SPLASH! News: UK Elections, Beyond “Stronger Together,” Letter to Dems, and More

Andre Roberge – Beyond “Stronger Together”

On July 21-23, Mobilize88, an Ohio leadership conference, will kick off at the Deer Creek Lodge in Mount Sterling. The date of the conference is significant, as it marks the one-year anniversary of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The leadership conference has the ambitious goal of launching an 88-county strategy, hence the name Mobilize88. The theme of the event is unity, particularly uniting urban and rural communities that connect the 88 counties of Ohio.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like that difficult a task to accomplish. However, looking at an electoral map, it’s notable that most cities swing toward the Democrats and most rural areas swing toward the Republicans. How do we bring together the whole community? Mobilize88 has been pitched as a starting point to bridge the gap. Progressive policies are popular. For example, in November of last year, I outlined the fact that a proposed increase in the minimum wage outperformed votes for the Democrat’s presidential nominee in every state where it was on the ballot by a margin of between 7–15%. If we could see national gains of 7–15% with policy-driven candidates, much of the electoral map would change.

Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, tells the Progressive Army that she is really excited to be invited to Mobilize88, and that she feels that the goal of pulling together rural and urban communities is extremely pertinent in today’s political landscape.

Rio Slade – An Open Letter to Democrats

Dear Democrats,

Do you have a moment? Oh, I know, life must be very busy for you lately. If not for your play-by-play retweets of the Trump-Russia allegations, there might not be any justice at all in the world. And I concede that without your countless restating of the “facts,” clever hashtags, and oddly homophobic jokes about Putin and Trump, the FBI, CIA, Justice Department, NSA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Treasury Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the Senate Intelligence Committee might all simultaneously forget to finish investigating the Putin-Trump connection. Your service to this country is immeasurable and for that reason, I promise this will not take up much of your time.

I wanted to talk to you about your performance. Or, more specifically, your lack-there-of. This election was embarrassing. You propped up an unpopular candidate (Weekend At Bernie’s style) and hoped no one noticed your candidate had the personality of drying paint. In fact, the most interesting factoids about Hillary Clinton was her criminal investigation by the FBI and her neoconservative hawkishness for bombing civilians. And, to be fair, these are solid qualities… if you’re trying to cast as the next Bond villain.

Nathaniel Owen – Against Sustainability

What do we mean when we say “sustainability”?

For something, say a society, to be “sustainable” means that it can and will persist, presumably indefinitely, into the future in roughly the same form. If this is what we mean when we say we want to make our current society “sustainable” then I can’t see how any ecologically-minded, justice-oriented progressive can endorse the notion.

Our society is one of global neoliberal colonial capitalism, in which hierarchies of oppression, such as white supremacy or male-supremacy, are built into the very foundation. Our society is one of relentless exploitation, both of the Earth and non-human species, and of groups of humans deemed expendable. Our society is one of deep alienation, from our labor, from one another, from the non-human world around us.

The current status quo of global neoliberal colonial capitalism should not be sustained.

Pamela Getz – Oklahoma Budget Deficit and Infrastructure

As Donald Trump has begun to roll out his plan for improving America’s infrastructure with a $1 trillion overhaul of the nation’s roads and bridges this week, on May 26, 2017, the Oklahoma State Legislature announced plans to divert over $156 million dollars earmarked for agency road and bridge funding to help with an $858 million budget deficit for FY 2018. $100 million from the ROADS Fund, $53.6 million from the State Transportation Fund, and $3 million from the Weigh Station Improvement Fund. Additionally, the County Roads and Bridges Fund was reduced by $50 million.

Cody Boyd from the Public Relations Division of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation told the Progressive Army that the move was made independent of any federal plans as they are unaware of how many, if any, funds would be made available to the state. There are still concerns about having enough funds to match federal funds, which is a requirement in order to receive federal funds for state projects.