The Peace Arena

I’m not going to be an activist/organizer anymore.

Probably for good, but who knows. I doubt I’ll be able to quit cold turkey, that lifestyle is so ingrained, but I’ve already scaled back, and will continue in that direction. I hope those who are inspired to change the world for the better keep up the fight, and that they have better results than I did. I don’t know that it’s possible, but you have to believe so, in order to make the effort.

I hope they don’t make the same mistakes I did, though, like ignoring the need for money, friends and family. Yes, I know it’s impolite and impolitic to list the first along with the other two, but when you start getting old and don’t have any of them, things really start to suck. I realize, rather late, that the presence of at least one in some decent measure is rather critical to success, actually at any age, but especially old. I’m not technically old yet, but I am within spitting distance, and it’s looking grim.

If you want things to change, you can’t keep doing the same shit you’ve been doing. So I will be consciously altering my behavior, and trying to shake things up. And I’m going to be doing a lot more looking back at the things I’ve done and not done, and seeing what I can glean in terms of self-understanding — and create towards life enhancement.

So yeah, I went to the convention yesterday and I lived to tell the tale!

Photos

The Oklahoman story Former state lawmaker to head Oklahoma Democrats describes how a credentialing problem led to a long delay and ultimate redo of the vote for party chair (while taking every opportunity possible to mention the past unsuccessful campaigns of the various candidates.

As my first major party state convention, I thought it was pretty good, except for the excruciating three hour gap of confusion and intrigue (and drinking and other diversions) in the middle. But if the Oklahoman is correct, in 1999 a similar discrepancy was just glossed over and allowed to stand, so with that info, I withdraw all my griping of yesterday, since I don’t think anyone can say the vote wasn’t fair, and I’m quite happy with the outcome, since the Wallace/Orwig team consists of my #1 and #2 picks for chair. I think the party machinery moved significantly to the left, putting it more in line with its grassroots activists, which will hopefully lead to even more contributions from them in time and money, which are needed.

OK County’s original vote count (all these counts are 5th District only since I didn’t realize till later that parts of OK County were being counted in 4th CD):

Troy Green 0
Leroy D Downs 3
Dana Orwig 39
Wallace Collins 38
Mannix Barnes 19
Jed Green 6

On the revote, and after Troy and Jed dropped out and endorsed Collins:

Leroy D Downs 1
Dana Orwig 40
Wallace Collins 47
Mannix Barnes 18

Runoff (voting began at 5:35):

Dana Orwig 44
Wallace Collins 57

Final statewide count (5:50)

Dana Orwig 213
Wallace Collins 326

Wallace gave a simple and blessedly short acceptance speech, we moved on to the election of Vice Chair, but I had already stayed two hours longer than I really could, so I left at that point.

From other online sources, I learned that in addition to Dana Orwig at Vice Chair, David Ratcliffe was elected Secretary and Donna Russel Treasurer. Since I believe this is an all-caucasion slate, the Affirmative Action postitions are all the more important. They are:

Male: Carl Downing and George Young
Female: Denay Burris and Nicole Kirkpatrick

Still haven’t heard about the resolutions.

Update [5/15/2011 8:35pm]:

I have been informed by a member of the Young Democrats that “Resolutions will be heard by Central Comm b/c we lost quorum before they could be considered.”

The Oklahoma City Zoo’s new baby elephant, born on April 15, now has a name, Malee. I visited on Tuesday, my first trip to the OKC zoo believe it or not. I know I’ve been here a few years, but I really haven’t gone anywhere or done anything until this year.

This also serves as a test of a new (to me) WordPress plugin, Blip Slideshow. I like it because it can pull the feed from Picasa, Flickr, and lPhotobucket, and lets you configure a lot of settings.

Album view of my photos.

[For a gallery view of the photos, see my Picasa album.]

Billed as a “Pink Wave” because of the color of their t-shirts and signs, supporters of real family values gathered at the Capitol today to address the anti-women and anti-families legislation that is becoming the stock in trade of the Oklahoma legislature. The event was sponsored and organized by the Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice and Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma. Participating organizations included Trust Women PAC, Reproductive Health Coalition, ACLU of Oklahoma, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Tulsa Reproductive Services, Sally’s List, Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice, Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women.

Speakers included Martha Skeeters, Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice; Rep. Emily Virgin; Senator Judy Eason McIntyre; Sen. Jim Wilson; Tamya Cox, ACLU of Oklahoma; Sen. Connie Johnson; Kelly Jennings, Oklahoma Religious Coalition for Reproductive Justice; and Joanna Wall, Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice.

Approximately 200 attended the noon event, including mothers of young children, students, clergy, current and retired legislators, public service workers, health care workers, attorneys and veterans.

I am going to the Oklahoma Democratic Party convention this Saturday as an alternate delegate with a proxy, and thus a vote in the statewide party elections for officers. I am in the Change Oklahoma caucus.

Those who have known me for a while may know that I chose to work within the party here in Oklahoma two years ago, because I see it as currently the only viable way to even minimally advance progressive causes via the electoral process in this state during what remains of my lifetime. You don’t have to provide me with all the ways the duopolistic major party system in this country is problematic; I’m aware, but I am also aware of the need for change here and the political realities in terms of process. So here I am, a Democratic Party “operative.”

