IGE Talks: Cuba

Here's the latest episode of our homegrown talk show taped 1st Thursday of each month in Easttown, Grand Rapids.

My contributions were mainly to set up people much more knowledgeable than myself with overly simplistic questions that expose the naivete of me and probably 80-90% of my fellow Americans and employing my usual facilitation/groupwork skills as needed over the course of an hour or two conversation on topics known to often provoke conflict and resentment when raised in mixed company.

IGE Talks: Africa

With just a little over a week before we tape our next episode (about Cuba) here's a link to the last show we made, focusing on Africa. I don't talk a whole lot in this one, I just ask a few questions and as I say early on, "soak up knowledge." (At least I hope I did!) It was an interesting discussion and I hope you give it a look/listen and learn something new from it...

Here's the link if the embed doesn't work or you want to view it on Blip.tv

The New Great Depression

Here's a link to our latest episode of IGE Talks, in which I have significant camera time. I hope I didn't embarrass myself! It may not be the most compelling TV of all the progams you have to choose from - but I can say that I honestly think it's worthwhile!

http://blip.tv/file/2023120

New IGE Talks Episode

Here's the latest episode of IGE Talks, the local public access TV show that I co-host on the first Thursday of most months. March's topic was "Employment and the Environment" but as usual we meandered all over the place... and ate pizza!

We're now using blip.tv to host our on-line videos and I'll see if my attempt to embed it here actually works. Otherwise, try this link.



This coming Thursday (April 2) we'll be shooting another episode, "Coping With the Depression."

I'm getting closer to resuming regular posting on this blog, but not quite there yet. In the meantime, my movie blog has grown quite nicely since the beginning of this year!

Election Dissection

Our latest episode of IGE Talks is now online. I moderated the discussion of this year's election results, which was recorded one month after the votes were cast.

The Election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America

This has been an extraordinary week. Of course. The USA just conducted the most interesting, wide-open and unpredictable presidential election of my lifetime, and every form of news media known to humanity has been filled with analysis and opinion on what it all means, how it happened and what we might expect to happen now that we have a winner.

I'm going to offer just a few thoughts on what the successful (from my perspective) outcome means to me. I've already explained a bit about why I supported Obama so I'll try to not repeat myself here. I'll focus on what I did on Election Night and how the situation looks to me right now.

After I had finished walking my second route, going all the way into the dark of the evening to log on my printouts who had and who had not yet voted, I drove back to the union hall that I and the other Wyoming/Kentwood volunteers were working out of. I listened to Ed Schultz on the radio and took great encouragement from the positive "we're gonna win!" vibe that the liberal talk show host was projecting to his audience, but I was determined to avoid any sign of complacency or presumption that this thing was in the bag. Even with the McCain campaign pulling out of Michigan back in October... even with all the data from daily tracking polls pointing to a not-so-close outcome in the Electoral College... even with the enthusiastic response that I was getting from those who I had caught at home who had already cast their vote for Obama, or who were happy to assure me that they were determined to get to the polls as soon as their partners got home... none of that served to dissuade me from doing my own tiny bit to push the campaign through the finish line at the fullest sprint we could possibly muster. It wasn't just about winning at the national level, or even at the state level, since it seemed all but guaranteed that Michigan's color would remain blue on the political map. It was about winning BIG - because President Obama needs the strongest mandate based on broad and convincing support, and as he's said over and over again, it's really not so much about him as it is about as many of us as are able and willing to get involved, and to stay involved. And the key to getting that process started, for those who hadn't already enlisted in the campaign as volunteers, was to turn out as many of my fellow citizens as possible so that they could, in the future, look back and say to their kids, families and friends, "yes, I helped get the Obama years started! I supported Barack back when it seemed incredible that he would ever be elected president!" And it wasn't just about winning BIG either - it was about winning our local community if at all possible. Grand Rapids, Kent County and Western Michigan have long been considered bastions of Republicanism, bouyed by the conservative activists and philanthropists associated with the Amway Corporation (Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel and their children) and Focus on the Family (particularly the late Ed Prince who was a major patron of James Dobson back in the early years, and whose son Erik Prince is the CEO of the notorious Blackwater Corporation which benefits enormously from the Bush/Cheney privatization of war in Iraq and elsewhere.) Our most famous political figure is, of course, former President Gerald Ford, and our second-most famous is probably Senator Arthur VandenBerg, a staunch opponent of FDR and the New Deal who showed genuine strength of character and personal growth in his public conversion from pre-WWII isolationism to an internationalist perspective, to the point that he helped in the founding of the United Nations. So much for the history lesson, but to be sure, Grand Rapids still serves as a happy hunting ground for Republicans when it comes to both votes and fundraising. President Bush has been here on several occasions, as has Dick Cheney, though they tend to hobnob with their more affluent supporters in limited access venues, quite unlike Obama, whose two trips to GR (so far!) have been in the Van Andel Arena (where John Edwards endorsed him last April) and the outdoor Calder Plaza in the middle of downtown on the very day this past October that the McCain campaign announced they were ceasing their operations in the state!

