Activistas

Registering voters, family style.

Last Saturday I registered voters for the first time in my life. And loved it. While The Bus Project, with whom we partnered, registers voters all the time (bless them), we wanted to see how it would go to do what they do, but with kids. Family style.

Here's what I learned from our trainer, Caitlin Baggott of The Bus Project, about successful voter registration outreach:

• Move around, don't stand still.
• Consider stashing your tell-tale clipboard in a bag so you don't scare people to the other side of the street.
• Smile.  Smile.  And then smile some more.  Like a professional ballerina.
• Prepare for rejections (and even grumps).  They come with the territory, like ripping out knitting rows.  But the sign-ups lie within, so it's well worth enduring.
• Ask a winning question, not an easy "no."  Like, "We're registering voters.  Are you registered at your current address in Oregon?"
• Also, felons can register, as can 17-year olds (so they're in the system when the time comes).
• Pick a spot that works for you. 

And here's what I learned from doing this with my 6-year-old in tow at The Children's Museum:

• Keep it short. Or bring friends and/or grown-ups to distract them.
• There are a lot of Washingtonians who visit The Children's Museum!
• People think you're gathering signatures for a ballot measure because of the clipboard, so be clear that you're just registering voters right up front.
• I enjoyed connecting with other parents and didn't feel like I was bothering everyone.
• I was far more excited when I registered people than I had expected.  It was, frankly, pretty exhilerating.  One was a brand new citizen and another a mom who had been meaning to register but just hadn't (like so many other things we mean to do but don't quite get to!).

Check out our pics, and join us as we get out with the kids to do this - and other outreach - again later this month.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Do you care about Measures 66 & 67? You should.

On January 26th we Oregon voters get to second guess our legislature.  Yes, another ballot measure to undo what they did in session.  So what's new?

W-a-y back in July, 2009 (a whole 5 months ago), our democratically elected state legislators and our democratically elected Governor increased taxes.  Why?  Because our 1-legged-stool of a state tax system is falling (has fallen?) over.  Because relying solely on an income tax (oh, and a lottery!) is simply not a sustainable way to run a state.  Thank you, Salem, for taking a step toward solving this obvious problem. 

So if I'm so full of thank yous, what's the problem?  To preserve this positive step toward a more sustainable and (dare I say) fairer tax policy, we have to prevent its repeal on 1.26.10 (which is, of course, precisely what anti-tax activists want). If Measures 66 & 67 fail, the new taxes that our democratically-elected officials passed 5 months ago will NOT go into effect.  To say "ugh" falls far short of how I feel about this whole question-the-legislature-taxes-suck mantra.

Here's the gist on 66 & 67 according to Ballotpedia:

Oregon Ballot Measures 66 and 67 are on the January 26, 2010 special election ballot in Oregon as potential veto votes on a $733 million tax hike enacted by the Oregon State Legislature in 2009.

On July 20, 2009 Gov. Ted Kulongski signed two tax bills that will increase taxes in the state by $733 million through increasing the state’s corporate minimum tax, raising taxes on the state’s high-income individuals and raising income taxes on businesses. In reaction to the news, tax activists in the state geared up to use the veto referendum process in the state to try to stop the hikes.

What will happen if you vote...

• YES VOTE (that's me!): Raises tax on incomes above $250,000 for households, $125,000 for individual filers. Tax rate increases 1.8 percentage points on amount of taxable income between $250,000 and $500,000, 2 percentage points on amount above $500,000 for households. For individual filers, the rate increases begin at $125,000 and $250,000 respectively. Eliminates income taxes on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009. Raises estimated $472 million to provide funds currently budgeted for education, health care, public safety, other services.

• NO VOTE (the anti-tax position): Rejects tax changes on incomes at and above $250,000 for households, $125,000 for individual filers. Rejects tax exemption for first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009. Leaves amount currently budgeted for education, health care, public safety, other services underfunded by estimated $472 million.

Why does this matter to Oregon families? Without additional revenue from these new, more fairly distributed taxes (yes, I think businesses should have a higher minimum tax and high-income households can pay a bit more), public education, health care, and other critical services (think corrections, public safety) will suffer (even more).  To see how these changes will affect your county, simply click on this interactive map.  Here are a few in the Portland area:

• Clackamas
• Multnomah
• Washington
  

Still not sure of your position?  The "YES" campaign has a great FAQ that might help (uh, convince you!).

How can you help?  Let me count the ways....

1. VOTE yes on both measures on the 26th (Not registered?  Do it here by 1.5.09).
2. Pledge to vote yes here.
3. Put up a lawn sign.
4. Join us to register voters this Saturday morning, 1.2.09 in DT Portland (meet at Backspace Cafe @ 10 AM).  We'll have our kids - bring yours!
5. Stay current by fanning the "YES" campaign on Facebook and following them on Twitter.

