Senator Obama’s first act as top Democrat was to bring the clean fund raising policies of his campaign to the Democratic National Committee. Funds from Political Action Committees and registered lobbyists will no longer be accepted at the DNC. As a first move, it makes me very hopeful for things to come. Since moving from Minnesota’s squeaky-clean political atmosphere to the smoggy air of Philadelphia machine politics in 2001, I’ve realized that cleaning up democracy needs to be job one if real progress is to be made on most any other issue. Taking the high ground on campaign funding is a great place to start. It also signals that anyone who wants a job with Obama (particularly Vice President) will need to dedicate themselves to openness and financial disclosure as well.
I am truly moved by last night’s clinching of the Democratic nomination by Senator Obama. It is a good day to be an American after so many not-so-good ones. Might I suggest now is a good time to donate to the nominee’s campaign.
…And Historic Documentation in St. Paul
Some reports claim 50,000 turned up last night for the 18,000 seats in the Xcel Center. From TV coverage, it looked as though nearly everyone brought a camera. It is no surprise then that flickr is accumulating huge pools of images dated yesterday and tagged “obama minnesota,” “obama stpaul,” or “obama xcel.”
Someday will we re-assemble in virtual reality massively documented events such as this? Imagine if we had 10,000 small cameras at Lincoln’s inaugural.
Somehow my consumer choices have made it possible for marketers to confidently address me as “Yankees Fan.” I’m not sure where it all went wrong. Was it the arugula?
The Sunday before an election is traditionally a time when newspapers make endorsements. In that spirit, here are a few notes in support of two candidates for this coming Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses: Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic Presidential nomination and Al Franken as Senate nominee for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party in my home state of Minnesota.
On the cold weekend morning when Sen. Obama announced his candidacy last winter, I had been living in Chicago for about four months. The widespread enthusiasm for Obama in Chicagoland seemed genuine, honest, and – despite constant fawning from media sources I tend to distrust – unmanufactured. As I worked on Chris Dodd’s campaign over the intervening year, I watched cable news dig into and tear apart every minute detail of the “top tier” candidates’ personal and political lives to justify their omnipresent “BREAKING NEWS” graphic. Amid this caustic environment, Obama has continued to turn out huge crowds and energize groups that have historically had little voice in the nominating process. His campaign has raised absurd amounts of money through small online donations, making him much more of a true “people’s candidate” than a candidate of corporations and the wealthy. His early decision to pursue community organizing in crime and poverty-ravaged neighborhoods of Chicago rather than the easy money of corporate law shows the kind of commitment to common good that should be at the core of a progressive Presidency.
Al Franken’s netroots-savvy campaign has similarly energized Minnesota progressives. Over the past several years he has done serious legwork across the state to prove that he is not a novelty candidate merely coasting on his celebrity. In his years as a comedian (sorry, “satirist”), author and radio commentator he has been a leading voice in the effort to reject the very framing of American politics: we do not live in a blue and red nation, but in a have and have-not nation – with the disparity growing rapidly. As a Minnesotan, I will be honored to have Franken take on Norm Coleman in November and add his name to the proud list of prominent progressive Minnesotans that includes Humphrey, Mondale, and Wellstone.
Yikes! I had no idea that Chicago’s electricity was so heavily weighted to the nuclear side until I opened up my latest ComEd bill and was greeted with this pie chart mandated by “the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997.” That’s the deregulation transition law that had frozen electric rates for the ten years prior to my moving here (nice timing).
I didn’t think the city was powered by magic fairy dust, but did think there would be more dirty coal and at least a little more than 1% renewable energy. ComEd is owned by Exelon, the same not-so-great company that owns Philadelphia’s PECO. In Pennsylvania they offered me an opt-in wind energy program that has seen lots of people electing to pay higher rates for renewable electricity. There seems to be no comparable program here (I think the program was mandated by the state of Pennsylvania). It’s true that anyone can go out and buy green energy credits on their own, but having the option appear on your monthly electric bill surely raises awareness and participation quite a bit. Still, green energy shouldn’t be a luxury item — it should be a mandated part of the mix for the entire system, as it is in some progressive states.
*Technically, the server that hosts this blog is in Arizona. I don’t have the breakdown for that state.
Having recently posted my picks for best documentaries of 2006 over at About.com, I feel the need to praise some fiction. Either my memory is shot or it wasn’t a great year for Hollywood/Indiewood, so I’m keeping this list short:
The Science of Sleep - A delightful portrayal of the life of an artist struggling in the “real world” of work. I wonder why this one appealed to me. Fun stop motion animation and imaginative art/machines. Irresistible acting from Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg. Directed by Michel Gondry.
