John Zogby's New Book
I’ve been reading The Way We’ll Be
One of the most fascinating findings is his identification of a cohort of liberals he calls “Secular Spiritualists”.
Their personal relationship to God or any particular faith or creed, or their lack of same, might be a key issue in their own lives, but it’s not a salient issue in defining their relationship one to the other. Rather, what pulls them together and gives them definition is the need to move beyond professional and financial ambition, the acquisition of things, and the quest for a luxurious lifestyle.
It’s a rather large cohort who are saying, “I just want a simpler life.” I have heard those sentiments reflected on these pages many times, but the cool thing about Zogby’s book is that it proves beyond a doubt that we are not alone in that sentiment.
Zogby puts McCain up by 4%.
“The McCain/Palin ticket wins 49.7% support, compared to 45.9% backing for the Obama/Biden ticket, this latest online survey shows. Another 4.4% either favored someone else or were unsure. ”
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1548
Zogby puts McCain up by 4%.
“The McCain/Palin ticket wins 49.7% support, compared to 45.9% backing for the Obama/Biden ticket, this latest online survey shows. Another 4.4% either favored someone else or were unsure. ”
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1548
I have to prima facie agree with the demanding authenticity one. I’ve argued for a few years now that there has been a real change in the style of humor in comedians and in comedies towards the humor not being ironic or cynical but rather delivered from the mouth of someone who really does believe what they are saying. I think a perfect example is Owen Wilson whose funniest lines are ones delivered with complete earnest. This is beyond the typical slice of life stuff of the past and normally they would be said with a wink to the audience.
I have to prima facie agree with the demanding authenticity one. I’ve argued for a few years now that there has been a real change in the style of humor in comedians and in comedies towards the humor not being ironic or cynical but rather delivered from the mouth of someone who really does believe what they are saying. I think a perfect example is Owen Wilson whose funniest lines are ones delivered with complete earnest. This is beyond the typical slice of life stuff of the past and normally they would be said with a wink to the audience.
I would love to see our society move past the detached viewpoint (“irony” that isn’t ironic and cynicism) that has been part of the post-modernist view toward something substantial, wherein we value the texture of our existence rather than the trappings of it.
Recognizing that life in and of itself is an amazing thing, acknowledging that the wind, the water, the earth, the stars, the vibrancy of life we are surrounded by is astonishing is the first step in learning to be a good steward to the earth, society and our own self worth.
I would love to see our society move past the detached viewpoint (“irony” that isn’t ironic and cynicism) that has been part of the post-modernist view toward something substantial, wherein we value the texture of our existence rather than the trappings of it.
Recognizing that life in and of itself is an amazing thing, acknowledging that the wind, the water, the earth, the stars, the vibrancy of life we are surrounded by is astonishing is the first step in learning to be a good steward to the earth, society and our own self worth.
The troopergate investigation has been fast tracked by the Alaska legislature”to avoid any appearance of setting up an October surprise”. Palin responded by ordering her gubernatorial staff to not cooperate.
Clearly VP material according to current standards.
The troopergate investigation has been fast tracked by the Alaska legislature”to avoid any appearance of setting up an October surprise”. Palin responded by ordering her gubernatorial staff to not cooperate.
Clearly VP material according to current standards.
4%.
You need to change your approach Ken.
I’m telling ya, if Obama just dragged out liberal favorites and killed them – teachers unions, raise social sec age, etc. He’d WIN.
4%.
You need to change your approach Ken.
I’m telling ya, if Obama just dragged out liberal favorites and killed them – teachers unions, raise social sec age, etc. He’d WIN.
Morgan- Go look at Obama on ABC’s This Week Sunday Show. He just talked bout teachers’s unions and Social Security. You must be psychic.
Morgan- Go look at Obama on ABC’s This Week Sunday Show. He just talked bout teachers’s unions and Social Security. You must be psychic.
Well, Obama did deliver a pretty loaded line in his acceptance, where he talked about additional financial support for teachers, but an expectation for performance in return.
Given the P-bomb that dropped the next day, it’s no surprise that the media didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the fact that Obama had looked straight at to one of the pillars of the Democratic party, and told said ‘Enough.’
No group in America has gone further out of its way to consolidate, protect and promote mediocrity than the NEA. And they’ve victimized generations of children in the process, while endangering the essential institution that Plato himself identified as the make of break point in a sustainable democracy.