If you have any other ideas, by all means share them in the comments.  Whatever you do, let's join together to fund the things that are headed to the chop block - but shouldn't be.

Inaugurate the kids? You bet.

I was reading the Huffington Post earlier today (yeah, shoulda been working) and caught a glimpse of their "We are all being inaugurated" video that will be unveiled at tonight's Pre-Inaugural Ball in DC.  And I'm a sucker for bring-ya-to-tears videos set to simultaneously inspiring & sad music. And for pomp & circumstance.  Like the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, which I still recall from 30 years ago as if it were yesterday.  Those hats!

And this one not only gave me the (brilliant) idea to swear in my kids tomorrow, but reminded me that I really do believe that together is the only way we're gonna make the changes we all so desparately want to see happen.  So instead of waiting to see them happen (feeling powerless in an enormous country with an incomprehensibly large federal bureaucracy), I'm beginning to take very seriously the call to service, the call to make these changes happen, not watch someone else do it (wrong)!

So while it seems a wee silly to inaugurate myself and the kids, I'm gonna do it.  OK, so not on the same bible that Abraham Lincoln used (as Obama will), or on a bible at all, for that matter.  Maybe on Wendell Berry's awesome book of essays, "What are people for?"  Yup, that's the one.  Think I'll let the kids choose their own - thinking maybe Fancy Nancy or Ralph S. Mouse?  And I'm gonna do it as a (semi-serious) rite of passage, moving from the "it's not gonna matter" me to the "without everyone - including me - it won't happen" me.  What about you?  Gonna inaugurate the little ones?  Yourself? 

If you do, it goes like this (straight from the Constitution):

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Power to the mamas.  And to the little people.  Because they, truly, shall inherit the earth.  Whatever's left of it, anyway.

Obama's Cabinet Picks Keep Rolling In

It's pretty official.  Tom Daschle will head the Department of Health and Human Services in the Obama Administration.  He has been selected because of his strong commitment to universal health care, and perhaps also because of his close relationship with the President-elect. 

He's not a policy wonk, he's a politician, which might be precisely what we need.  The American Prospect's Ezra Klein had this to say:

"You don't tap the former Senate Majority Leader to run your health care bureaucracy. That's not his skill set. You tap him to get your health care plan through Congress. You tap him because he understands the parliamentary tricks and has a deep knowledge of the ideologies and incentives of the relevant players. You tap him because you understand that health care reform runs through the Senate. And he accepts because he has been assured that you mean to attempt health care reform."

Daschle joins a short list of the names leaked so far.  The list also includes Eric Holder for Attorney General and Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security (though these remain unconfirmed).  And just about everyone is wondering: will Hillary Clinton be our next Secretary of State?

Still one question looms larger: President-elect Obama, do you want to hire me to be your family-friendly, work/life balance policy czar?  I'm available.  Just sayin'.

Election '08: Lots of Wins, A Few Big Losses. (Get info about Portland's Prop 8 protest below)

I was pretty thrilled with the election results.  Barack Obama is our President-Elect, we now have two Democratic Senators in Oregon, a host of Democrats took swing districts throughout the state, the Children's Levy passed, and all seven Sizemore and Mannix measures failed.  Nationally, Democrats won many key House and Senate seats and abortion rights were supported in state races all over the country.  Lots of things to cheer about.

And yet, even in this election, one which historically demonstrated the importance of a centuries-long battle for equal rights under the law, civil rights were set back tremendously.  With the addition of Florida, Arizona and California there are now 30 states that will have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage (including Oregon, of course).  Arkansas passed a ballot measure that would prevent unmarried (read: gay) people from fostering or adopting children. 

The fact that these measures passed in each state where they were proposed makes me angry and incredibly sad.  You would think after the long struggles by women, immigrants, and African-Americans that we, as a country, would finally understand that limiting the civil rights of *anyone* is fundamentally wrong.  To me it is clear that those who oppose equal rights for gay people will end up on the wrong side of history on this issue.  Afterall, who would now choose to be aligned in history with George Wallace and not Martin Luther King, Jr.? 

Obama wins. World changes.

He did it.  He actually won.  I know the polls have been favoring him lately, but after 2000 and 2004, I wasn't about to be counting any proverbial chickens before they'd hatched.  I spent the whole day yesterday canvassing, reminding countless people that (unlike Washington) postmarks don't count - you actually have to get your ballot in by 8 pm to have it count in this state.  It was a good thing to spend the day doing, because I was not allowed to watch tv, listen to radio, be online, or otherwise obsess about outcomes before polls had even closed. 

