Washington, D.C. -- Obama's new community

Barack Obama, appearing on ABC this morning, answered a lot of questions about his administration's plans for the economy, health care, torture, Gitmo, homeland security and Mideast diplomacy. From the beginning of the campaign, we were all aware how many messes the eventual winner would have to clean up. Now we are not only aware of how many, but how deep and problematic in terms of finding solutions. Yet there he was, calmly and rationally dealing with George Stephanopoulis's questions, reassuring the American public that his various teams were on top of things.

Lots of commentators and bloggers have been passing the time until January 20th, praising or dismissing the various picks for the new cabinet and administration leadership jobs. Not having a crystal ball, I've been mostly content to wait patiently. Let's give the folks assigned the clean up task a real chance to get in there and actually work at it, before harping and carping. The only move Obama's made that really rubbed me the wrong way was the selection of Rick Warren to speak some mumbo jumbo as prologue to the inauguration. (You can read my comments here.)

So he made one mistake so far. Nobody should expect him to be perfect. What is reassuring is his insistence that he is not attaching himself to solutions based upon who comes up with the idea, but rather that plans are flexible and that we focus on finding the best solution. It does sound like a huge breath of fresh air is about to sweep through Washington. D.C.

Speaking of D.C., one of Obama's missions is to involve himself with the city's community -- not just the federal workers, but the folks who live and work within the city. He has mentioned this consistently and so has Michelle. He has set up a Community Inaugural Ball for residents to enjoy, met with the Mayor and will do his best to get out and about and involved in the life and culture of the city. Most presidents and politicians hunker down in their various domains and seldom get involved with the local community.

I moved to D.C. in 1976. It was my first time away from Akron, and I moved there because I had some college theatre friends already living there and they gave me a place to sleep while I looked for work and a place of my own. My first impressions of D.C. were this: enormous white buildings were everywhere, and the city was studded with statues of white male generals. Yet as I rode the buses and subways, looking for work, I found myself riding with people of color, through burned out neighborhoods (left to rot after the riots of 1968). The core of the city was as white as the government buildings, but the rest of the city was primarily black and living in poverty.

The great disparity on display in Washington's daily life shocked me. Homeless people sleeping on sidewalk grates, taking in the warmth vented from the subway system below. Bag ladies scurrying down alleys and across the mall, carts filled with garbage bags containing who knows what. Anyone who could afford to was moving to the suburbs of Maryland or Virginia, leaving the rest to hustle, thieve or sell drugs and/or their bodies.

I lived in the Adams Morgan area, a multicultural progressive enclave with a food co-op, a Hispanic theatre company, and other assorted store front ventures. I was hired as company manager for Earth Onion Women's Theatre, an experimental theatre company existing on a small NEA grant. We worked and performed in a tiny store-front theatre space that we shared with the local Socialist party group. My apartment was "illegal," an unfinished dump above a porn shop, with rear windows looking out on a trash-filled alley. I kept those windows closed whenever possible to keep out the sickening greasy smell from a McDonald's across the alley. Every day when I left for work, I had to step over a wino sleeping in my door way. Fun times.

What is the D.C. area like in the 21st century? According to the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless:

Washington, D.C. has the 7th highest poverty rate in the country-- 16.4% as of 2007, and has the highest proportion of people in the U.S. with the lowest income levels.

At least 17,800 people are homeless in Washington, D.C. over the course of a year, one of the highest rates in the country.

In the District of Columbia, a worker earning the Minimum Wage ($7.55 per hour) must work approximately 140 hours per week in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the area's Fair Market rent.

For the year 2007, the Fair Market Rent (FMR) for an efficiency apartment in Washington, D.C. is $1025 a month. The FMR for a 1-bedroom unit is $1168; 2-bedroom, $1324; 3-bedroom, $1708; and 4-bedroom, $2235.

The unemployment rate in D.C. was 6.7% as of July 2008, higher than the 5.7% national rate.

Funny how these statistics are ignored year after year by the politicians who come to D.C. to work for the good of us all, isn't it? If the Obamas continue to pay attention to the entire community in which they intend to live for the next eight years, maybe some positive change will come to all the residents of Washington, D.C.