So this will be my first major party state convention, believe it or not — I’m a longtime political junkie, but not a partisan. So I’ve tried to observe, talk to people and learn what I can and I have decided to support Wallace Collins for state party chair. The other candidates all have very positive things going for them, but I think Wallace has the background, electoral experience and political connections statewide to build the party in both rural and urban areas. All the other candidates talk about their plan, but hell, I could write a plan. But I couldn’t go out to rural OK and try to sell it to people. I couldn’t get them to give me some money to help implement my plan. I sure couldn’t convince them to stick their necks out in their community. I think that’s what the party chair needs to be able to do. I hope everyone will support the candidate who they think can do that all over the state, not just in urban centers with people like themselves.

That’s my endorsement and my two cents.

MoveOn members and supporters rallied and listened to Frosty Troy and others set the record straight on the so-called deficit crisis, then presented employees at a local Chase Bank with a “bill” for Morgan Chase’s unpaid taxes.

MoveOn.org has been giving Oklahoma a bit of attention in the past few months, trying to build up their activist “council” in Oklahoma City (the Tulsa council has been fairly well established for a while. A statewide coordinator has been hired, Ali Canada, and local activists like Pat McCauley in Norman have been holding house parties and planning public events (a pro-labor rally at the Capitol on Feb. 26 was one such event).

To join (or start) your local council, start on the MoveOn Political Action Council Home page.

Ok, it was yesterday’s Democracy Now! show, but if you watch it, I think you will agree with my assessment. DN! is always good, but this one was particularly inspiring.

According to Google Maps, I can hop in my car and get to a nice Homeland Supermarket in 8 minutes.

Lucky me.

Not all my neighbors are that fortunate, and I got a real clear picture of that last Friday.

Getting ready for fundraiser on Saturday, on Friday, which was April 1, I headed for the printer and at pretty close to 12:30 pm, on 13th Street N. just east of the 235 overpass, I noticed an older man pushing an empty shopping cart, heading west, as I was. Since I only saw him from the rear, I couldn’t discern much except that some gray hair was visible, and faded clothes. It was just a glance, and while such sights are not completely rare, for some reason I noticed him and gave him a second or two of sympathetic thought. The cart was empty, not like most homeless people, so I kind of wondered what his story was.

Then I forgot about it and continued on with my business of dropping off my last-minute print job.

At almost 5 pm, I headed out the same route as before, to pick up the job before they closed. Remarkably, at almost the same spot — a bit further east but not much — I saw a gray-haired man pushing a shopping cart eastward, this time with 5 or 6 full plastic grocery bags in the cart. I’m convinced it was the same guy, and he had just spent 4 1/2 hours (at least, since I don’t know exactly where he lives) getting groceries, probably with his monthly check. I suspect he went to Homeland on Classen and 18th; from my apartment in Lincoln Terrace, that’s 2.2 miles away. That doesn’t sound far to a car owner, does it?

If I had not had to get to the printer post haste, I would have stopped at offered to drive him at least the rest of the way to his destination, but the pick up at the printer took longer than I would have liked, and when I went back along that road there was no sign of him — hopefully because he had made it home and was resting his poor feet. As I drove slowly along 13th, to see if there was any sign of him, I imagined picking him up and driving him to the store every month. He might be a Vietnam Vet, I thought, or maybe he digs Willy Nelson, who he kind of reminded me of. Maybe he would have refused my offer, maybe it would need to be arranged to seem less like charity for a proud man to accept such a suggestion from a stranger. Maybe a local church could institute a shuttle. Well, my imagination started churning out a dozen remedies to this unacceptable situation in the city I’ve adopted and historic neighborhood I love.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like living in a neighborhood and city where some old man has this task to look forward to every month so he can eat on his meager income.

Now let me say that it’s great that there is an expanding and thriving medical complex two blocks from me. It’s pretty damn handy if I accidentally try to cut off my finger (which I kinda did a couple months ago, though I didn’t end up having to go to the emergency room), and it’s contributing a great deal to the economy and academic development of the city and state.

But really, how can you hold your head up as a medical community, a civic entity and a decent neighborhood when a poor old guy has to spend 4 and a half hours getting a few groceries that might last him two weeks if he’s lucky or, more likely, really careful.

You can’t, that’s the answer to that question, not while meeting any standard of civilized behavior.

Now let me say a few words about the OKC City Council. It is and has been for some time made up of probably nice enough people who think they are doing right by giving tax breaks and outright bribes to corporations and sports owners to get them to locate here or stay here. I’m sure all the people they see at church and social events they attend are pretty jazzed about their public service. But there is more to living in and managing a city than corporations and rich people who cater to them.

Maybe Charlie Swinton would feel a heart tug seeing that old guy. But would he talk about him at a council meeting and try to convince his colleagues to help a small but health-conscious grocery go up somewhere in the shadow of OU Medical Center? I can’t conjure up that picture in my mind. Not his ward, you know. There are some really good banks right there, though, he might say.

But I don’t have to use any imagination to see Ed Shadid doing that. I know for a fucking fact it would happen, and it wouldn’t have to wait for the eve of the next election when he’s looking to work up some warm fuzzies.

Ed Shadid cares about PEOPLE, and especially about the people that live in his city. He cares about their kids, and about their grandparents. He doesn’t just look at people for what they can do for him, he SEES and HEARS them and what they love, what they might fear, and what they might need. ALL OF THEM, not just those who need bankers.

Please help get Ed Shadid elected today. Somebody’s quality of life depends on it.

Correx: Added missing work to the third paragraph to make it read “NOT completely rare.”