Just as states with progressive lawmakers and activists have themselves initiated innovative programs over a wide range of issues, state-based progressive blogs have helped provide us with a point of view, inside information and often an edgy voice that we just don't get from the traditional media. This week in progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite state- or city-based blog you think I should know about.
Inclusion of a diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents.
At ColoradoPols, Colorado Pols writes—Report: Wind Energy Accounts for 11% of Colorado’s Electricity:
According to a report released today by Environment Colorado, wind energy is making a significant impact in Colorado, responsible for 11% of the state's electricity.
Via Environment Colorado:
Colorado’s wind energy is already displacing more than 3 million metric tons of climate-altering carbon pollution, which is the equivalent of taking over 700,000 cars off the road. [...] The report shows that wind energy is now providing 6,045,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity in Colorado, which amounts to be 11 percent of the state’s electricity. If state and federal officials commit to continued progress, Colorado could displace the carbon pollution equivalent of more than 584,467 passenger vehicles, and save enough water to meet the annual needs of nearly 32,432 people.
Senator Mark Udall has been an outspoken champion of wind energy for years, and has ramped up his support in the past year as the federal tax credit has been threatened. Udall's focus on renewable energy makes good policy sense, and it's also a much better political strategy than casting yourself as one of fracking's biggest supporters. Frankly, we've always wondered why more Colorado politicians don't carry the wind energy flag more often; it's better for the environment and has added more than 10,000 jobs to Colorado. As a bonus, there's no loud chorus of people claiming that wind energy is bad.
At
The Mudflats of Alaska,
Sebastian Reuter writes—
Palin’s MayorMobile For Sale:
Are you looking for a new ride? Don’t want to go through a car dealer? Need something that will fit the whole family … and even your kids’ kids? Looking for something that has an official seal of approval? Well then I’ve got the auto for you.
A 1999 Ford Expedition with 74,188 miles needs new brakes and some other minor repairs. It’s tan and has got Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Windows.
Wow! I know? Right? I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of you clamoring for this vehicle based on that alone, but what if I told you someone famous owned it?
What if I told you that a certain Mayor of Wasilla sat her behind in the same seat that a lucky bidder will get to sit in.
That’s right, my friend, the City of Wasilla just put Sarah Palin’s Mayoral ride up for sale on Ebay.
The starting price? A cool $10,000.
At the
Orange Juice Blog,
Greg Diamond writes—
Highlighting the Democratic ‘Messaging Problem’ in Anaheim — or is it More than Messaging?
Sometimes, I find my political perch as a mainstream liberal Democrat in Orange County amazing and amusing. On the one hand, I get grief from the Oh-So-Leftists Duane Roberts and Gabriel San Roman and Libertarian Anti-Democrat Gustavo Arellano for trying to promote progressive interests in Anaheim through the Democratic Party. On the other hand, get abuse from from the “Business Democrats” within the Democratic Party who have never given up their long-term chokehold on the party for praising wise stewardship on corporate subsidy issues. (Add Jose Solorio and Miguel Pulido to those three highlighted names and you have the full list of Democrats who represent “the future of our party” that was repeatedly drummed into Democratic ears at Central Committee meetings in previous years.) I think that this may be because I’m one of the relatively few people who is actually in routine communication, fraught as it may be, with both groups.
Duane and Gabriel say that the Democratic Party stands for nothing — or at least for nothing good. I don’t see them as providing much of a solution — when you’re crowing because your movement elected one person nationwide to a City Council race in a left-wing city, that’s a sign that you’re not really hitting for power. I disagree with Duane and Gabriel that the Democratic Party is an inherently impossible vehicle for promoting the interests of the public — for all of its problems, it still seems to me to be the best hope — but some days it’s harder to make that argument than others.
This day, when the above pitch for Eastman came out, is one of those days.
Below the fold are many more excerpts from progressive state blogs.
