is NOT War!

“In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.”

“In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! “I hope I’ll be safe at home!”

–George Carlin “Baseball v. Football”

I’ve always loved this routine by George Carlin. It’s probably a good indicator of why I love baseball and barely tolerate football. (I’m also reminded of the George Will quote “Football combines the two worst aspects of American life: violence and committee meetings.”)

The unrelenting war in Iraq, the use (and legal justification ) of torture by the Bush Administration and the incessant drumbeat of horror on daily newscasts has made me much more aware of how militarism seeps into our daily lives. The most recent example has been my recognition of the constant use of war rhetoric to describe the activities of my chosen profession, a community organizer for a grassroots neighborhood organization.

I am as guilty of these habits as anyone. Our activities are called campaigns, they are pursued by our troops and our actions are called fights, battles and wars. Those who dare oppose us are enemies. The words roll easily off the tongue and are incorporated into flyers, posters and handouts. What really made me face this problem was an article in the most recent edition of Disclosure. This newspaper is published by the national coalition of neighborhood groups to which SUN belongs, National People’s Action. The director of the group that facilitates the coalition wrote a column entitled
Taking A Lesson From The Past. The lesson of the article is very upfront: “I believe that community organizing is a war.”

I hold the director in high esteem and I am not second guessing the message behind the words, but the words themselves are troubling. The bulk of the article is an explanantion of how our neighborhood groups can learn from the military experiences of ancient Carthaginian leader Hannibal Barca. I understand the internal logic of the piece; basic strategies like coalition building and negotiation can be analyzed and improved upon by studying the activities of groups quite unlike ourselves, even those from different periods of history.

My question is simple, why are we always studying for war when we are attempting to bring peace to our communities? Why are we studying slave holders who used weapons and shed blood to achieve their goals? Quite frankly, I’m getting all of this I can tolerate when I turn on CNN and am forced to learn of the latest atrocities in Falujah, Kabul and Baghdad.

It’s not like we lack for non-violent role models from our history to study. Gandhi organized his countrymen to defeat the world’s largest colonial power without firing a shot. Martin Luther King, Jr. organized a vast group of oppressed and exploited people to stand up and proclaim a new day of peace and tolerance. John Lennon manipulated his fame to use the media as an unwitting partner in his attempts to put peace before war. All of the freedom movements of the past fifty years, both in America and around the world, have created heroes to emulate and strategies to study.

In the words of the blues musician Willie Dixon:

“Won’t that be one mighty day
When we hear world leaders say
“We don’t have to cry no more”
“We’re givin’ it up, we gonna let it all go”

Ain’t gonna study, study war no more
Ain’t gonna think, think war no more
Ain’t gonna fight, fight war no more
We’re givin’ it up, we gonna let it go
We’re givin’ it up, we gonna let it go.”

–Ain’t Gonna Study War No More

Be Careful What You Wish For

Central New Yorkers have finally gotten a glimpse into the workings of big-time electoral politics. Due to the number of close NY Congressional races, all of them potentially able to help flip control of the House from the Republican party to the Democratic party, we aren’t being ignored this year. Campaign ads clog our airwaves, famous people traipse through our towns to plug their proteges and national news reports often have upstate bylines.

Man, it’s enough to make you nostalgic for the days when everyone took our vote for granted. How many times have we said we wanted to be dealt into the national conversation but our late primary and bluer-than-blue affiliation made us an afterthought?

Who would have thought that the national political conversation was so Shakespearean: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale
told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (Macbeth)

The problem is that there is no modern political conversation, just the old-fashioned discussions we have always had amongst ourselves. Modern corporate capitalism has converted the way politicians campaign, and has in turn changed the way elected officials govern. It’s all about the Benjamins–you need bucks to hire consultants, set up your airwar media campaign, send out direct mail solicitations, staff phone banks, commission polls etc. Raising and spending money is the everyday skillset needed to be a successful politician. So it should not come as any surprise that they hang out with people who either have or know how to get money.

The result is a government that looks more like a bazaar than a legislative body. Our politicians are like parents that buy their kids toys instead of spending quality time at home.

Maffei v. Walsh

I am separating out my thoughts behind my vote in NY’s 25th Congressional District from my other votes because it is one of the most pivotal races of my lifetime. It is the only time where the personalities and talents of the two contestants are really irrrelevant. This election has national, as well as local, import.

Dan Maffei is young, energetic and very bright. Jim Walsh is dedicated to our region and well-connected politically. A good case can be made for both men’s candidacies. That being said, I will vote for Dan Maffei.

Jim Walsh has been a relatively good provider for our community–leveraging his increasing influence within the Republican Party for federal money for a raft of projects: housing, V.A.hospital, new air traffic tower, Marshall St. repairs etc. Walsh brought home the bacon.
(**Personal Disclosure** Rep. Walsh helped get federal funding for a national anti-crime program that helped fund some of SUN’s activities.)

I will vote for Maffei for three reasons. 1) While Rep. Walsh has energetically fought for so-called “pork barrel” funding for our district, he is part of a Republican party whose economic policies have been disastrous for our region. What Jim Walsh brings into CNY with one hand, he signs away with his other hand. Rep. Walsh, despite his ads to the contrary, is a leader in the Republican Party and must own up to policies cutting support for many of the social programs that seniors, students, veterans and others in this community rely upon.