Tilting at wind turbines and the White House

Forgot to put this image at the end of my last post. These are the wind turbines (not windmills as I posted earlier -- the phrase must now be changed to "tilting at wind turbines" I suppose) I saw on the bus ride back from Washington DC. They represent a breath of fresh air, the progressive movement toward problem solving rather than the conservative need to never budge.

CNN rebroadcast Nancy Pelosi's swearing in along with her speech and her gesture toward the future -- the welcoming of children up to her seat of power to lay hands upon the gavel. Very nice symbolism!

These are hopeful times, and it is especially heartening to have the Democrats standing up to the War in Iraq on day 2, nicely undercutting all the White House propaganda leading up to the long post-poned decision about to be dropped upon us by the Great Decider some time next week. The Dems say No to the Surge and the military report they can only muster up 9,000 maximum new troops when Bush is demanding at least 20,000.

Lots of protesting was going on in Washington the past few days. I saw a bunch of folks setting up for an anti-Bush event just outside the capitol building. Cindy Sheehan has been active along with many other anti-Iraq War groups. I met two people, parents of a young war resister by the name of Darnell Anderson. You can read his story of resisting assignment to Iraq here. They came to DC to lobby for their son's freedom. They opened my eyes to the large numbers of military and ex-military who are resisting this war in numerous ways. Check out this organization for more information: Iraq Veterans Against the War Deployed.

We all have to keep the pressure up in order to bring these young people home from the horrors Bush and his minions created in Iraq. George Bush proves every day how easy it is to stall and put off facing reality. He somehow doesn't think the election last November was any kind of message to him personally.

Will we all have to go back to Washington to protest by the millions in order to stop the madness?

Celebrating the new senator from Ohio

Hundreds of Sherrod Brown campaign volunteers boarded buses to DC in the early hours of January 3rd. Lots of long hours spent at events and parades, on phone banks and hoofing a canvass from house to house -- all with this impossible goal -- to elect an avowedly progressive Democrat as Senator of Ohio. The buses left from Lorain, Bedford, Mansfield and Columbus. I met lots of folks from Mansfield, which is where Sherrod grew up. Emily Brown, Sherrod's mom, rode on one of the volunteer buses from Mansfield! She wanted to ride down with the people --nothing fancy for her!

The folks I met on the bus and at the Sherrod Brown events were proud of their work and excited by all the possibilities that change can bring. There were young kids, older kids, college students, family groups, gay and straight couples as well as some odd birds like yours truly -- earnestly talking about all the important issues of the day. We talked Iraq and we talked economy. We talked about health care and how many Americans are worked to stress-related death.

Thursday evening found us all gathered outside the ballroom, waiting for the doors to open. Sherrod and Connie arrived and shortly thereafter, Ted Kennedy rode down the escalater and strode into the crowd! Everybody swarmed around him, digital cameras flashing from every angle. Here's the best of my shots. Unfortunately, the batteries were low and I had left replacements up on the 9th floor -- drat! Anyway, Ted couldn't stay as he had to go to his son's party but he was there to give his support to Sherrod, who is on Ted's senate committee. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions -- HELP -- and boy do they need it. That's a great committee catch for Sherrod and so are his other ones.

The doors opened and there was Sherrod to welcome us all into the ballroom for a celebratory dinner -- and it was huge. Rows and rows of round tables seating ten per. I was at table 60 about two thirds back from the podium.

Speeches were made and cheers were given up for Sherrod's campaign staff, his family, and for us -- the volunteers. Ongoing slideshows featured pictures from campaign events. I saw the first one I attended, before joining the campaign. It was in front of the Science Center in Cleveland when Sherrod talked about making Ohio a leader in renewable energy resouces. I heard other people call out upon seeing their photo on the large screens -- it was a moving tribute to everybody's efforts.

The creative team that came up with Sherrod's television commercials were also honored and very deservedly too. We were treated to a chronological showing of his major ads, which made for a very nice historical summary of the campaign's progress.

The term "progressive" has come to supplant "liberal" and I think I am gaining an understanding of why that is. Sherrod's campaign focused on what will benefit all of society, not just the wealthy few. The ads appealed to the sensibilities of all Americans and not just to fringe groups. People have grown tired of endless war and foreign conflicts. The new progressives in the house and the senate have huge challenges ahead, but for this brief moment in time, they have the backing of the voters. Change is being sought, change toward real progress. The Republicans have made piles of messes to be cleaned up.