At Progress Illinois, the PI staff writes—Alderman Burns Introduces Chicago Corporate Tax Disclosure Ordinance:
Ald. Will Burns (4th) wants all publicly-traded corporations seeking subsidies or contracts from the city of Chicago to publicly disclose the amount they pay in Illinois income taxes as well as any tax breaks they receive.
Burns introduced the Chicago Corporate Responsibility and Tax Disclosure Act at Wednesday's city council meeting. Under the proposed measure, big corporations asking for city actions, subsidies and contracts would also have to report net and taxable income. [...]
"We are increasingly turning into a society, which in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. takes necessities away from the many and gives luxuries to the few," Fair Economy Illinois leader Rev. Marlan Branch of St. James AME Church said before Wednesday's council meeting. "The city of Chicago spends millions of dollars each year subsidizing and contracting with big corporations. Those corporations have a particular responsibility to support the common good, which should include publicly disclosing the corporate income tax they pay to the state of Illinois."
At
My Left Nutmeg of Connecticut,
abg22 writes—
Is There Some Method to Tom Foley's Madness?:
Just like in the movies, where the sequel is usually worse than the original, Tom Foley's second gubernatorial campaign (which is technically still 'exploratory') is a travesty that should never have been attempted. Foley continues to prove that practice does not make perfect, or even adequacy, in a candidate's performance. The ridicule Foley elicited recently with his red-baiting "Bill De Blasio is a Bolshevik menace" ad was swift and widespread -- from Democrats, from fellow Republicans, and from expert observers alike. Quinnipiac political science professor Khalilah Brown-Dean said she was "shocked" by the strategic incompetence of an ad that not only referenced a political figure from another state, but was airing in another state's media market. Indeed much of Foley's campaign is so embarrassingly, egregiously bad that it begs the question: is there some method to his madness? Is Foley crazy like a fox, or just crazy?
It is easy to miss the fact that at least some of Foley's awfulness can be explained by a calculated attempt to appeal to the right wing of his party. Foley's hammer-and-sickle routine may appeal to the tea party while alienating everyone else. In an attempted defense of Foley, right-wing radio host Dan Lovallo asked on his website, "Is Foley Really Off Base?"
At
Delaware Liberal,
pandora writes—
Another Business Commits Suicide:
Can we please stop pretending that “business” owners are smart. They aren’t – just ask Komen. So this happened:
Like many consumers who have had a bad experience, Jen Palmer wrote a review online in 2008 after the Christmas presents her husband ordered from Kleargear.com never arrived. Years later, thanks to her online review, the couple is facing a damaged credit score and a $3,500 fine.
$3,500 fine? How could that happen?
At
Indy Democrat Blog of Indiana,
Jon Easter writes—
Why Do We Care About Liz Cheney's Views on Anything?:
The war of the words is sad, but I think it says more about Liz than Mary or even Dick. Liz Cheney is a nasty person, but, again, why does any of this surprise us now? We've known that Liz is a nasty person for years. The fact that she would possibly throw her own sister under the bus to get a few votes isn't at all shocking. It might also be the reason that the same poll finding her well behind Enzi shows how unpopular she's becoming.
This is a Cheney family drama, and I understand why it's a story. It sells newspapers and probably makes some liberals cackle with joy saying these types of things that Dick Cheney's behavior has brought on himself courtesy of karma.
At
BlueNC,
scharrison fumes—
NC GOP looks to cut pay for Alzheimer's care:
Taking budget-cutting to a disgusting level:
Families dealing with Alzheimer’s disease, and the care providers they hire, are sweating over proposed cuts to state Medicaid payments for elder care. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is looking for a $2.40 an hour decrease in what it pays for in-home and in-facility care. The new rate would be $13.12 an hour per person.
“There’s not going to be an easy answer and a painless answer,” Blust said. “And it is just chewing up the budget.”
