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Words of wisdom from David Rothkopf. He is so right:
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I love it when Ron Paul says, “If we get rid of government, freedom will sweep right in.” That’s just not what happens. What happens is that a bunch of elephants stampede in because they’re in a position to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, if you get government out of the way, the people who need government, they don’t have it.

There’s this myth that government doesn’t belong in the marketplace. If that were true, there would be no canals, no railroads, no highways, no internet. The government was a critical partner in many of the biggest innovations in U.S. history.

But if you buy into that for 20 or 30 years, and you say, “smaller government, smaller government programs,” who gets squeezed by that? It’s the cities. And the problem is that, as that happens, it accelerates. Kids drop out of school. Neighborhoods decay. Businesses leave. The tax base goes down. Cops get fired. Teachers get fired. It’s a cycle of pain.
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cities grist david_rothkopf economy politics

The endangered middle class...
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Several thousand years ago, Socrates and Plato warned that citizens who loved money above all would divide into rich and poor, with class war and mob rule the unhappy result. That’s a message Republicans still have a chance to deliver this election cycle. But it’ll take a change in the way they think about cultural politics to do it.
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atlantic_cities class_distinctions class politics cities

Fascinating history and analysis of the politics that have made Paris the political entity it is today. Conclusion:
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We know from history that any institutional change in the governance of cities is a long and difficult process. Today, the issue is clear, the potential solutions are limited, and the months following the presidential election are a rare political window of opportunity. It will be fascinating to see if Greater Paris is able to organize itself to meet its challenges, if it will give itself a government appropriate to the ambition it needs to have for the future, or if it will continue to wallow in the gridlock of individual interests being put before those of the metropolis.
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paris stephane_kirkland amalgamation politics cities

Another book I need to read (and so should you):
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Lawrence Lessig has an answer. In his new book, Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress -- and a Plan to Stop It, he spends 20 pages reviewing the the 30 years of deregulation that led up to the financial crisis and outlining our present circumstances. In fact, this book, published just before Occupy Wall Street began, is perfectly positioned to become the movement's handbook. While few protesters will need convincing that the government is corrupted by money, the book lays out the case in a such a comprehensive and persuasive manner -- and proposes such specific and radical solutions -- that it seems tailor-made for the Occupy movement. And it's ambitious proposal for state-based activism on behalf of a Constitutional Convention could provide the movement with a next organizing step as it nears its two-month anniversary Thursday -- and faces such questions as how to ride out the winter and how to respond to police crackdowns.
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So how do we begin a popular movement that might end with states petitioning for a convention? Lessig calls for mock conventions to happen all across the land: assemblies of regular people to think of these, and other, problems, and come up with solutions that might work. Not only would these conventions come up with a spectrum of solutions which could be evaluated and selected from, but they'd build national support for the idea that a convention like this could work.

It sounds unlikely to happen. But this is where Occupy Wall Street comes in. Properly leveraging its support, it could generate enough energy to do what Lessig, while writing this book, couldn't quite picture. In fact, the original call for Occupy Wall Street, from Adbusters, called on president Obama to "ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington." Already, "The 99 Percent Declaration" is calling for "a NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY beginning on July 4, 2012 in the City Of Philadelphia" to address the influence of money in politics and other issues.

Properly presented, the strategies and aims of Lessig's book could make it the handbook the protesters have been looking for -- and provide a pathway for them to ride out the winter ahead.
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occupy_wall_street lawrence_lessig socialtheory politics

The establishment's reaction reminds me a bit of how people who believe in highways and cars don't want to fund bike infrastructure. They usually argue that *they* already pay a gas tax, while the cyclists pay nothing, and thereby conveniently forget that we're all - drivers or not - paying for highways, and that they're driving their cars on a subsidized highway system.
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The way to understand all of this is to realize that it’s part of a broader syndrome, in which wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is.
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occupy_wall_street ows nyt paul_krugman politics plutocracy

Allan Grayson explains Occupy Wall Street. Must-see.

allan_grayson occupy_wall_street ows usa financial_crisis politics video youtube bill_maher

Admittedly, I ignored this post when it first came out because, given my current interests, I didn't think I'd find anything worth reading from a Canadian journalist. Wow, was I wrong. This essay is brilliant and a must-read. Nagata is not your average 24-year-old or average anything.
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Consider Fox News. What the Murdoch model demonstrated was that facts and truth could be replaced by ideology, with viewership and revenue going up. Simply put, you can tell less truth and make more money. When you have to balance the interests of your shareholders against the interests of the viewers you supposedly serve, the firewall between the boardroom and the newsroom becomes a very important bulwark indeed. CTV, in my experience, maintains high standards in factual accuracy. Its editorial staff is composed of fair-minded critical thinkers. But there is an underlying tension between “what the people want to see” and “the important stories we should be bringing to people”.
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kai_nagata canada politics journalism ctv cbc press

This is unreal. I fear for my country.
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The search was part of a mysterious, ongoing nationwide terrorism investigation with an unusual target: prominent peace activists and politically active labor organizers.

The probe — involving subpoenas to 23 people and raids of seven homes last fall — has triggered a high-powered protest against the Department of Justice and, in the process, could create some political discomfort for President Obama with his union supporters as he gears up for his reelection campaign.

The apparent targets are concentrated in the Midwest, including Chicagoans who crossed paths with Obama when he was a young state senator and some who have been active in labor unions that supported his political rise.

