Carte Blanche for Terrorists and Hackers

Sony's cancellation of The Interview is understandable from an economic and liability point of view but sets a terrible precedent . What happens when a group decides to hack and threaten a documentary intended to bring our attention to a serious threat to the planet or democracy or even just to individual people? From everything I have heard the movie is terrible and deserved to die a quiet death as soon as the public began to talk about it. Then the furor over the hacking seemed to make the movie destined to be a "must see movie" between those who would go to strike a blow for intellectual freedom and those who just wanted to see what everyone was talking about. Now it will not be seen at all and the terrorists and hackers have won. There may have been a middle ground here but no one was seeking it out and we will come to regret this as we have given carte blanche to future attacks.

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Shawn Jasper's Moment is at Hand

Jasper's Moment is at Hand . . .

Shawn Jasper has some decisions to make. He made a decision to build a coalition that made him Speaker of the House in New Hampshire. Then he promptly abandoned that coalition when he decided that it was going to be business as usual with no appointments based on merit only on party. He's in big trouble now and may very well pick up his flag to charge and realize when he looks behind him that there is no one there. Its not too late but he's going to need to summon every bit of political and personal courage he can in order to save his Speakership.

First, he needs to apologize to his coalition. He needs to bring them all together and explain that he lost his way and he is ready to move forward with conviction and with steel in his spine. He can take heart in the fact that he is on the side of the angels if he does not lose sight of his goals. In a public fight the man who stands up for civility and cooperation will win the public debate. The other side can only defend the status quo and all of those things that have made the public believe that our system is broken. He can lose ONLY if he chooses not to engage.

The second thing he needs to do is to let the people of New Hampshire know that he is going to make some changes to provide the opportunity for power sharing and cooperation between the Republicans and the Democrats. He needs to develop a strategy with the leadership of his coalition for moving forward to unify the House. That strategy should involve making BOTH Republicans and Democrats Chairs and Vice Chairs of committees. This may mean that some of his supporters who had expected to chair committees will need to demonstrate their commitment by stepping down. Or it may mean that committees have Co-Chairs. Nothing prevents a speaker from having Co-Chairs of committees or creating a different system where Chairs and Vice Chairs are appointed and switch roles at some point during the year.

If there is one chairman in the bunch with some courage, he or she will step forward and ask that all Chairs resign as a show of support for the Speaker. Allowing him to reform the committee structure and personnel.

Here's the good news Shawn. No matter what happens, you can fight the good fight. A fight for a future where our political party is second to our citizenship and our love for New Hampshire. A fight where you are truly working in the best interests of the people of New Hampshire. That is a fight you can only lose if you fail to show up.


~ Wayne King is a receiving politician, writer, artist and Social Entrepreneur. He lives with his wife, Alice, in Rumney.

Would a Pardon for Bush/Cheney et al Serve History and Justice?

Circum-navigating The International Court

No matter where you come down on the recent Torture Report one general shared concern seems to be whether it will precipitate criminal charges from the International Court. There are lots of reasons why people of all persuasions would not want to see this happen.

For this reason I put forward the following suggestion based on these facts:

We were all a little crazy following the attacks of 9-11. Call it what you will: anger, sadness, vengence, temporary insanity, the fact is that almost all of us were looking to even the score in some way and we were not in our right minds with respect to the ideals that we hold dear in America and our place of moral leadership in the world.  

The CIA and others, most of whom acted heroically in the weeks and months that followed; and in the midst of a national tsunami of fear and anger and confusion, stepped up to protect the homeland. They were responding to both the attacks and the blowback from most of the political leadership in the country.

The President and Vice President as well as the Attorney General and Sec of Defense all clearly sanctioned the use of “enhanced interrogation” after 9-11. 

Every serious-minded expert as well as every convention adopted in the last fifty years clearly indicates that the same “enhanced” techniques were torture.

The only member of the United States Senate who has himself been subjected to torture, Senator John McCain,  clearly indicated that we were crossing the line with these “enhanced” methods.

Torture is not a reliable means for procuring reliable information. According to the report, despite claims to the contrary and the loud and loutish protestations of the former Vice President, NOT ONE instance where torture was employed yielded reliable information, While as a practical matter this information is instructive and bolsters the case against torture, the moral imperative should not be overruled by  individual instances and introducing it into the debate empowers those who would use it as a smokescreen to justify the employment of torture.

