Republican strategist Frank Luntz

I just read this article detailing the advise given to the Republican Governors Association by GOP strategist Frank Luntz. See the article for his full advise, but here are his basic points:

1. Don’t say ‘capitalism.’
2. Don’t say that the government ‘taxes the rich.’ Instead, tell them that the government ‘takes from the rich.’
3. Republicans should forget about winning the battle over the ‘middle class.’ Call them ‘hardworking taxpayers.’
4. Don’t talk about ‘jobs.’ Talk about ‘careers.’
5. Don’t say ‘government spending.’ Call it ‘waste.’
6. Don’t ever say you’re willing to ‘compromise.’
7. The three most important words you can say to an Occupier: ‘I get it.’
8. Out: ‘Entrepreneur.’ In: ‘Job creator.’
9. Don’t ever ask anyone to ‘sacrifice.’
10. Always blame Washington.
11. Don’t say ‘bonus.’ Say ‘pay for performance.’

I’m surprised (because Frank Luntz is deviously clever) how easy these talking points are to respond to. Here are my responses:

1. Republicans’ “economic freedom” means the freedom of wealthy corporations to behave as immorally as they wish. What they’re really talking about is a continuation of the sort of unfettered capitalism that’s gotten us into the mess we’re in. That doesn’t make sense.
2. It’s the responsibility of all Americans to contribute what they are able for the good of the nation. It is unjust for anyone to have to choose between paying for medical bills and paying for food. It is also unjust for some people to spend ungodly amounts of money on luxuries when that money could go to pay our teachers better. That just wouldn’t make sense.
3. There are lots of people who work hard in this country. But unfortunately, how hard you work has become divorced from how much money you make. The lower on the economic totem pole you go, the harder people are working for every dollar. Let’s not pretend that the wealthiest Americans have it as hard as the working poor or the shrinking middle class. This is unfair.
   

   To speak up against a broken status quo is the epitome of patriotism.

4. Everyone wants job security. Everyone wants ownership of what they do day in and day out. The spending cuts pushed by Republicans would force hardworking Americans to scramble for degrading minimum wage jobs while wealthy CEOs who capsize the US economy get paid millions on the way out the door. That is unfair.
5. It is a waste for financial firms exploding with revenue to be bailed out with the taxes of hardworking Americans. It is a waste for defense spending to dwarf education spending. It is not a waste to spend taxpayer money on ensuring an equal opportunity for all. It is not a waste for all of us to pay our fair share to secure America’s future. We need that honest investment in the future.
6. Compromise and cooperation are important, because there will always be disagreements, and to govern, choices have to be made. But the principles of equality and fairness cannot be bargained away. It’s okay to admit a mistake if your entrenched position is unjust. Everyone makes mistakes, but real responsibility comes from being able to admit them. We need responsible leadership to fix our broken system.
7. It’s wonderful that Republicans are starting to realize that their way of doing things is making people angry. But offering the same old solutions is not the way to make things better. As long as industry-backed politicians are still pushing for less regulation, lower taxes, and less investment in the future, you have to wonder whether they really “get it”. We need our leaders to actually do something good.
8. Good jobs are created by innovation and a level playing field. When the unregulated financial speculation brings the economy down around our ears, good jobs are lost. Further, it’s hard for young entrepreneurs to create the next big employer when they’re burdened with impossible mountains of education debt. We need a stable economy, and we need to invest in creativity.
9. Most Americans have sacrificed a great deal because of the irresponsibility of corporate practices. Unfortunately, those responsible have not sacrificed at all. Until wealthy Americans are paying their fair share, it makes no sense for hardworking citizens to sacrifice even more by giving up services we need. It makes no sense to continue with the same broken system we have now.
10. Wealthy politicians are as much to blame for the mess we’re in as wealthy executives. But getting money out of politics is the only way to solve the structural problem that allowed them to destroy our economy. As long as fundraising is a primary ingredient of campaigning, neither Washington nor Wall Street will be responsible. Until that changes, I will protest.
11. The performance of countless hardworking Americans goes unrewarded all the time. As long as big-money corporations are able to pay big-money employees big-money bonuses while many Americans are going hungry, there’s a big problem in this country. Until that changes, I will protest.

