In my June 14, 2019 blog on Presidential Politics + Food & Farm Justice, I quoted journalist John Nichols extensively about how the appointment of a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture was, for Trump, “an afterthought” (see Nichols’s book on all Trump’s cabinet appointments, Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse). In fact Sonny Perdue was the last cabinet appointment that Trump […]
Transition to real democracy
This is my latest update on the 2020 U.S. elections for three food & farm listservs — COMFOOD (Tufts U.), Food Policy Networks (Johns Hopkins U.), Regeneration Midwest (a 12-state coalition). These networks are committed to food justice, farm justice, democracy through food policy councils, urban-rural coalitions, thriving local economies, good health for all, as […]
CHOOSING A NEW CITY MANAGER FOR A U.S. CITY IN 2020 I’d like to frame the search for a new City Manager in the crises of the moment. We are living in a time of growing and interlocking crises—the COVID pandemic, climate destruction, and all the inequalities caused by human cruelty, human stupidity, and human […]
This week, Haymarket Books has been advertising a discussion about Eddie Glaude, Jr.’s new book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for our Own. The conversation was between Glaude and Cornel West and by every Twitter account, it was a terrific one. I’m sure I’ll listen and watch it very soon. First, […]
On April 9, 2020, the Public Banking Institute released a short and pithy economic relief plan for real people (not corporate “people”) and local economies. In its Open Letter to Congress, PBI outlines four immediate actions. Last night (April 13, 2020) during a City Council meeting (being held virtually because of social distancing), I made […]
On April 5, 2020, I sent this email to 50+ residents and business owners in my hometown — Evanston, Illinois. The email was a cover letter to my proposal for getting some quick cash to all Evanston residents during this first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal is in a separate blog:COVID Cash: Emergency […]
How local community banks can turn into temporary “public” banks, for the benefit of everyone. U.S. people and local economies are going to be in need of a lot of emergency cash in the next few months. The 2020 growing season is just getting started for U.S. farmers in the Upper Midwest. We need to […]
This informal newsletter features timely Evanston-connected information in bite-sized formats. The purpose of this newsletter is fourfold — growing our community consciousness, creating a real democracy, restoring our natural resources (air, water, soil, ourselves), and supporting each other economically — one event, one person, one project, one epiphany at a time. Special note to those who are […]