What all these things add up to is this: For the country that lays claim to the moral leader of the planet, torture is not an option because torture is wrong.  President Obama should pardon former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Gonzalez and former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. 

As Harry Truman said of the Presidency “The Buck Stops Here”. We could spend years parsing and assessing the blame for the use of torture at lower levels but the fact is that all of these people acted on the orders of the President and Vice President as well as the AG, the country’s top law enforcement official, and the Secretary of Defense. It was a dark moment and a dark decision in the aftermath. 

But there were also moments of light in the wake of 9-11. 

To his credit, President Bush, and many other political leaders, stepped forward to make sure that Americans did not let their anger spill over into a broad backlash against our own citizens of the Muslim faith. They spoke out forcefully to remind American’s that this was not about religion and should not cause us to turn against one another in the heat of the moment. It may have been the first time in our history where we did not do so and that alone says volumes about how we have matured as a democracy and as a people. 

As a nation we can’t afford to waste the time and energy that it would take to ferret out and prosecute people who over-reacted in the wake of 9-11, particularly because they did so at the behest of the only people who should have been expected to keep a cool head.  As shameful as the result was, almost everyone can be forgiven if they lost their marbles temporarily in the wake of the attack on 9-11. 

However, some - especially Dick Cheney - never got their marbles back or they never had the conscience to begin with. They continue to insist that we did nothing wrong. 

That can only mean one thing. If we do nothing in response to this report, the day will come again when these people, whether neo-cons or liberals-gone-wild, will be in charge and will sanction torture once again.

By reluctantly pardoning those at the top of the torture pyramid, President Obama can “name and shame” those who should have known better, or worse blithely and cynically used the deaths of our citizens as an excuse to engage in this brutality. He can make a moral choice to call them out without tearing the country apart at a time when we are most vulnerable. Convicting them in effect but not in fact; in the “court” of public reckoning.

Further, he can make the argument to the International community and courts, that his pardon was the final act in a soul searching process of Truth and Reconciliation - which in fact it is.  If necessary, he can use this as the rationale for turning down any attempt to prosecute the former President and the Vice President by the International Criminal Court. 

Most important, it will put future administrations on notice that torture will, at the very least seriously tarnish their legacy and could, in fact, wind them up in an International Criminal Court.

"We the People" Limited Edition Poster
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the constitution but to overthrow the people who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln

Wayne King is a recovering politician, businessman, artist and social entrepreneur. He lives with his wife Alice in Rumney, NH.

Jasper Misses his Chance to Shine: So far its Business as Usual

Big disappointment with NH Speaker Jasper who was elected with 75% of his support from Democrats that he did not appoint a single Democrat to Chair a committee. Jasper missed an opportunity to demonstrate real leadership for change and against gridlock. Here's what Jasper needs to keep in mind: The Democrats will stick with him if he is sharing power and creating opportunities for legislators to work together for progress. In other words if his leadership is not simply "Business as Usual" otherwise it would be better for them to have a real adversary in the speaker's seat because it would create a clear distinction between their leadership in the past and the current leadership. Jasper should bear in mind that he already has a large group of Republicans who would like to take his seat away from him. It only takes another vote, where the democrats switch sides to put him out in the cold. If I were the leader of the Democrats I would be reminding him of this and telling him that he had better do something bold to demonstrate that his leadership will be different or there is no reason to continue to support him.

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Jasper Needs to Set an Example

New House Speaker Shawn Jasper should appoint committee chairs from both parties in recognition of the fact that he was elected by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. If he wants his Speakership to mean something, to set an example in this era of incivility and gridlock, he needs to emphasize merit not politics. If he does't do that - or something equally bi-partisan and courageous his speakership will be just business-as-usual. If he does something bold he will be a national star in the political firmament. An example to be held up to all of the other states. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on national newscasts as an example of how working together can make a difference. His supporters will honor him, his opponents will respect him and the country will celebrate him. It is a risk worth taking for him. A risk that will pay huge dividends for Jasper and for New Hampshire, making us a model of civility at the outset of the 2016 primary race when all eyes will be turned our way.

Reprinted from Facebook to provide an historical overview of the process.After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

Coalition of Democrats and Republicans Denies Speakership to O'Brien

A coalition of Democrats and Republicans has denied William O'Brien the Speaker of the House chair that he confidently expected would be his when the full House met in session.