As the polls closed in the East I gathered with my family, still cautiously optimistic.  Then, so early in the night, they called Pennsylvania for Obama and I knew it was all over.  We screamed (scaring the kids and making them cry), jumped up and down, and generally felt a sense of relief starting to settle in.  Then swing state after swing state the results came in.  He takes Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, and later Indiana and Virginia.  In a word: amazing!  Then the polls close here in the West and it is done.  He has won.  Decisively.  A mandate if ever I saw one.

But still, after many, many months of hoping and dreaming, I was not as overcome as I thought I'd be.  I was mostly just...well...tired.  And a bit shocked.  Still not quite sure if it was really, truly true.  Was it possible I was dreaming, as I'd done so many times before?  This is not to say I wasn't moved by his speech, and by the thousands of people celebrating in the streets of Chicago, D.C., NYC, Seattle, Portland, and all over this country (and the world), I just wasn't quite overcome.   

It IS those old, rich, white dudes!

I have long suspected that it's all those older, rich white dudes in power who are making change so hard, who are making insane, risky, self-serving decisions that screw the rest of us.  And I've always felt secretly a wee extreme for harboring this bias, blaming it all on them.  Well, turns out I'm not alone!  I love that.  Check out what The Nation has to say in this recent blog post, titled Rich Old White Men: Still the Problem (great title, huh?):

The latest New York Times-CBS News poll identifies the demographic group with the highest level of support for John McCain: rich old white men. Coincidentally, they are also the people who control Wall Street, Congress, and the White House.

So step aside, fellas.  It's time for some new faces in town (and how!).  And if I have anything to say about it, they won't be rich, old, white and male.  'Cause what, really, do they have in common with any of us?  Read the whole post here.

PS - At the same time, my bigger fear is that there's a younger contingent ready to step up and fill their shoes.  All those 'drill, baby, drill' chanters weren't exactly old, rich, white guys, after all.  It would be nice to think that their views would just cycle on outta here with the next generation, but that doesn't seem to be the case, does it?

Cross the Finish Line!

Enjoy this video - released by the Obama/Biden campaign.

And remember, Al Gore was up in the polls by double digits in the October before the election in 2000....

If you're anxious like me, you might enjoy this article by the NY Times.  Looks like we're not alone.

Obama in Primetime: Did You See it?

The Obama Campaign bought 30 minutes of prime-time tv on CBS, NBC and FOX tonight.  Unprecedented move, which is kind of amazing given how much tv Americans watch these days.  What aired is a documentary-style campaign ad full of American stories interwoven with his platform.  In case you missed it, here it is:

I've found myself daydreaming lately.  I've been dreaming about waking up on November 5th to the reality that Barack Obama is our President-elect.  Being able to relax knowing that maybe, just maybe, we're on a path to a different future.  Dreaming forward to Inauguration Day, and the statement...or apology... we will make to the world as they watch our bi-racial, multi-cultural President take his oath of office.  Dreaming about having a President who, having taken no money from corporate lobbyist in his campaign, might actually be able to end corporate welfare.  I've been dreaming about having a President who believes that government can be good, providing better health care, supporting education, and developing policies that improve the lives of children *and* their parents.  But one who doesn't support the kind of huge government that starts unnecessary wars, listens to our phone calls, interferes with our right to choose what we do with our bodies, and treats our Constitution like a mere suggestion. 

A health policy proposal: The Gilbert Plan

I was buzzing on Twitter about my health insurance quandary. Mostly I'm peeved that, in our system, I have to pay thousands of dollars a year to protect my family from the very real possibility of bankruptcy -- and lack of care -- if there is, God forbid, a terrible accident or sudden illness among us. Not that I'm special: all underemployed, freelance, unemployed, and hourly workers without health care plans have the same problem.

I got angry, but then I also got thinking. How could this be better? Even Obama's plan doesn't satisfy me. So I wrote my idea for policy, "The Gilbert Plan," on WalletPop. Here's a summary of my plan:

• Mandate one rate for everyone. It doesn't cost hospitals and doctors less to provide care to insured patients; uninsured shouldn't have to pay more. The mind boggles.
• All payment for care for catastrophic accidents, serious illnesses, births, vaccinations and preventative care / physical exams should be paid for by our income taxes.
• Insurance could pay for routine, elective and supplemental care. Got a cold? Insurance would pay for the visit. Got cancer? Government pays.
• Farm subsidies and all support for unhealthy food should be erased. No more government payout for unhealthy food (high fructose corn syrup is cheap thanks to Uncle Sam and your taxes); this will improve Americans' health and save money to pay for health care.
• Gardens and cooking programs in all schools as part of curriculum. Feed the kids food cooked and, where possible, grown on campus. Health will improve.
• Malpractice payouts should be severely limited everywhere. We shouldn't all have to pay because a few doctors made a mistake. And money won't bring your loved one back.