Make Friends – Moon Mullican (lyrics)

Make friends with the rich, make friends with the poor
Make friends with the high, make friends with the low
Even the little child, you oughta greet him with a smile
While traveling through this world, try to make friends

Make friends, make friends, make friends, try to make friends
While traveling through this world, try to make friends
Wear a smile, not a frown, don’t you put your neighbor down
While traveling through this world, try to make friends

Sometimes you may be weak, sometimes you may be strong
Sometimes talked about, and sometimes treated wrong
But you just can’t miss, if you just remember this
While traveling through this world, try to make friends

Make friends, make friends, make friends, try to make friends
While traveling through this world, try to make friends
Wear a smile, not a frown, don’t you put your neighbor down
While traveling through this world, try to make friends

• “We…are…the nine-ty-nine per-cent!”
• “The whole world is watch-ing!”

Double-clicking

• Opening a program on your desktop
• Opening a file in most places
• Selecting the entire word when you’re editing text

Single-clicking

• Selecting/highlighting an icon
• Pressing a button
• Clicking a link
• Most other things you want to do

Interestingly, I’ve noticed that this problem isn’t just one exhibited by older computer users, but also apparent in low-confidence computer users my age and younger (yes, they do exist, in force). Also interesting, is this assertion on Wikipedia that “Macintosh Operating Systems only require one mouse click for most executions.” It seems like Apple tends to be at the forefront of desktop culture, so it’s not surprising that we use single clicks for more and more. Of course, what with the rise of tablets and touchscreens, soon we may not be using mice at all!

1. Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien – I’m reading this to Nicole right now, and it’s really fun, especially because she’s never read it before.
2. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card – I once aspired to re-read this every year, but that didn’t happen. I’m long overdue.
3. Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis – I never read this, and while I’m cautious of the Christian overtones, it’s one that I feel I missed out on.
4. The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
5. Redwall, by Brian Jacques
6. The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander
7. The Enchanted Forest series, by Patricia Wrede – Feminist and irreverent, while I didn’t see these as most favorite, I think they’re important.
8. The Pit Dragon Trilogy, by Jane Yolen
9. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman – I actually read this in college, but I like the idea of exposing children to Neil Gaiman’s writing early.
10. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling – So that the kids will have read the books before seeing the movies.
11. Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

Big March

I went with my roommate Emma today to participate in the anti-war march to Occupy Boston. There were hundreds of people in the march. We stood by the headhouse and watched everyone go by, then walked straight to Dewey Square, while the march went off down Tremont. I have no idea where the march got to, because while I expected them to be there in fifteen minutes or so, they didn’t arrive for about an hour. In that time, we wandered around the site, which had changed a little since I was there a week ago, mostly expanded by more tents on the edges.

'Thumper

While we were waiting for the march to get there (they took forever!) we were captivated by an interaction happening on the plaza between protesters and a rotating slate of 4-5 bible-thumpers who had a milk crate and a megaphone and weren’t afraid to use them. The protesters were initially standing in a line in front of the active ‘thumper, with signs that said “this man does not speak for us” and chanting “equality”for everyone!” Then drums were added to the mix, and more chanting, which became an encirclement. My stomach was slightly turned by the tactic of drowning out those whose views you don’t like, but I imagine it would’ve been turned further hearing the ‘thumper’s words. Emma told me that this is a common tactic when Fred Phelps comes to town to tell gay people they can’t go to heaven. I continued to feel weird about it all until someone started playing a trumpet. We started dancing. I think it’s better to combat hate by displacing it with a dance party than by simply saying “no!”

Arrival of March

Crowd on the Plaza

Then, finally, we saw the march approaching from the same side street that we had. They must’ve doubled back and come at Dewey Square from Downtown Crossing. We positioned ourselves on the north edge of the plaza, right next to the tunnel exit. There were lots of police directing traffic, and suddenly the other side of the street was filled with protesters waiting to cross. Then they crossed, led by some anarchist folks who seemed to cross before the police were completely ready. But it’s hard (without riot gear and great numbers) to stop the crest of a hundreds-strong march when they want to cross a street. Then the entire march was crossing the street, and it was fun to watch the reactions of the people stopped in cars coming up from the tunnel. The energy was great. Then the plaza was filled, and we were standing near the police at the periphery. It was somewhat awkward standing near them while people were speaking to the crowd with lots of anti-cop language. But there weren’t any real problems. We then walked around for a bit, then got in the subway and went home.