Investigators, according to search warrants, documents and interviews, are examining possible “material support” for Colombian and Palestinian groups designated by the U.S. government as terrorists.
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america politics fbi terrorism justice resistance

Yes, how is Obama fighting against these guys?
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When wolves of Murdoch’s ingenuity and the Kochs’ stealth have been at the door of our democracy in the past, Democrats have fought back fiercely. Franklin Roosevelt’s triumphant 1936 re-election campaign pummeled the Liberty League as a Republican ally eager to “squeeze the worker dry in his old age and cast him like an orange rind into the refuse pail.” When John Kennedy’s patriotism was assailed by Birchers calling for impeachment, he gave a major speech denouncing their “crusades of suspicion.”

And Obama? So far, sadly, this question answers itself.
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obama politics democracy

Vancouver Sun article by Jonathan Ross (civic affairs commentator at CivicScene.ca) that looks at how Vancouver's (unique-in-Canada) city charter has allowed staff bureaucracy to wield quite a bit of power behind the scenes, and (it appears) behind the backs of politicians. This is interesting insofar as I had assumed the net positives of Vancouver having a charter, namely that it has greater autonomy vis-a-vis the province. But if the political leadership isn't able to stand up to staff (which stays the same for years and years, while civic elections bring in new politicians every 3 years), then it makes sense that an all-powerful bureaucracy can develop.

On the other hand, Vancouver has benefited from its planning department's vision...

From the article, just one example of city staff overstepping its boundaries:
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City staff acted unilaterally without the approval of council and, according to the same administrative report, began to "operate beyond its existing budget approval in the spring of 2008."
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vancouver bureaucracy politics leadership

Great interview with Jay Rosen (conducted by Jeffey Inaba and Talene Montgomery) that delves into (and knits together) the "pro" (professional) and "am" (amateur, blogger) divide. Rosen advocates for Pro-Am journalism. And what is "the public"?

"How do journalists decide how to tell stories? What are their responsibilities when reporting a story? And to what extent do they write in the public’s interest?"

The questions revolve around whether journalists represent or create the public.

jay_rosen jeffrey_inaba journalism volume_magazine citizen_journalism politics talene_montgomery

A review of Anthony Flint's "How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City."
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Now there's a book that shows how these mythic characters shaped each other's work and reputations - a volume that leaves me wishing there was some way today to combine the best traits of both.
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Make no mistake, Jacobs is the hero of this yarn. But in the epilogue, Flint addresses our ever-changing urban dynamics, where Jacobs' quest for "thoughtful citizen involvement" has morphed into "all-powerful neighborhood residents, who seek conditions to stay exactly as they are and reward politicians who agree with them."

Which sounds a lot like San Francisco, Berkeley and every other city [Victoria!] where process is more important than results. All the protections we've put into place, such as environmental reports, become weapons that can be used to derail anything that anyone dislikes.
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jjacobs robert_moses urbanism cities urbanplanning politics

Article about American Solutions, "a national grassroots group based in Washington, DC, that was founded by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich but describes its Internet effort as nonpartisan, is preparing to launch a site that will, at first, allow people to enter basic contact information on all local officials. Then future users can enter their full nine-digit zip code to find the local officials who represent them."

wiki local_government open_source politics mit_techreview american_solutions

Excellent little chart that compares the Canadian and American systems.

How interesting, that in Canada the head of state is the queen's representative (i.e., the governor-general), who is not elected but rather appointed (by someone who also is not elected), and that the prime minister is also not elected by the people, since the people only elect the members of parliament but not the party leaders, and the PM is simply the leader of the party with the most seats in the house of commons.

The Westminster System of parliamentary democracy: can't say I'm a fan. This is the alpha version of a less-than 1.0 version.

canada coalition politics election westminster_system

This is a very cool implementation of Google maps, built by Joseph Boutilier (at 18 the youngest candidate in the current Victoria municipal election). He took a map of Victoria and added geo-links to connect specific sites with specific issues (and his proposed policies/ approaches). Very nice work.

maps victoria politics apps municipal_elections

Portal page for BC Liberal party, intended to get citizen / community feedback. Will explore later.

bc liberal_party politics community_platforms

I think David Weinberger says something really true here:
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Learning to hear and respond to what is good and shared in an expression we find detestable is harder. The best teachers do this routinely. We can all learn to do it. We can. Yes, we can.

It is a big part of how Obama brings out the better nature in us. It is a big reason the unrelenting and unreasoned negative campaign aimed at him failed.

It is also a task performed historically all out of proportion by African-Americans. That is a blessing we have not deserved, but could not have survived without.
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The African heritage of America is a rock, and with Obama in the White House, it's a rock to build on at last.

obama david_weinberger politics race

Davin muses on leadership, and asks readers to comment on what they think makes for good leadership. (I left a comment.) He came up with some excellent traits or qualities, some of which *seem* almost contradictory, and therefore probably are true. Leadership is complex.

davin_greenwell leadership politics comments

Fascinating (possibly scary?) piece by Florida on how Obama's win could still fan the flames of an ugly backlash from the right that may be more convulsive and destructive than the current economic / financial meltdown. Florida factors in some data around demographic changes due to the creative economy (linked to democratic/ Obama politics), to paint a picture of a potentially very divided country.

politics obama class_theory usa republican democrat class_war richard_florida creative_class

An older entry from Seesmic's Loic Le Meur, 10 reasons why politicians should blog. Very timely here in Victoria given the municipal elections still to come (Nov.15).

loic_le_meur politics blogging