The dinner was tasty, the companionship was merry and earnest at the same time. Aterwards, several bus tours left for a drive around the monuments. I got to the sign up sheets too late. There was a Ford Theatre tour availble for Thursday morning, but I really wanted to go to the Folger Library. Meanwhile the ball room was humming as huge vortexes of progressives gathered around Connie and Sherrod. They certainly are a dynmic duo! Sherrod promised that he and Connie would stay and thank every last person in the room before retiring, and indeed -- they did!

Thursday morning I made my dash to the Folger gift shop and picked up some very useful items for my students. Got back to the hotel in time to fill up my luncheon plate before C-Span hit the big screens with the beginning of the new Senate term and the swearing in ceremonies. Sherrod was in the first group and we gave him a rousing cheer from our ballroom. I'm sure he heard it in his heart. We finished our lunch as the sentators continued their swearings in, four by four, many with holy books prominantly displayed for the television cameras. Thank dog Sherrod's hands were empty. Maybe that's a Lutheran trait, not wanting to publicly parade one's personal philosophy. If only all relgions were so humble and private.

I'm glad I went on this trip. I still can't quite believe that a candidate I could support actually won a major election! I ran into Yellow Dog Sammy on the trip. He rode the other Bedford bus, but we found each other by accident during the lunch stop! I told him that for most of my life I didn't vote on principle, but that I felt I had to begin voting as an act of self defense. It was great meeting him -- he had outstanding coverage and analysis of the fall Ohio elections at his old blog Ohio 2006. We are waiting for the new one to commence.

I met two war resisters and will write more about them tomorrow, along with some thoughts on religious displays as part of public rituals. On the bus ride home, I read my new books and thought about some exciting new lesson plans. I happened to look up at one point somewhere in Pennsylvania and noticed familiar tall and majestic shapes on the horizon. Wind mills! Just like the one in front of the Science Center where I made up my mind to volunteer for Sherrod's campaign. A sign of progress! Let us have more. Please.

High up in the Hyatt

I splurged for wireless broadband access, so I could post while in Washington. This is one expensive hotel. Continental breakfast was $21.00! Various bottles of booze can be delivered to your room for prices that would net you a case of decent wine. Needless to say, I didn't order a bottle of the cheapest wine (Beringer, White Zinfandel Napa -- $32.00) but did have a glass of white wine for $7.50 to accompany last night's dinner with Sherrod and Connie. Heck, when in Washington and hobnobbing with the rich and powerful, why not pretend for a moment that one can actually afford to pay that much money for a glass of wine?

I'm on the 9th floor of the Hyatt, looking out on an impossibly sunny January 4th, the day we all can celebrate the first woman Speaker of the House. We can also ask, why it has taken so long and why are there still so few women in public service roles?

I have taken lots of pictures which I wanted to post today. However, it turns out my laptop doesn't have a decent photo editing program on it. I always use my Mac for photo work and now I remember why! So you will have to wait until later for pictures of Ted Kennedy! Yes -- he dropped in the lobby of the event for a quick meet and greet. I also have some nice pics of Sherrod and Connie and Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

This morning is rather a nuisance. We have to check out by 11 but the bus doesn't leave until 3. The swearing in is at noon. I had big plans to get up early and run around DC on my own, but instead I opted for a leisurely morning with breakfast, newspaper and coffee. After I check out of this room, I'll be heading to the swearing in viewing room, then I hope to make one short break away to get to the Folger library. We'll see how that goes!

More later...
Vil

Off to DC!

I'm heading to the Sherrod Brown bus very soon to begin the journey to DC. We're departing from Bedford, OH just a bit north of Summit County. I'm looking forward to hanging with a bunch of people celebrating all the hard work that paid off last November 7th.

I'm taking my laptop and expect to be blogging from the hotel late tonight and early Thursday morning. The digital camera is packed and I hope to get some good pics to share with you all.

I used to live in DC for a few years in the 70s and I'm looking forward to revisiting favorite old places like the Adams-Morgan area and perhaps a visit to the Folger Library.

As for Sherrod -- wow -- I don't envy him his job. What a lot of messes to be cleaned up and huge planet-shaking decisions to be made. All those years in the House should give him a boost up right away -- he knows the people and he won big in Ohio. I predict he's going to be a major player and that items on his agenda will appear before house and senate soon.

More as it happens!
Vil