[Texgreen] What Al Gore hasn't told you about global warming

[Craig MIller]

The end of the BBC program did point out some of the futility of always catering
to the flip floping swing voters.  Short term success IF the focus group
martketing is accurate, but ignoring core fundamental values can hurt the party
later.  

I do think we need third and forth political parties, but successful change
right now seems more likely to come from changing or influencing a current
party.  I say this because everyone I talk to around election time favors an
alternative party but no one is willing to vote when no one else seems like they
will.  

Business marketing inside political campaigns might help a little but like
desperate advertisers selling crap, it would make better business since to
improve the product or sell something that the public needs than to try to sell
them something they don't need.  (Trying to make crap look sexy).  

I think i've seen an increase in public and especially gov'tal awareness of peak
oil.  This means the word is getting out.  This is influencing both parties. 
This type of work may yield more results at this time in history.  Same with
global warming.  Fundamental change is needed in politics but you got to
acknowledge realities and work with those.  

For example I think the war in Iraq could have been better countered by focusing
on the big business profiteering of the war.  The same passion hearts wanting to
support the troops would be disgusted by those facts.  Showing the killing and
death in Iraq (media won't show) would have done more to stop the war too.  I
still think it's these tactics of getting the word out that right now would be
better energy spent.  I think more money has to be removed from politics before
a third party has a chance to take over.  Or election rules must change
something like that.  

Growing better media or changing a current giant media outlet might be more
effective then starting a third party right now.  Look how Fox news has swung
the whole middle to the right.  Reporters are shunned into quieting liberal
voices.  And convincing other media outlets and politicians that the middle is
more to the right then it really was.  

I'm just saying there is a lot we can still do ....

Craig Miller




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---- On Wed, 10 Jan 2007, Roger Baker (rcbaker@eden.infohwy.com) wrote:

This contradiction is emerging as a central political problem for the  
Green Party.

After the two major US parties have cultivated a hedonistic and  
individualist mindset for voters using marketing techniques (see way  
below), how does a third party tell voters the truth about the  
austerity they are necessarily facing?  Dare it tell the full truth  
in terms of advocating austerity before it becomes the conventional  
wisdom.

Dare it be ahead of the ruling parties in this respect?

Denial of peak oil is combining with denial of climate change and  
denial of the $2 billion a day trade deficit to lead to a crisis that  
Kunstler calls "The Long Emergency" in his recent book of that title.

One recent indicator is high fuel prices (recently reduced by climate  
change leading to the warmest year in history and thus reducing  
winter heating oil demand, leading temporarily to lower gasoline  
prices).

One interesting consequence of denial combining with rising oil  
prices is the sharp run-up in corn and wheat prices in the last six  
months, both by over 60%.
A big part of this has been agri-giant subsidies for ethanol  
production in the case of corn especially, as the Washington  
lobbyists pit bio-fuel production against food production. You see  
little discussion of this in the news, yet look at the commodity  
chart for corn:



The corresponding economic prospect is for stagflation next year  
which, combined with an endless war, is likely to cause a big  
increase in frustrated voters unable to understand that a new  
austerity is being imposed by nature as much as by bad political  
leadership:



"Global economy faces a dangerous year
By Jephraim P Gundzik

Rising inflation and falling home prices are likely to push the US
economy into recession by the second half of 2007. Gathering economic
weakness, combined with negative real yields on US Treasury
securities and growing political pressure to weaken the dollar will
lead to significant dollar depreciation against most currencies.

Economic growth in Asia, Europe and Latin America will also weaken in
2007. Slowing global economic growth will be very bad news for equity
markets around the world. Dollar depreciation and rising
international energy and grain prices will be good news for precious
metals..."

-- Roger

                 *******************************************

http://tinyurl.com/w5pmw


"...Now Labor is faced with a dilemma. A system of consumer democracy
that they have embraced has trapped them into a series of short term
and often contradictory policies. There are now growing demands that
they fulfill a grander vision. That they use the power of government
to deal with the problems of growing inequality and the decaying
social fabric of the country. But to do this they will have to
appeal to the electorate to think outside their own self interest.
And this would mean challenging the now dominant Freudian theory of
human being, of selfish, instinct-driven individuals. Which is a
concept of human beings which has been fostered and encouraged by
business because it produces ideal consumers. Although we feel we are
free, in reality, we like the politicians, have become the slaves of
our own desires. We have forgotten that we can be more than that.
That there are other sides to human nature:

ROBERT REICH: "Fundamentally here we have two different views of
human nature and of democracy. You have the view that people are
irrational. That they are bundles of unconscious emotion. That comes
directly out of Freud. And businesses are very able to respond to
that; thats what they have honed their skills doing. That what
marketing is really all about; what are the symbols, the music, the
images, the words will appeal to these unconscious feelings.

Politics must be more than that. Politics and leadership are about
engaging the public in a rational discussion and deliberation about
what is best. And treating people with respect in terms of their
rational abilities to debate what is best. If it is not that, if it
is Freudian, if it is basically a matter of appealing to the same
basic unconscious feelings that business appeals to, then why not let
business do it? Business can do it better. Business knows how to do
it. Business after all is in the business of responding to those
feelings."


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