Well I'm happy to report that Kent County, Kentwood and my hometown of Wyoming all went in favor of Obama! I take great personal satisfaction in this accomplishment! Wyoming is dealing with a fairly difficult set of economic problems, with General Motors announcing just a few weeks ago that they're closing a local plant that will cost our town over 1000 good-paying jobs and over $1 million a year in tax revenues straight up, plus the other costs associated with the job losses. Such terrible economic news is hardly a boost for the Republicans, which I'm sure tilted the city toward the Democrats... but Wyoming is still seen as a pretty stodgy community, full of older folks who are resistant to change and presumably skeptical about the idea of an African-American president. Let's just say that Obama was never seen as a likely shoo-in for the local voters here! And since Michigan was robbed of a true primary this year (long story, don't ask me to repeat it here!) it was really unclear as to who would carry this area. McCain's military background and maverick image made him appealing to a lot of my neighbors, I'm sure.

But no matter... we won! Kent County went for the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since 1964, the year of Lyndon Johnson's epic blowout! (And even then, some of the communities around here went strongly for Goldwater!)

I didn't know anything about the local results until Wednesday afternoon though, when I got home and read the local paper. (Yes, I still read the newspaper!) The big result, what mattered to me most, was of course how the big enchilada got sliced. I was hoping for an EC result somewhere in the 340-350 range, just to cut the drama and seal the deal, but if it got down to it, I was happy just to get us to 270! So after my days work was done, when it was simply too dark and creepy outside to be knocking on strangers' doors at night, I got back to the HQ and asked... "Where's the party?"

I was told to show up at a place called "Mosaic Space" located almost smack dab in the middle of downtown Grand Rapids, on Division near Fulton (the intersection where all of the street addresses begin from zero and work their way out on the four points of the compass.) So that's where I went. I decided not to spend Election Night at home - my wife had reservations about both of the major party candidates, and I was definitely in the mood for a more partisan crowd. Even if the unthinkable should happen and McCain pulled off the Upset of the Century, I wanted to be with my fellow Obama supporters to offer consolation, and to get the most up-to-date legal advice and to plan our riots for the next day (just kiddin'!)

So I got to Mosaic Space and was pretty impressed by the comfortable venue, the free and tasty eats that had been provided, the big screen TVs (tuned to CNN and the local NBC affiliate) and the sound system. As well as the crowd, of course! I saw a number of volunteers there and also, after a few minutes of wandering around, a couple of my friends from IGE. That was really great - since there are those within IGE who eschewed Obama and sought to raise support for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney or good ol' Ralph Nader himself. Sorry folks, not this year, we have a real progressive champion who actually had a chance to win and transform American history, society and culture in the process! No diddling around with third parties this year, no way!

So my friend Laura and her son and my other friend Diane became my main hang-out buddies and that made the night just perfect. We chatted, listened to music and basically just built up our hopes as the pivotal early states were called... Pennsylvania, where McCain seemed intent on making his final stand and delivering a shocker... when that big block of EVs was called for Obama, a big sigh of relief swept across the house... then when OHIO was called, the fists were pumpin' and bumpin'! We all know how crucial OH is to Republican candidats in particular, and Obama winning there did a lot to sweep away the ghosts of 2004. Those two states really lifted our balloons, so to speak. I think Virginia was called for Barack somewhere in that late stretch as well. New Mexico and Colorado were looking good, Indiana was too close to call... we knew that we were closing in!

In the meantime, photographers from the Grand Rapids Press were swarming around the room with their impressively large-lensed cameras taking pictures of people. You can see some of them here, though I was apparently not deemed photogenic enough to make the cut for those published to the web!