If the Democrats are serious about getting their own house in order, and replacing the old rotten supports with the kinds of living networks that Obama has developed and leveraged with such spectacular success, they’re going to have to disentangle themselves from their unholy dependence on the teacher’s unions.
And now that the Palin pick has settled into the media’s foot-tapping about when, exactly, she’ll be allowed to appear in an unscripted setting, attention can (finally) turn to a real assessment of what Obama said in Denver.
Well, Obama did deliver a pretty loaded line in his acceptance, where he talked about additional financial support for teachers, but an expectation for performance in return.
Given the P-bomb that dropped the next day, it’s no surprise that the media didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the fact that Obama had looked straight at to one of the pillars of the Democratic party, and told said ‘Enough.’
No group in America has gone further out of its way to consolidate, protect and promote mediocrity than the NEA. And they’ve victimized generations of children in the process, while endangering the essential institution that Plato himself identified as the make of break point in a sustainable democracy.
If the Democrats are serious about getting their own house in order, and replacing the old rotten supports with the kinds of living networks that Obama has developed and leveraged with such spectacular success, they’re going to have to disentangle themselves from their unholy dependence on the teacher’s unions.
And now that the Palin pick has settled into the media’s foot-tapping about when, exactly, she’ll be allowed to appear in an unscripted setting, attention can (finally) turn to a real assessment of what Obama said in Denver.
“Recognizing that life in and of itself is an amazing thing…”
We need a pop hero willing to stand there and tell people they have to step up to being responsible for their own wiring, to make them aware that this is not merely rhetoric, but a fact of existence. Individualism is not of necessity not going along with the herd, but recognizing before it is too late that the herd is stampeding over the cliff and getting out of that.
The Hippies moved to communes. That didn’t work out too well but it did test some theories and push some boundaries as well as establish that some boundaries are hard wired, and even that these vary depending on individuals.
Challenges work. McCain was right about the battery. Faith based social institutions do work. The Katrina disaster is an example of what happens when church vans full of hammer-toting rednecks and US Navy vans full of young kids with wireless systems show up. Government institutions fail when the leaders are battling for position and fail to notice the call lists have gone to hell (Ever wonder why the buses had no drivers? I work in public safety. The call lists went to hell.)
IOW, every where individuals stepped up with their neighbors, things worked. Everywhere the government let its own institutions step up, things worked.
Everywhere people relied on a system and that system was incompetent or asleep, things failed.
IOW, we should be wary of tossing aside institutions we don’t like if they have a working engine. We may just need to tune them or wake them up. Gustav went well. Jindal and the Emergency Agencies were ready.
Good information, readiness, individual commitment and institutional competence, these are goals we can share regardless of party or tribe. So be careful about pounding Palin just because she is from the other party. She is fast becoming a symbol of individual initiative and such symbols are powerful and useful.
Again, just analysis. Palin may turn out to be the right ingredient at the right time. All sides might want to pick up on that and use that wisely. Don’t try to use her against them. Use her for you.
Learn to admire what is working when it can work for you to. Steal This Book.
“Recognizing that life in and of itself is an amazing thing…”
We need a pop hero willing to stand there and tell people they have to step up to being responsible for their own wiring, to make them aware that this is not merely rhetoric, but a fact of existence. Individualism is not of necessity not going along with the herd, but recognizing before it is too late that the herd is stampeding over the cliff and getting out of that.
The Hippies moved to communes. That didn’t work out too well but it did test some theories and push some boundaries as well as establish that some boundaries are hard wired, and even that these vary depending on individuals.
Challenges work. McCain was right about the battery. Faith based social institutions do work. The Katrina disaster is an example of what happens when church vans full of hammer-toting rednecks and US Navy vans full of young kids with wireless systems show up. Government institutions fail when the leaders are battling for position and fail to notice the call lists have gone to hell (Ever wonder why the buses had no drivers? I work in public safety. The call lists went to hell.)
IOW, every where individuals stepped up with their neighbors, things worked. Everywhere the government let its own institutions step up, things worked.
Everywhere people relied on a system and that system was incompetent or asleep, things failed.