A coalition of Democrats and Republicans joined together as I suggested a few weeks ago and elected the new Speaker of the House Shawn Jasper. Former Speaker Bill O'Brien and his people already are trying to undermine his authority and Rep Jasper will have to tread carefully but he should be able to shore up his majority fairly quickly by using his committee appointment authority and other powers to bring people together. This is a huge test for both Republicans and Democrats who won their seats speaking the language of cooperation, conciliation and bi-partisanship (and there were a lot of them). Now is the time to show that it was not just talk but that it was real. Both Shawn Jasper and Steve Shurtleff - the Democrat leader - are to be congratulated as well as Gene Chandler who put NH first by accepting a position under Speaker Jasper, despite his own hopes to be the Speaker.

Note: Reprinted from Facebook to provide an historical overview of the process.After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

In Ferguson's Wake

In the wake of Ferguson it is important that what is needed is not hate but love and understanding and an examination of the road from here. This speech by Robert F. Kennedy, delivered shortly after the assassination of Martin Luther King, could have been written today and Bobby's words ring down through the years with a message for all of us.

Robert F. Kennedy
Cleveland City Club
April 5, 1968

This is a time of shame and sorrow. It is not a day for politics. I have saved this one opportunity to speak briefly to you about this mindless menace of violence in America which again stains our land and every one of our lives.

It is not the concern of any one race. The victims of the violence are black and white, rich and poor, young and old, famous and unknown. They are, most important of all, human beings whom other human beings loved and needed. No one - no matter where he lives or what he does - can be certain who will suffer from some senseless act of bloodshed. And yet it goes on and on.

Why? What has violence ever accomplished? What has it ever created? No martyr's cause has ever been stilled by his assassin's bullet.

No wrongs have ever been righted by riots and civil disorders. A sniper is only a coward, not a hero; and an uncontrolled, uncontrollable mob is only the voice of madness, not the voice of the people.

Whenever any American's life is taken by another American unnecessarily - whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence - whenever we tear at the fabric of life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.

"Among free men," said Abraham Lincoln, “there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet; and those who take such appeal are sure to lose their cause and pay the costs."

Yet we seemingly tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity and our claims to civilization alike. We calmly accept newspaper reports of civilian slaughter in far off lands. We glorify killing on movie and television screens and call it entertainment. We make it easy for men of all shades of sanity to acquire weapons and ammunition they desire.

Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. Some Americans who preach nonviolence abroad fail to practice it here at home. Some who accuse others of inciting riots have by their own conduct invited them.

Some looks for scapegoats, others look for conspiracies, but this much is clear; violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleaning of our whole society can remove this sickness from our soul.

For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor, that poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is a slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.

This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all. I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies - to be met not with cooperation but with conquest, to be subjugated and mastered.

We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community, men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear - only a common desire to retreat from each other - only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this there are no final answers.

Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is now what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of human purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.

We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge.

Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanish it with a program, nor with a resolution.

But we can perhaps remember - even if only for a time - that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short movement of life, that they seek - as we do - nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can.

Surely this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something. Surely we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our hearts brothers and countrymen once again.

An Opportunity for NH House Democrats

At their party caucus New Hampshire Republicans chose their nominee for Speaker of the House. Because they control the House this person is usually the a shoe in for Speaker. However the vote was very close and opens up the possibility of a coalition government at the state level where Democrats join together with disenfranchised Republicans (read "moderates"). The NH House Democrats could strike a deal with Gene Chandler or some other centrist Republican for a truly bi-partisan House with Chairs from Dems and Reps the way we did it in the Senate back in 1992. It was an amazing experience with Democrats and Republicans actually working together. We passed a lot of important legislation: The Business Finance Authority, the Investment Tax Credit, The International Trade Center, Living Will and that's just off the top of my head. 

I challenge the Republican leaders who were trying to avert another O'Brien Speakership to step up and prove they want to work across party lines. Support a coalition leadership model.

Reprinted from Facebook to provide an historical overview of the process.After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

After I wrote this the Chair of the NH Democratic Party forwarded the idea to House Democrats and they successfully struck a deal with Representative Shawn Jasper.

NH House Should Adopt Coalition Governance Model

It has been assumed that since Bill O'Brien won the Republican vote for Speaker of the New Hampshire House that he would automatically become speaker once again. If this were true the best we could hope for was to spend 2 years in damage control and another two years after that cleaning up the mess he made.

