An American Prayer…
…reminding us all of the fierce urgency of NOW:
Dave Stewart explains his reasons for writing the song:
People long for a connection– whether it is to music, to their country, or to a big idea. Regardless of what happens in November, Senator Obama has reminded millions of people that they have the power to connect to bigger ideas. He is, in essence, the embodiment of a new anthem for change. He has continued King’s narrative from what was once thought of as a dream to a reality. I find it especially relevant that Barack Obama will accept the Democratic Party Nomination for President 45 years to the day of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Lyrics:
This is my American Prayer
This is my American Prayer
This is the time to finish what you started
And this is no time to dream
This is the room
We can turn off the dark tonight
Maybe then we might see
American Prayer
American Prayer
And this is the ground
That keeps our feet from getting wet
And this is the sky over our head
And what you see depends on where you stand
And how you jump will tell you where you’re gonna land
American Prayer
American Prayer
My oh my
Couldn’t get much higher
Lets not kick out the darkness
Make the lights brighter
And these are the hands
What are we gonna build with them?
This is the church you can’t see
Give me your tired, your poor and huddled masses
You know they’re yearning to breathe free
This is my American Prayer
American Prayer
American Prayer
When you get to the top of the mountain
Will you tell me what you see
If you get to the top of the mountain
Remember me
Obama’s Surprise VP Choice
According to Obama, “I’ve been listening to Steve’s podcasts and following both the Gillmor Gang and NewsGang Live for some time now. As it turns out, Steve and I think very much alike. He’s tireless and unrepentant when he locks on to an issue that he believes strongly in, and that’s just the kind of determination we need on the campaign trail, and even more so after we win the election in November, given the number of challenges ahead of us..”
Gillmor expressed shock and mild anger when informed of the announcement, stating, “Once again, track was down, and I was unable to follow anything or anyone today, on Twitter or Identi.ca, so I was late getting the news. Of course, I’m surprised.”
Warner Crocker just rocks.
Aside: Yesterday and today’s NewsGang Live podcasts deal with the “fierce urgency of now”, Twitter, track, identi.ca, and why they really matter.
That, and who the REAL running mate might be.
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Obama answers the question quite effectively.
Offshore Drilling: Summary of Talking Points
I wrote these yesterday for someone who was about to have a conversation with the #dontgo folks. Seems like they belong here, with the photos of untainted oceans too.
- The entire #dontgo movement is nothing more than political grandstanding, given that the absence of action (see this post for more details) unblocks offshore leases.
- There is no obligation on the part of the oil companies who hold drilling rights on these leases to: a) drill at all; and b) keep the oil drilled inside domestic markets. In fact, with a commodity such as oil, it’s far more likely that the oil would be sold on the open market.
- Even if the oil companies drill offshore and bring more oil out of the ground, it will have no impact on the prices at the pump, nor is there any guarantee of any impact for a minimum of five to ten years.
- Refinery output is the bottleneck. We are not able to process what we can drill at this time, and there are no plans on the table to build more refineries.
- Oil companies own patents to some of the best alternative fuel options, but are not doing anything with them. If they opt to drill offshore and exercise those grants, they should be forced to put the patents in the public domain.
- If they were truly committed to lower gas prices at the pump, there would be unanimous consent to close the Enron loophole which allows for unbridled price inflation because of unchecked speculation.
Feel free to add to the list in the comments.
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The Play Behind the Politics
This will bring my series of images protesting offshore drilling back to even — one for each day this month.
So that we’re clear here, the entire offshore drilling debate including the smoky #dontgo and #drillheredrillnow initiative is all about heat with very little light.
All of the smoke blown by the Republicans is simply the business of politics. It’s always about taking known advantages and making sure they cast the opponent in the worst light. This is no different.
We all know President Bush lifted the executive order on offshore drilling. What I didn’t know until today was that even if he hadn’t, the bans have to be renewed each year before they expire on September 30th. Traditionally, they’re renewed as a rider to the appropriations bill.
What Bush signalled with the lifting of the bans is that non-renewal would pass through his hands with a nod and a smile. The Democrats don’t have a strong enough majority in the House or the Senate to force attachment of a rider, nor a veto-proof majority when Bush vetoes it.
In other words, releasing those leases was a done deal with no further action from Congress on September 30th.
Do they REALLY wonder why they have such a low approval rating there on Capitol Hill? This should give you a clue. The Republicans are all out there shouting about how Democrats won’t allow a vote, yada yada.
The truth is, no vote is necessary. No action necessary at all. Score one for the bad guys.
Still, for the rest of this month I’ll offer you visual reasons to at least morally, if not politically, oppose offshore drilling.
And I will do everything I can to knock my own Representative, Elton Gallegly, out of office for this and many other ineffective, greedy actions.
Update: GOP spinner ericjodom agrees with my analysis while lifting a quote from this post and altering it to appear as though I’m applauding by moving the quote and changing the word “bad” to “good”, as though that somehow justifies things. As I said in response to him, how utterly Rovian.
Just remember when you hear the new spin that Pelosi and the Democrats are ‘caving in’, that what is really going on is an effort to make something out of a Bush-GOP created situation which has absolutely no bearing on our gas prices or the current oil prices. Exxon John will benefit from the spin, unless educated readers choose to speak out and stop him.
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