Little Miss Sunshine - I really wasn’t all that excited by this film’s child beauty pageant premise going in, so I probably wouldn’t have gone to see it if it hadn’t been playing at the much-loved, cheap, and retro Riverview Theater when I went home to Minneapolis. Little Miss Sunshine really made me laugh out loud a few times and despite its absurdity and quirky Wes Anderson-esque family, it felt true to life. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
That’s it. I’ve mentally processed about three hundred top ten lists in the past month, and don’t feel like I’m missing anything here. There was plenty I didn’t see since I spent much of my viewing time on nonfiction, but I don’t see any prominent films that come close to these. Most of what I saw this year was just O.K. That includes Borat. You may, of course, disagree in the comments.
I’m now a registered voter in Chicago and will almost certainly be voting for most of Boss Daley’s surprisingly green Democrats tomorrow. Jan Schakowsky here in IL-9 is one of the most progressive members of the house and this district will probably re-elect her with a very comfortable margin. I’m less enthusiastic about about Gov. Blagojevich, but in our imperfect winner-take-all system I’m hesitant to vote for the best candidate - Green Rich Whitney.
Voters in Minneapolis have the opportunity to avoid that problem - at least in future municipal elections. A charter amendment that would allow Instant Runoff Voting is on the ballot. The supporters created this animated explanation:
The move would create more competitive races between Greens and Democrats in a city where Greens have already made major inroads. Emopage endorses a Yes vote. Hopefully that isn’t what takes them over the top.
And of course, I’m a little bit disappointed that I won’t be able to vote against Rick Santorum back in Pennsylvania. I trust everyone back there will be able to do the job - even if Casey isn’t exactly a progressive candidate.
Yesterday, Philadelphia Will Do pointed out Hasbro’s latest effort to modernize Monopoly. This isn’t one of those lame special editions where Boardwalk and Baltic are replaced with locales from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The official Monopoly game is being modernized. Railroads will be replaced by airports. The money will come in increments higher than $500. AND The streets of Atlantic City will be replaced by landmarks from across the US - which you can vote on here.
Unfortunately many of the leading landmarks are pro sports stadiums instead of streets. In Philadelphia we may soon be able to build hotels on The Liberty Bell (how does that work?). On the ballot for Minneapolis’ greatest landmark (sorry St. Paul), Hasbro posted a picture of the somewhat less-historic 3rd Avenue/Central Ave. Bridge instead of the Stone Arch Bridge. Surely this confusion is responsible for Mall of America earning 72% of the vote so far. I demand a new election!
You can attempt to sway the vote by visiting the nifty flash-based ballot every 24 hours through May 12.
P.S. Summit Avenue is in St. Paul and the Mall of America is in Bloomington. Is there no residency requirement here?
P.P.S. How can a bridge that lies well below the modern street level be “the pinnacle of the Minneapolis skyline?”
Update (5/9/06): After sending a comment to Hasbro’s customer service team, I was told their marketing team would be alerted. Lo and behold, a fuzzy picture of the right bridge was added. Still - if the Mall of America wins, I think we should take this to the Supreme Court.
Following last month’s disheartening news about Philly’s International House, an alarming note hit my inbox yesterday from SaveTheOakStreet.com in Minneapolis, and I would like to take this opportunity to ask any and all of my readers to consider their noble effort to save a remarkable repertory cinema. The Oak Street Cinema is one of my favorite institutions, and favorite film venue anywhere. It hasn’t been around since the days of French fur trappers, but it was invented at least a few years before I needed it and has been around ever since. Sometimes I wonder if I really spent an entire summer bicycling to and from Oak Street’s screenings of the complete works of Francois Truffaut or if I invented the whole thing out of some desire for the Minneapolis of my imaginary memoirs to be a little more like the Paris of Bertolucci’s The Dreamers.
I’ve always thought that in the not-too-distant future I’d be better able to repay the Oak Street for all it gave me. I can’t do much as a struggling freelancer living a thousand miles away, but maybe some of you are better positioned to help out.
Erik Moe is a writer, graphic artist and web designer. He served as art director/web designer on Chris Dodd's 2008 Presidential campaign, and has written a fair amount on documentary film - most recently at About.com. If you are anywhere near the nexus of media, progressive ideas and the internet, he would love to hear from you at