But the fight need not be over. The final vote for Speaker of the House is a vote of the entire body. Democrats and Republicans of good will can still join together to form a coalition government, a government where merit is the guiding principle; where committees are chaired by both Republicans and Democrats.

It is a model that works and one that should be adopted to avoid another two years of partisanship. In 1992 Republican Ralph Hough was chosen as President of the Senate in a coalition. For the next two years we proved that leadership by merit was in fact possible. The parties caucused together over lunch in the office of the Senate President and we passed unprecedented legislation ranging from environmental protection and economic development to Living Wills and Investment Tax Credits.

If the Republican Leaders who favored Gene Chandler in the race want to really prove their Bi-Partisan reds. they will work with Democrats to form a coalition to defeat O'Brien in the final vote.

"I See the Way"

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I'm pleased to announce that "I See the Way" was chosen for the Regional NH Center for the Arts Juried show in New London. It has also been selected for a Judge's award among all the works. Awards will be presented at Friday's opening at the New London Inn Micro Gallery in New London - 5pm - 7pm. I plan to announce that 50% of proceeds from sales of a poster of the image will be designated to Project Laundry List a non profit NGO that works to advocate for a sustainable future and against regulations that prohibit wash lines.

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"In the depth of winter 

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~ Albert Camus

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The Pony's Trail - with ee cummings quote

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This poster is created from one of my favorite images and includes a quote from ee cummings: "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." ~ e.e. cummings

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Phoenix Project Aims at Cleanup and Job Creation in Niger Delta

Phoenix Project Aims at Cleanup and Job Creation in Niger Delta

Creating Multiple Positive Outcomes from Spill Cleanup

Brief:

The Phoenix Project proposes to create a pilot "Enterprise Recovery and Empowerment Zone" in the Niger Delta of Nigeria to test an innovative approach to oil spill cleanup that includes creation of an enterprise community generating electricity, jobs and research opportunities for the people of the region.

You’ve probably seen the photos of the devastation in the Niger Delta. They were likely a sidebar story to coverage of the Gulf Oil Spill. As cleanup commenced here in the US within days of the accident, an equal amount of oil was being spilled in West Africa’s most fertile valley and richest fisheries and little was being done by anyone. Further, on an annual basis the Delta has experienced spills equivalent to two Gulf spills every single year.

Oil Companies find the inconspicuous nature of drilling and harvesting oil in Africa an attractive alternative to doing so in the West where consumers are more organized and unforgiving. Many of the local Nigerian politicians find that oil money makes a very tempting and large target for illicit proclivities. Add to all this a spill cleanup funding mechanism that suffers from a complete lack of transparency, further tempting even aspiring “honest” politicians and distancing oil companies from the assumption of responsibility and you have a recipe for an amoeba-like environmental catastrophe - growing and spreading as it devastates the economic and social fabric of the region. 

Enter Project Phoenix, the conceptual brainchild of former NH Senator Wayne King of with the help of his Nigerian counterpart Osita Aniemeka. King began going to Nigeria in 1997, shortly after an unsuccessful run for Governor, Leading a team of social entrepreneurs on behalf of the Ford Foundation, King’s team, which included Santa Barbara-based Philip “Kip” Bates of the University of California, Santa Barbara who was the technology guru of the Team. Rounding out the team was the late Dr. Chidi Nwachukwu a native born Nigerian and US Citizen and CEO of Sameday Express and a unique startup called UConnet that was one of the nation’s very first companies to use the Internet for telephone services, now referred to as “Internet Telephony”. Since 1997 the team has continued to return to West Africa for Ford Foundation, USAID and the World Bank among others. Dr. Nwachukwu died from Leukemia in 2000, when the idea for doing something about oil spills in the Niger Delta was little more than a glimmer in the eyes of the trio, and the team has dedicated this pilot project in his honor.