Then, at 10:50 p.m., NBC broke off its national coverage to give affiliates a chance to update on the state and local races. I think it was Brian Williams who urged viewers to hang on until 11:00 p.m. when "some major announcements" were anticipated. So we did. Like, were we gonna go anywhere anyway?

Silently, suddenly, the clock switched to 11, and a simple graphic popped up on the screen. A picture of Barack Obama. The words "Elected 44th President of the United States." Eyes lock in on the screen, scan the words, register their import, absorb the new knowledge. Euphoric bedlam ensues! Music blasts! Kool and the Gang's "Celebration"! The O'Jays' "Love Train"! Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered"! Oh we danced and jumped and shouted and hugged and hi-fived and had ourselves a nice loud party. A bunch of perfect friends and strangers ushering in an era that we'd longed and worked and sacrificed for... some longer than others, but all united in sheer joy that our cumulative efforts had led to something so wonderful, so amazing, so marvelous to behold, and to be a part of.

Barack Obama had won the election, and we helped make it happen. It is by far the most significant historic event that I have ever been a part of. I'm really glad to have helped in my infinitesmally tiny way!

The festivities continued for some time... the room was noisy and stayed noisy until we saw John McCain emerge on stage in Arizona to give his concession speech. We couldn't hear the first few moments of his comments since the music was still blasting, but once we shouted the DJ down, we got to hear a fairly classy and dignified acknowledgment of reality by our vanquished foe, now resuming his customary role of patriotic citizen supporting a president who had thwarted his own political ambitions. His words were measured and gracious enough to earn a bit of admiration from me and others in the room. It was easy to be magnanimous, now that we were on the other side of the finish line!

Well after that was done, the party scene started to break up a bit. I figured that I could get home in time to hear Obama's victory speech from Grant Park and so I left the loft and headed back to my car. I could still hear people shouting, horns honking, such an awesomely happy and enthusiastic vibe hovering over the whole downtown area! I called a friend on the phone to celebrate the occasion at a distance, capping off my celebrations for the night. I got home just in time to flip on the TV and watch in amazement as President-Elect Obama came out to address the joyous throng and millions of well-wishers across the nation and around the world. It was an enthralling moment, and of course Barack delivered the goods, addressing us in just the right tone of inspiration tempered by sobriety. He, and we, recognize that however monumental the task was to enact this transformative moment in American politics, the true challenges still lie ahead. The campaign is over... now it's time to go out and create a legacy for our movement, for our nation, for our future.

Yes We Can!

So now we look ahead.

Mid-GOTV Blogging Break

I've already been out hitting the streets this morning as part of the local Get Out The Vote effort for Barack Obama here in my hometown of Wyoming MI. I started around 10:00 am and spent several hours knocking on doors and buzzing apartments, reminding recently registered voters that today was the day to get out and finish up the deal by voting for Barack Obama and all the other important stuff to be found on this year's ballot. I have to tell you, though I think what I and thousands of other volunteers (a million or more perhaps? I don't really know...) are doing is really worthwhile and important, it seems in some ways that there is already a LOT of motivation on the part of people to get involved in this year's election, and a LOT of enthusiasm to help make Barack Obama the next President of the United States. What's happening out there is a drama still unfolding, but if the polls hold up and the prognosticators are on target, I know that a strong and sustained sense of exhilaration is going to sweep across big sections of this country as we finally and at long last see a decisive reversal of the forces that put George W. Bush and his cronies in the White House. I am not yet quite ready to delve into the implications of an Obama win until I see the headlines and hear the victory/concession speeches myself - at least not here! :o) But I'm thinking them through already and will spell out some more of my thoughts when the time is right.

For now, I'm just taking a little breather at home before heading out for the afternoon and evening shifts. It would be easy for me to say that Michigan appears to be in the bag for Obama - but my involvement in this campaign isn't really so much about "helping him win" as it is about really stepping forward in my own small way to be part of this much bigger and historical phenomenon, of watching the USA become a nation that is once again on the right track and closer than it was yesterday to living up to the fullest implications of its founding ideals. Obama is the kind of person (regardless of his race) that I have long sought to support for our national leader - so now it's my time to step away from being part of the skeptical (though loyal) opposition to taking on a full sense of identification with the administration-in-power... assuming, again, that my fellow voters come through as expected and elevate Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States of America!