2) A vote for a Republican congressman is a vote for the war in Iraq. Despite ample evidence of mismanagement, fraud and incompetence, the current Republican Congress has given the Bush administration a blank check to continue down the same path of disaster, costing the lives of thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

3) At a time when the stated goal of our operation in Iraq is to bring democracy to the region, the United States is acting less like a democracy and more like a police state. Extraordinary rendition, torture, secret CIA prisons, Abu Ghraib, Bagwan airbase, Guantanamo prison, suspension of habeus corpus, illegal wiretaps. If we truly believed in democracy, we would practice its values even when under duress and attack. The Republicans have never shown the backbone to stare down the punks in the administration who would break any law, cheat and torture.

We are a better nation than that and we must send that message now. “Republicans, out of the pool!”

Endorsements

I’m sure that the political cognoscenti have been salivating over the arrival of this post, my voting choices for tomorrow. I just hope that I can register my votes, as I live in one of the districts where the Board of Elections changed our polling place without notifying us until three days before Election Day.

It’s interesting to note the the state Democratic Committee is leaving nothing to chance, sending me their own notice of where I can cast my vote.

Without further ado:

NY State Assemby (120th District): Bill Magnarelli (D)
NY State Senate (49th District): Dave Valesky (D)
NY State Comptroller: no vote
NY State Attorney General: Andrew Cuomo (D)
NY State Governor: Malachy McCourt (G)
NY State Senator: Howie Hawkins (G)

Magnarelli is unopposed
Valesky will work well with the new Governor on reform issues.
Comptroller: one’s competent and crooked, the other unqualified and honest. Let Spitzer pick this one.
Cuomo: the only issue for me: he’s liberal, Pirro’s not.
McCourt: Spitzer’s in, vote the Greens a spot on the ballot.
Hawkins: Hillary’s wrong on Iraq, send that message now.

**Personal Disclosures**

As a fellow member of the tiny progressive community in Syracuse, I know Howie Hawkins.

I have been part of non-violent, direct action protests on the front lawns of the homes of both Andrew Cuomo and Bill Magnarelli. I have been part of two separate protests against Elliot Spitzer–once at Onondaga Lake Park and once at the Thursday Morning Roundtable held at Drumlins.

I took several high school social studies classes from Dave Valesky’s father.

I’ve read two memoirs by Malachy McCourt’s brother.

I receive a holiday card from Elliott Spitzer every year since I signed the guest book at the opening of his Syracuse AG’s office.

I’ve seen Hillary Clinton eat Dinosaur BBQ at the NY State Fair.

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2007

The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame announced its 2007 finalists for induction.

Five of the nine nominees will be inducted into the Hall. I think the winners will be: R.E.M., Patti Smith, The Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Chic. A perfectly balanced ticket: indie/college crossover superstars; the godmother of punk, 60’s girl group (for “Be My Baby” alone they deserve induction), rap and funk/disco.

The nominees missing the cut will be Joe Tex, Dave Clark Five, The Stooges and Van Halen. The band that I hope beats the odds is The Stooges. Nobody was rawer, punkier and tougher than Iggy and the boys in their prime. The only thing I know about Joe Tex, an R & B singer, is that he billed his back-up singers as the Sex-O-Lettes. I’m worried that the Dave Clark Five will make the cut, based on their 8 top ten records in the three years of their prime 1964-67. Faux Beatles, feh. To make room, the Hall might toss The Ronettes out to avoid having to acknowledge producer/svengali Phil Spector, on trial for murder.

Van Halen is a special case. Pro: Eddie’s early guitar work was innovative. The band demystified video by doing their own. The tension between Diamond Dave’s showman schtick and Eddie’s guitar god persona was cool. Eddie’s a cancer survivor. They sold a boatload of records. Con: EVERYTHING after Dave left. Both a Pro and a Con: The tension between Dave and Eddie over a “reunion.” Since the Hall voters are notoriously tough on hard rock, I think VH will have to wait.

Voting. What’s The Big Deal?

The editors of York Staters have a brilliantly matched pair of posts on the pros and cons of voting in political elections. Jesse, flying his anarchist flag, says he is not going to vote. If voters only have two choices, both pale imitations of each other, what’s the point? Natalie, believing in the possibility of reform is going to vote. She believes that not voting sends a message of apathy to the powers that be, a blank check to do whatever they want.

Please go check out both posts (and the many comments on each) because I have vastly simplified the detailed arguments of both authors.

I have always questioned the value of voting in elections, and yet I vote in every election, missing just one election (a primary) in 28 years of eligibility. I heartily endorse the following sentiment of Henry David Thoreau in his essay On Civil Disobedience:

All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail.

Voting is a passive action, perfect for the spectator sport nation that America has become: sit around and watch somebody else do something. Voting is the absolute bare minimum requirement for a democracy. Yeah, vote for a candidate. Then get out there and hold the winner accountable. Go to meetings, write letters, join groups of like-minded folks, schedule meetings with your elected officials, organize protests. It is incumbent upon you to get off the couch and kick the incumbent’s ass if you feel they are letting you down.