The Phoenix Project officially has been in the works for more than four years when King got the idea that it might be possible to build an “Enterprise Community” around the oil spill cleanup process where the cleanup and associated funds - if they could be accessed - would drive the development of both cleanup jobs as well as jobs related to the bi-products of the cleanup, specifically electricity, biochar, and biofuels. The more the team began to explore and research the components they envisioned the mmore they came to realize that there may be a way to make the effort sustainable, replicable and taken as a whole - carbon-negative. The Kyoto accords, that took effect in 2005, also spurred the idea that there might also be an opportunity for Carbon Credit trading based on the Carbon-Negative

In most circumstances today the end results of an oil spill cleanup are hidden from the public, quite possibly because the companies want the problem and its accompanying bad publicity to simply go away. “This means” said King, “that the opportunities to generate revenues from the cleanup of the oil and the treatment of the oil contaminated absorbents - like booms - go unnoticed and and untapped. Our pilot project recovers and recycles as much of the oil as we can, using a patented cellulose absorbent from MOP Environmental Solutions for the cleanup on both land and water (MOPenvironmental.com) then using the remaining biomass (the cellulose after oil removal) to generate electricity with a small, mobile, pyrolysis power plant manufactured by EcoReps of Adelaide Australia (www.Ecoreps.com.au). In addition to the electricity, the plant will also produce biochar a highly acclaimed soil amendment that has properties that make it both a fertilizer, a water storage element and a carbon sink - capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering it for decades and perhaps centuries, releasing it only when called on for plant growth.” 

In addition to the jobs and opportunities created by the obvious products and processes The Phoenix Project - Niger Delta expects to seek out additional research and entrepreneurial opportunities that coincide with, and take advantage of, synergies that arise within the process. For example, research on biochar is at its very early stages and the use of it for bioremediation of oil spills is postulated but not thoroughly researched. Osita Aniemeka, Director of Nigerian operations, believes that the emphasis on research is consistent with Nigeria’s new emphasis on its agricultural sector and provides opportunities for the Phoenix Project to create jobs and ventures that empower women and young people who are particularly vulnerable to the economic woes brought on by these devastating and continuing oil spills.

Depending upon their ability to access oil spill cleanup funds and the extent of those funds, the Phoenix Project team believes that they can generate sufficient revenues to allow them to fund all or part of the cost of designating and cleaning up the next zone.

“We see this pilot project as our opportunity to develop an Open Source solution to the challenge of oil spills. Once we have tested the various aspects of the Pilot we will make the model available broadly to others who are seeking a solution to oil spills that creates a “Phoenix Effect” within an area devastated by a spill.” said Aniemeka.

The Phoenix Project is seeding the project with a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds needed to bring together the communities, the experts and officials from both the government and the oil industry in the Niger Delta. They will also be carefully choosing the first site taking into account the long term needs of the community after the Enterprise and Empowerment Zone is turned over to a local governing body. “With a little luck”, King says, “we can move on to the next zone with most of the funds needed for the next cleanup, leaving a 1 megawatt electricity plant in the control of a local governing body to continue to provide badly needed and reliable electricity to the businesses and homes of the community.”  

The total cost of the pilot will be in the range of 12 million dollars but the companies participating as partners in the venture have all agreed to discount their costs in order to create the model. The net cost is likely to be closer to 8 million dollars, most of that for the capital equipment like the mobile power plant. “Once we have the model down right,” King continued “the net cost of each succeeding Zone should be somewhere in the range of $2 million dollars per zone, before calculating in revenues from most of the bi-products. While only the real thing will allow us to be sure, we are confident that after Zone one the process should be self sustaining - as long as there are funds available for the cleanup.” and in the Nigerian environment . . . that seems to be the biggest question mark.  

To learn more about the Phoenix Project you can visit the Project Phoenix Blog at nigerdeltaphoenix.blogspot.com

The Crowd funding effort can be viewed at http://igg.me/at/PPND

Our Existential Challenge

Our Existential Challenge

Though I consider myself first a citizen of the planet, I continue to believe that the precepts - first laid down by my own Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) ancestors and then adopted by the framers of the US Constitution - are the foundation of the last best hope for the planet. That is why I am a patriot.

Last night I listened to an interview with PJ O'Rourke on NH Public Radio who said that the baby boom generation had never faced the sort of challenges that previous generations had faced. It was - ironically - followed by a short piece related to climate change. I assert that the challenges of climate change are in fact the greatest existential challenge that we have ever faced; and, while the solution must be forged inter-generationally, the baby boom generation has the greatest obligation to act because we bear the greatest responsibility for the creation of the problem. Furthermore, halting the advance of climate change is hardest for us because we, naturally, have become more set in our ways. In short, we must lead the way and get out of the way at the same time . . .

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Reviving the Mt Eustis Community Ski Area

The cost of a ski ticket has - lately especially - made the sport of skiing out of reach for most New Hampshire folks. In addition to this, most ski areas have dropped their special rates for local citizens and especially students - an act that they will regret as climate change makes it more and more challenging to draw skiers. That's what makes this effort to revive the Mount Eustis community ski area important.

