Friday, September 28, 2007

A Smart Swami Speaks

Can I tell you about a guy doing stellar work to help us take America back? His name’s Steve Bhaerman, though you might be more familiar with his inspiringly zany alter ego Swami Beyondananda, who’s wickedly good punmanship over the years has helped keep many of us from spiraling into terminal self-seriousness and gloom. Steve’s laughing a little less these days (though still more than many of us) as he charts the mind-numbing crimes and misdemeanors of our ruling elite and the destination towards which they’re leading us.

AND (and this is the point that matters when it comes to ReallyTAB) he’s pointing the way toward some practical, high-leverage things we can do about it. While I’ve been a fan for a while, his contributions came into clearer focus when I read the latest edition of his e-newsletter Notes from the Trail. This one’s titled ""An Inconvenienter Truth: Global Warring Could Do Us In First, and sorry if you’re busy, but you have to read it (won’t take that long). After you read it come back here and tell me what you think of Swami’s offering. I’m guessing you’ll want to stay plugged into his website.

Thank you, Swami.

Monday, September 24, 2007

It's the kids

The kids may be the only ones who can unite us to take America back. There is a human instinct to leave our children a world as good as the one we've inherited--better, if possible-- which is not exactly what we're doing. I wrote As If We Were Grownups (on the sidebar to the right) in part to suggest that an effective, unifying politics for grownups would take us back to that principle. What if we insisted on leaders who, on the brink of every major decision, asked themselves this touchstone question: Of the options available to me here, which one is best for my children and their children?
But nothing my generation writes or says can move us like the kids can. This 13-yr-old Canadian girl spoke to the Rio summit in the early 90s. Just notice what shifts as you listen to her.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

"Transpartisan"...maybe not the most elegant label, but...

I've been blessedly far away from computers for a week, pedaling through up and down the Cascade Mts on the 20th edition of Cycle Oregon. A good meditative, if butt-chafing, break from the standard fretting. Tomorrow I go for a week to an east coast conference with "Reuniting America," which is riding point on the movement to build more common ground among political adversaries. Put another way, the task is to help us to heal the intentionally manufactured wounds in the body politic and rediscover our common dreams, values, priorities, which are so much vaster than immediately meet the political pundit's eye.
The relevance to Really Taking America Back is apparent enough not to need commentary, wouldn't you say?
If you think this "transpartisan" hub-bub is so much happy talk without enough real heft to be worth your attention, check out this fine, not-too-long article by Mark Satin, one of the really brilliant folks working on this. The protagonists of his article are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Bloomberg.
I am not making this up.
Something is really happening here. How much traction will it get? We can find out.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Can you do video? This looks like fun ---thanks, Al

This one tickled me. Al Gore and his folks are doing world-class work to engage folks at a deep & lasting level. Could this one be for you? Quick... it has to be in by September 12.