[lbo-talk] Political Cartography: Green

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu, Sun Nov 21 10:47:40 PST 2004:
>One important point to keep in mind here is that the existing system 
>of private control is far from universal, even in a supposedly 
>"capitalist" society like the U. S.  In fact, we can provide 
>numerous examples of socialist or quasi-socialist production in the 
>U.S. that actually work and efficiently distribute useful goods and 
>services:
>
>1. public libraries
>2. public highways
>3. national parks
>4. open source software
>5. food co-ops
>6. credit unions
>7. public utility boards
>8. headstart
>9. medicaid (lower administrative cost than any private health
>insurer)
>10. the creation of the internet
>
>Despite the capitalist hype, socialist production is a significant 
>element of the U. S. economy.  We don't need to come up with 
>something new; we need to build on our demonstrated success.

<blockquote>It's Easy Being Green
By WILL ROGERS
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/20/opinion/20rogers.html>
Published: November 20, 2004

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Across the country, in red states and blue states, Americans voted 
decisively to spend more money for natural areas, neighborhood parks 
and conservation in their communities. Of 161 conservation ballot 
measures, 120 -- or 75 percent -- were approved by voters. 
Three-and-a-quarter billion dollars were dedicated to land 
conservation.

In Florida, for example, President George W. Bush won at least 60 
percent of the vote in Lake, Indian River and Collier Counties. On 
the same ballot, more than two-thirds of the voters in each of those 
counties approved local park bonds worth $126 million, by margins as 
high as 73 percent. In Gallatin County, Mont., where the president 
beat John Kerry by 56 percent to 41 percent, 63 percent of voters 
approved $10 million in bonds to buy conservation easements to 
preserve ranchlands. In Chesterfield County, Va., which Mr. Bush 
carried 63 percent to 37 percent, voters passed a $20 million park 
bond by 76 percent to 24 percent.

It was the same in the states where Mr. Kerry prevailed. In 
Massachusetts, 10 townships approved extra taxes to support 
conservation and historic preservation. In Los Angeles, which Mr. 
Kerry won by 73 percent to 26 percent, 76 percent of voters approved 
a $500 million water-quality bond that included $100 million for 
conservation. And in both Burlington, Vt., where Mr. Kerry won 75 
percent of the vote, and in Kendall County, Tex., where the president 
won 81 percent of the vote, voters approved $5 million to protect 
open spaces.</blockquote>
-- 
Yoshie

* Critical Montages: <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
* Greens for Nader: <http://greensfornader.net/>
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/>
* OSU-GESO: <http://www.osu-geso.org/>
* Calendars of Events in Columbus: 
<http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/calendar.html>, 
<http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/>
* Student International Forum: <http://sif.org.ohio-state.edu/>
* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/>
* Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio>
* Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>