New Hampshire was once dotted with these small community ski areas. After all, New Hampshire was the birthplace of skiing in the United States so it made sense that communities would make an effort to provide an opportunity for their citizens. But over the years, particularly when skiing was more affordable to the average citizen and ski areas had community discounts for locals, the number of these ski areas dwindled until there were almost none.

Expect to see more of these efforts to revive old ski hills. You can learn more about NH's "lost" ski hills here.

You can help with the effort in many ways. I've donate sales of a beautiful image "Tamarack Tempest" taken within a few miles of Mt. Eustis.






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Preparing for Climate Change in New Hampshire and Militating the Damage

Preparing for Climate Change in New Hampshire and Militating the Damage

For those who missed it, Laura Knoy's edition of The Exchange today on NH Public Radio, featured a discussion about Climate change that was very interesting and disturbing. Two important points of the many made deserve our attention. The first is that, without naming the Northern Pass Project the two scientists stressed the need for decentralized renewable energy as the pathway to a healthier and safer energy future for New Hampshire. Centralized sources of power - like Northern Pass - are more likely to generate jobs elsewhere instead of here in NH and push NH in the direction of what they termed the "High Emissions Scenario" that will wreak economic and environmental havoc on NH. Centralized sources also make us much more vulnerable to acts of terrorism (my observation not part of the discussion). The second point is that what we can do as individuals matters a great deal. Every step we take to reduce our own personal dependence on carbon generating energy sources is a gift we give to the earth.

Knoy's guests, Cameron Wake from UNH's renowned Institute for Earth Oceans and Space, who co-authored UNH's Report on Climate Change in New Hampshire; and Michael Simpson, climate adaptation scientist and chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Antioch University New England, which just announced establishment of a new Climate Change Preparedness Center at Antioch.

The burial of the power lines of Northern Pass is often mentioned as the resolution of the problem but in truth burial of the power lines is a compromise that fails to tackle the most important policy questions with respect to New Hampshire's energy future. If we have to live with buried power lines, it will be a victory for our "view shed" but the fundamental flaws that should kill Northern Pass altogether will cast a pall on our future in many other ways.


Read: http://nhpr.org/post/adapting-climate-change-flood-insurance

Listen here

UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Spacehttp://www.eos.unh.edu

UNH’s report on climate change in New Hampshire.

Environmental Studies department at Antioch University New England

Antioch Center to study climate change preparedness

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Time to Move Beyond the Death Penalty in New Hampshire

Time to Move Beyond the Death Penalty in New Hampshire

Wayne D. King

Like a lot of citizens, I have been all over the board on the death penalty during my life. It not because I’m indecisive, it’s because like most of us, I found it hard to get beyond the Old Testament admonition of “an eye for an eye” when I was hurting or outraged over an injustice. In my heart, I knew it was morally wrong for government to punish an individual for a heinous crime by committing the same act itself. But in truth, I simply chose not to think about that and to simply come down on the side of vengeance. 

But the years have gone by and while my eyesight may have dimmed, time and experience have sharpened my vision. It’s partly the number of people who have been proven to be innocent after being convicted of crimes by our judicial system - including some who have been shown to be innocent after the sentence has been carried out; It’s partly from my discomfort with a system that - while trying hard to be conscientious - is still not colorblind or egalitarian. It partly that I am more inclined toward the teachings of Jesus and Gandhi and King now than I am toward the Old Testament view of the world.   And while it seems cold to consider costs of capital punishment when a human life hangs in the balance, the simple truth is that in a just society it costs more to put someone to death than to simply throw away the key.

For the Senators who are faced with a vote for or against repeal of the death penalty I have only sympathy. I’ve been there. But the view from here is different. First because it is clear to me now from the outside that this is an issue of conscience that your constituents will respect.  They may come down in a different place from you but with very few exceptions - even among those who are actively involved on one side or the other in the legislative battle - they will not base their vote on your position on this issue.

I don’t often worry too much about where the United States is in relation to the rest of the world but on an issue of human rights - well, we should be second to none. Would we find it acceptable if - for example - segregation was still acceptable here when the rest of the developed world had moved beyond it? Would we allow the employment of children at long, dangerous and filthy work, even though the rest of the developed world had outlawed child labor? All the countries of Europe, plus Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Rwanda, and many more have put the death penalty behind them.  It’s time for New Hampshire and the USA to do the same. 

