Mitch11's Celebration Blog

I was at a gala tonight celebrating 40 years of NRDC and 10 years of E2. Thank you to the generosity of Jack Stephenson for sharing the tickets. The second-most inspiring words came from Governor Schwarzenegger. This surprised me because I'm not used to saying nice things about Republicans. I found his past timing suspect - all he could support at first was the hydrogen highway, and his later environmental votes seemed timed for political gain. And I don't care for his political allies. But I do believe he is sincere when he says that business and environmentalists can and should work together. So there's one thing we can agree on. He had to deliver a classic Arnoldism and it was this: after the election we can demand more stuff from Washington, after the politicians are done "vegetablizing". Nice. The most inspiring words came from Bobby Kennedy. He articulated a radical vision of kilowatts becoming as cheap as phone card minutes, and reducing U.S. reliance on co...

I always wondered why "globalization" bothered other progressives, more than it bothered me. Now I think I was lost in the terminology. There's nothing inherently wrong with international trade. What's worth getting angry about is patterns of exponential exploitation. I recently learned the term "neoliberal." It's also a confusing term, but this article on neoliberalism brought some things into perspective for me. Hey, you can't say markets don't work. In fact, they sometimes work too well. Read Natural Capitalism for ideas on how to harness the power of markets, without externalizing costs (i.e. hurting people and the environment).

I was reading Rush Limbaugh's comments on a recent Barack Obama interview. Obama does not want America to impose our values on other cultures. Limbaugh responded that the value we're spreading is freedom, and freedom can never be an imposition. Is freedom really the opposite of imposition? I would like to free Rush from the tyranny of his drug problem, so I'll incarcerate him in a socialist rehab camp. No complaining, now, it's for your own good. It turns out feeling free is not the same as being freed . This is not an original idea. It's the argument of the Free Tibet movement. Sure, we Tibetans are materially poor, but we are happy because of the riches of our traditions. Please don't liberate us from our schools, festivals, and culture. Memo to world: please liberate us from our Chinese liberators. A threat to Tibetan theocracy is a threat to theocracies everywhere. American Christians, take note. Another synonym for "to free" is "to relieve...

Moxie and I left yummy Cugini Restaurant right at 8:30 and nudged the hostess to maybe dim the lights! She knew about it and had already talked to the manager, but wasn't sure about their decision. When we got home we kept our lights turned on to a minimum. I don't know whether this makes a miniscule difference or a gigantic difference. Either way, we'll keep on touting the virtues of low consumption, until we reach a tipping point.

I'm driving into Berkeley for the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club but I find that I have the location wrong, and maybe the day too. Aha! A free evening. I start out for an unannounced visit to Stephen but I am sidetracked by a sign that says "Show Tonight!" and an arrow pointing to my right. So I think quickly: I am going in to see this show, whatever it is. It turns out to be an improv comedy show by students of Willard Middle school. Pardon my language but I'm LMFAO. These kids are so raw and honest, what a blast. My face is in pain from the smiling and laughing. Take that, Greg Proops.

I'm reading and greatly enjoying The Art of Possibility on my new BART commute to San Francisco. It makes me smile! So I hold the book up high, and maybe my fellow commuters will see me smiling and want to buy the book, too. This evening I got hypnotized for the first time. Or at least, the first time by a hypnotist. The deep relaxation is meant to last and last. Yet I remained fearful even while relaxed of actually feeling sadness. I'm frightened of that sadness. I'm afraid I'll drag others down with me. Then I spoke with my father on the phone. After our nice visit for his birthday, he and I agreed to "put it in the calendar!" and talk every Wednesday. I realized while talking with him, all of a sudden, that I had been blaming his "over-technical" style as the reason for years of not-closeness. How convenient - and by the way I've been accused too, and very rightly, of being one of the most technically-minded people around. So I told him, I wa...

What will my next work be? Couple of days ago lunching with Christopher, I reflected whether I would become a city planner, or a teacher. Following the principle of "least regret" I chose Teacher. This is inspiring me! And last night on further reflection, I realized I already am a teacher. I teach my daughters all the time So, early this morning I spent an hour reading up on how to become a teacher. I would make a good candidate for Oakland Teaching Fellows. But then I found idealist.org and I looked through their list of nonprofits. I assembled this list which would totally fulfill my vision of peaceful people... * Urban Affairs * Energy Conservation and Green Living * International Cooperation * Voting, Democracy, and Civic Engagement * Social Enterprise and Economic Development * Multi-Service Community Agency * Network of Nonprofit Organizations * Library or Resource Center So the inquiry is still on. Library, Network, or Multi-Service is looking like a winner. p.s. The ...