IOW, we should be wary of tossing aside institutions we don’t like if they have a working engine. We may just need to tune them or wake them up. Gustav went well. Jindal and the Emergency Agencies were ready.
Good information, readiness, individual commitment and institutional competence, these are goals we can share regardless of party or tribe. So be careful about pounding Palin just because she is from the other party. She is fast becoming a symbol of individual initiative and such symbols are powerful and useful.
Again, just analysis. Palin may turn out to be the right ingredient at the right time. All sides might want to pick up on that and use that wisely. Don’t try to use her against them. Use her for you.
Learn to admire what is working when it can work for you to. Steal This Book.
“The Hippies moved to communes.”
Len, a few did, most did not, but the publicity amplified what was happening with those who did as it was juicy news to sell papers and magazines. Now the right uses stories like that to discredit the left, but meanwhile there’s a housing crisis of major proportions about to follow the housing market financing meltdown, and one of the ways a number of smart people are able to afford housing is in the burgeoning “co-housing” or “intentional community” movement. The idea is to have the best of communal living with the privacy afforded in individual living units. Not without problems, but it’s making it possible for some folks to own homes at significantly lower cost than the usual ways.
“The Hippies moved to communes.”
Len, a few did, most did not, but the publicity amplified what was happening with those who did as it was juicy news to sell papers and magazines. Now the right uses stories like that to discredit the left, but meanwhile there’s a housing crisis of major proportions about to follow the housing market financing meltdown, and one of the ways a number of smart people are able to afford housing is in the burgeoning “co-housing” or “intentional community” movement. The idea is to have the best of communal living with the privacy afforded in individual living units. Not without problems, but it’s making it possible for some folks to own homes at significantly lower cost than the usual ways.
we need a 60 day change war for the center of America.
in my wildest daydreams, the independents in the mddle would swing back and forth, as both sides should list all the changes they will make that will piss off their side to win back the indies.
did anybody see the speech biden gave about mccain and biden’s wife drinking on a table in Greece?
we need a 60 day change war for the center of America.
in my wildest daydreams, the independents in the mddle would swing back and forth, as both sides should list all the changes they will make that will piss off their side to win back the indies.
did anybody see the speech biden gave about mccain and biden’s wife drinking on a table in Greece?
I understand that, Rick, and I’m not referring to the bloid coverage of it. I talked to some who did, I lived in houses, and did my reading.
Coyote has a long bit about that in an interview that is good reading about the personal challenges, expectations, and the issues. That was then and it taught us all a few things. I’m not discrediting the experience. I’m lauding it. The people who did that took a bold leap into the notion that we could live with less by sharing more. Some sea stories would be useful right about now.
But somehow I doubt we are the ones most affected. We’ve had time to get in a position where the mortgage meltdown isn’t our big problem even if the general failure of the economy is. On the other hand, tomorrow morning I have to go tell an employee for the first time in my life he will be laid off because we didn’t make the numbers. Product Development didn’t fail. Business Development did. Living beyond means in any system is a recipe for failure. Not focusing on business at hand, over reaching, playing games of status instead of watching the bottom line, all of these things will cause one to fail. The stories of the dot.b0mb start-ups who went through VC money like water buying furniture and a fancy office space instead of working out of a garage until the cash flow was black are legion.
I lived for years in houses bands built. It can be done and you are right, it’s a viable thing to be talking about, but it takes a bit of fast personal rewiring to get used to it.
But oh that smell.
I understand that, Rick, and I’m not referring to the bloid coverage of it. I talked to some who did, I lived in houses, and did my reading.
Coyote has a long bit about that in an interview that is good reading about the personal challenges, expectations, and the issues. That was then and it taught us all a few things. I’m not discrediting the experience. I’m lauding it. The people who did that took a bold leap into the notion that we could live with less by sharing more. Some sea stories would be useful right about now.
But somehow I doubt we are the ones most affected. We’ve had time to get in a position where the mortgage meltdown isn’t our big problem even if the general failure of the economy is. On the other hand, tomorrow morning I have to go tell an employee for the first time in my life he will be laid off because we didn’t make the numbers. Product Development didn’t fail. Business Development did. Living beyond means in any system is a recipe for failure. Not focusing on business at hand, over reaching, playing games of status instead of watching the bottom line, all of these things will cause one to fail. The stories of the dot.b0mb start-ups who went through VC money like water buying furniture and a fancy office space instead of working out of a garage until the cash flow was black are legion.