The problem is, you would rather inflict real pain on those who are virtually helpless, instead of inflicting imaginary pain on the wealthiest of individuals in our state. Here's some scientific reality for you, Einstein: just as improvements in battlefield trauma treatment have created many more crippled (yet living) soldiers than we had from previous wars, medical breakthroughs that have extended the average lifespan of people have created a growing group of those who succumb to Alzheimer's and other brain-related diseases. And cutting the income of caregivers will only result in unnecessary suffering, and likely injuries that could/should have been prevented, which will eat up those labor-saving dollars. Don't do it.
At
Uppity Wisconsin,
Jud Lounsbury does a headshake over his state's chief executive in—
With Straight Face Walker Says Social Issues "Shouldn't be the Centerpiece":
Governor Scott Walker did an interview today with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) where he said he, like Reagan, he was "obsessed" with creating jobs and that social issues "shouldn't be the centerpiece":
"It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take on those (social) issues, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t address them. They just shouldn’t be the centerpiece and I think the left wants them to be the centerpiece…"
Of course, this is the same governor that after busting public sector unions has, in fact, spent the vast majority of his time in office focused on social issues. From fighting civil rights of gay Wisconsinites in court to passing every anti-choice bill under the sun, Scott Walker has most definitely made social issues, and not jobs, the centerpiece of his first term.
At
Eclectablog of Michigan,
Eclectablog writes—
Michigan Republican’s ending of tax credits for charitable giving coming home to roost:
Who woulda thunk it?
In 2012, thanks to Republicans ending the tax break Michigan residents can receive for charitable giving, most people predicted that charitable giving would plummet. It wasn’t a risky prediction, of course. It’s common sense. It was a move made by the GOP to pay, in part, for a massive tax break they gave to corporations.
Well, the results are in and, as predicted, the impact is having profound effects on the ability of Michigan’s food pantries to keep up with ever increasing demands on their services. The Detroit Free Press reports in their piece “Families in need find empty shelves at area food pantries”:
[Food pantry] clients…may start noticing something unusual at food pantries: sparse shelves.…
At
Taking a Left Turn in South Dakota,
M Larson writes—
The Pledge To Avoid Real Problems:
It seems that the Sioux Falls School District has ended up in a fine mess when it comes to the Pledge of Allegiance being said during school. So many people are getting into an uproar because the school district doesn't demand that they force students to be patriotic. So how do these so called patriots show their American spirit? They leave hate messages and death threats against those they disagree with.
Todd Thoelke said he received death threats by phone among the more than 100 phone calls and 100 emails from all over the country. One said they would come to his home and “eliminate” him and his “un-American family.”
Nothing says America like death threats to scare little children.
At
Blue Hampshire,
Matt Murray laments—
Will The National Labor College Uphold Their Agreements To Workers And Students?:
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that a great institution of labor may soon be going extinct. It was announced by the Board of Trustees that the National Labor College would be permanently closing in the near future.
The NLC was the only institution of higher learning that focused on labor studies and worked to provide union members the chance to acquire an advanced degree. Through the years as a college education became more and more important to all workers the college offered union members the opportunity to attend college at a very reasonable price. The AFL-CIO would subsidize some of the tuition costs for AFL-CIO members to keep the rates low enough that any member could afford to attend. This was a major benefit for members looking to further their education and become stronger a voice in the labor movement.
Nobody is denying the fact that recently the school has encountered significant financial problems. As technology rapidly evolves, the school has continued to bolster their online education division. Many of the schools 700+ courses were offered online. This is a great way to provide education to those members who could not move to Maryland to attend college. However the NLC has always retained an actual campus where students could attend, just like any other college. This created an issue for the NLC as attendance at the school dropped and students opted for online courses.
This is where the financial issues arose. The Board made the decision to become a virtual school and offered to sell their entire campus to save the millions of dollars needed to retain it. Sadly the sale of the campus fell through, and the board has opted to close the entire school due to a lack of funding.