• I used my roommate’s bike, which has panniers, and it feels great carrying things in panniers.
• First I went to Shaw’s and got cereal, eggs, olive oil, and red peppers. All organic.
• Then I went to the Davis Square farmers’ market, and got apples, garlic, kale, and one giant sweet potato. By this point the panniers were very full.
• Then, as there was one more thing on my list, I went across the Square to Dave’s Fresh Pasta, and got two jars of honey, one with a honeycomb inside.
• I biked home, and had plenty of time to put everything away and grab a bite before heading off to my next commitment.

It feels great buying healthy food, buying food from farmers, and using a bike to transport it. Here’s to many similar expeditions.

Occupy Wall Street has been criticized a lot by pundits for a couple things in particular. First, that they don’t really have specific and cohesive demands, and instead are full of people protesting for everything. Second, that they’re uninformed, and don’t know the first thing about the financial industry.

But the organizers are a step ahead here. By embracing a multiplicity of concerns, they focus the energy of the protest on the “Other 99%” or just the “99%”. That’s fantastically strategic, because it allows anyone with vaguely anti-establishment grievances to participate, thus lots of passionate people.

The second criticism falls flat too. What’s important is the symbolism of Wall Street. And it doesn’t really matter if protesters can’t tell you what a derivative is, they’re justifiably angry, and poking fun at them comes off as elitist and feeds the revolutionary zeal.

So, while clarification of specific goals will be important at some point, this Occupy Wall Street beast should get much bigger before it narrows its focus in that way. If you like pundits, though, here are some who are taking a tempered look at the story:

• Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times on Saturday 10/1
• Ezra Klein of the Washington Post on Monday 10/3
• Mike Konczal of the Roosevelt Institute on Wednesday 9/28
• Phil Aroneanu of 350.org on Tuesday 10/4, about why environmentalists should join in just as much as they did for the Tar Sands Action.

I’m interested in two general themes: college towns (like Amherst, where I grew up) and land use conflicts involving neighborhood opposition to a project. Such conflicts are often pejoratively called “NIMBYism”, but pejorative terms are dumb, so I won’t be using that name very much. Finally, I’m interested in studying how these conflicts can be resolved positively.

Last fall I did a big project on town-gown relations in general, and I think that overview will be a part of my thesis literature review as well. However, I am interested in more specifically land use conflicts, and even though I am focusing on college towns, I would be open to including conflicts that do not directly include the university.

Maybe my interests are best described by highlighting cases of neighborhood opposition in Amherst that have inspired me. I want to research other examples of similar cases, and find out if there’s anything that can be done to resolve them so that everyone is happy.

• the Gateway District
• the solar project on the old Amherst landfill
• the solar/agriculture project at UMass
• the Butternut Farm affordable housing complex
• the general feeling that student houses in residential neighborhoods are a bad thing

So, for now, I’m going to start my literature review by researching land use conflicts in college towns. The specific direction of my topic is still somewhat up in the air, but that’s what I’m thinking.

I’m worried about the United States economy. I believe the “Great Recession” of 2007-2008 may have been small potatoes next to the turmoil to come. With the recent debt ceiling negotiations, as with many policy compromises in Washington in recent years, we have seen absolutely no room for the sort of dramatic policy shifts our country requires.

Nate Silver of the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight just wrote a post examining the long term trends in U.S. GDP, and concluded that…hold onto something…we’re in pretty bad shape, relative to the norm. Read the whole post for more details, but I just wanted to show you this graph without all the overwhelming text of the main article:

If we’re going to get out of this bind, we need to pay for the services our country needs by raising federal taxes on the weathiest among us and on those behaviors that are harmful to our society in the long run. This must be done at the national level in most instances. We need to raise our intensity on this issue, and hope that those efforts are not too late. If we cannot fix our problems, there will be even more suffering.