I lived for years in houses bands built. It can be done and you are right, it’s a viable thing to be talking about, but it takes a bit of fast personal rewiring to get used to it.
But oh that smell.
“did anybody see the speech biden gave about mccain and biden’s wife drinking on a table in Greece?”
I saw it. I couldn’t care less. Biden’s wife might want to slap him around, but otherwise, not my problem.
We need our heads wrapped around solutions and right quick. If our Fannies are melting down, we don’t have as much time as we thought.
Rick, tell me more about the ‘intentional community’ movement. I want to ask some questions about the NPOs and our maps tomorrow. We collect an incredble amount of information. The government owns it but after November, maybe there are smarter ways to use it. It’s worth talking about.
“did anybody see the speech biden gave about mccain and biden’s wife drinking on a table in Greece?”
I saw it. I couldn’t care less. Biden’s wife might want to slap him around, but otherwise, not my problem.
We need our heads wrapped around solutions and right quick. If our Fannies are melting down, we don’t have as much time as we thought.
Rick, tell me more about the ‘intentional community’ movement. I want to ask some questions about the NPOs and our maps tomorrow. We collect an incredble amount of information. The government owns it but after November, maybe there are smarter ways to use it. It’s worth talking about.
Len-Early this summer I put up a post on three books that are germane to your thoughts. I especially recommend the one about Stewart Brand.
http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/summer-reading/
Len-Early this summer I put up a post on three books that are germane to your thoughts. I especially recommend the one about Stewart Brand.
http://jtaplin.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/summer-reading/
Len, here’s a good place to start:
http://www.cohousing.org/
and here: http://www.ic.org/
There are many models ranging all the way from pretty close to the hippie commune style on out to simply having a group of people all pool resources to buy land and then help one another build houses. Sometimes the house lots are privately owned with a commons, sometimes the residents own the houses but not the land. Some communities work by consensus…which means you’d better know your neighbors before they are your neighbors…some are more like condo associations with a set of rules kind of like a constitution with more changeable regulations voted upon by the group. There is almost always a commons area, and often a commons house with a big commercial-style kitchen for group meals. In the co-housing development here in Santa Cruz, there’s a common house with a weekly big meal, but each living unit (some detached single family houses, some duplexes, some singles with mother-in-law units) has its own kitchen, so if you’re not feeling particularly communal, you don’t have to participate. Yes, there are all the usual problems of people living with people, but they do try to work things out pretty nicely.
Len, here’s a good place to start:
http://www.cohousing.org/
and here: http://www.ic.org/
There are many models ranging all the way from pretty close to the hippie commune style on out to simply having a group of people all pool resources to buy land and then help one another build houses. Sometimes the house lots are privately owned with a commons, sometimes the residents own the houses but not the land. Some communities work by consensus…which means you’d better know your neighbors before they are your neighbors…some are more like condo associations with a set of rules kind of like a constitution with more changeable regulations voted upon by the group. There is almost always a commons area, and often a commons house with a big commercial-style kitchen for group meals. In the co-housing development here in Santa Cruz, there’s a common house with a weekly big meal, but each living unit (some detached single family houses, some duplexes, some singles with mother-in-law units) has its own kitchen, so if you’re not feeling particularly communal, you don’t have to participate. Yes, there are all the usual problems of people living with people, but they do try to work things out pretty nicely.
This is good information. Based on what I read there, the category most readily applied would be retrofit cohousing.
http://www.cohousing.org/retrofit_cohousing
I’m sending a query to a cohort in DC who was in the Clinton White House and now manages our HUD contract. He has contacts that could answer some of these questions such as how one could use the maps to identify suitable retrofit cohousing opportunities, or if such initiatives already exist.
This is good information. Based on what I read there, the category most readily applied would be retrofit cohousing.
http://www.cohousing.org/retrofit_cohousing
I’m sending a query to a cohort in DC who was in the Clinton White House and now manages our HUD contract. He has contacts that could answer some of these questions such as how one could use the maps to identify suitable retrofit cohousing opportunities, or if such initiatives already exist.
Zogby will be on Forum on KQED radio tomorrow (Tuesday).
Zogby will be on Forum on KQED radio tomorrow (Tuesday).