Yes, this is an issue of conscience, but for those who vote to repeal the death penalty you can be sure that in addition to a forgiving public, you will be on the side of the moral arc of history. The time has come for us to assume our rightful place of moral leadership on this issue and eliminate the death penalty. 

Wayne King is a recovering politician and the President of Moosewood Communications in Rumney, NH.

How Wolves Change Rivers

How Wolves Change Rivers : If you have ever wondered why it matters that we restore a healthy wolf population to Yellowstone (and other places) take the time to watch this beautifully done video.

Faithful Friends

Two faithful friends make their way in the world together on the streets of Brussels, Belgium. Despite the rantings of a few politically correct and misinformed people the relationship between a carriage horse and driver is almost always that of faithful friends.

One original of this image is created, signed, dated and with a certificate of authenticity. The image is used for creation of an open edition but otherwise archived and kept only for historic purposes and publications.

The framed original print is live signed, dated, with a certificate of authenticity.

"The Faithful"

Wayne D. King

Framed original image (1/1)

Image size: 15.63x24

* Frame: 20.13x28.50

Frame: Black Metal (Neilsen style)

Off white acid free matt

Plexiglass

Price $895

 

An open edition of this image is available for those who would like a more affordable alternative to purchasing the original art. For your choices of size and style please click here.

* If you purchase this image and request input on framing choices, we can give you some alternatives.

Kerry Tees Up Keystone for Obama Veto

For those in the business of reading political tea leaves the speech last week in Jakarta by Secretary of State John Kerry is an important milestone.

Ok so I'm mixing metaphors, its an important lump of tea leaves just doesn't do it and furthermore makes light of an issue far too important for us to make light of.

Kerry's speech was the strongest statement yet from an administration that has already made Climate change a cornerstone issue. Most important, Kerry did not mince words. He spoke more like a scientist than as a politician, noting that when 98.9 percent of the scientists say that the world is round, we don't give equal time to the Flat Earth Society and we should treat climate change the same way or we will destroy the only home we have.

Kerry did not polish the rough edges of his speech, he did not "put a shine on it" as some would say; he came right out and said that Climate change was a weapon of mass destruction that we were arming against our own future.

A speech like this is not done in a vacuum. The Secretary of State has plenty of latitude to do his/her job of course but when he makes a speech as powerful as this one, he has to have run it up the flagpole with the White House.

If John Kerry has not intentionally teed up the Keystone Pipeline for a veto by President Obama then he has at the very least put his hand on the scales. Kudos to him for that.

Keystone is bad for the planet but the root problem is not the pipeline, it is the harvesting of the Tar Sands themselves and until we find a way to address the root problem, a Keystone veto will only be a wrinkle in the rug that will pop up somewhere else in the house of cards we call Planet Earth.

~wdk

Rotary Park in Snow, Plymouth, NH
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Critical Thinking and the Paradox of History

Critical Thinking and the Paradox of History
Advice from a Lifelong Student (and sometimes Teacher) of History
Wayne D. King

Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.
George Santayana
US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

History and politics must be approached with a large dose of skepticism whether from the left or the right because, after all, history is generally written by the "winners" whether their cause was just or not. While I may have coined, or simply adopted, the phrase "The Paradox of History" neither the phrase itself, nor the thought, is unique or original.

Economist John Maynard Keynes coined the phrase the “Paradox of Thrift” to describe that point in a recession when the public is inclined to save as much as possible and spend as little as possible, while at the same time massive spending is the only way to alleviate the economic peril that the country faces. The Paradox of history is simply that history is written by the “winners” who have a vested interest in the narrative, while at the same time, history's greatest benefit to us is what might be learned from an unbiased narrative that provides us an opportunity to see both the good and bad in its events, personas and results. Stated more eloquently by Gordon Craig, “the duty of the historian is to restore to the past the options it once had.”

So, therefore, a good teacher's first responsibility to his or her students is to convince them that they should believe as little as possible of what he or she is about to tell them. Let's call that the "educators corollary" to the Paradox of History.

Having admitted to complete and utter fallibility, a good teacher must then impart his/her knowledge assertively, as if no other source was closer to the oracle of knowledge.

A worthy teacher, then, seeks not to serve answers or truths but to urge students toward the development of critical thinking skills and a healthy skepticism, from which they can derive their own narrative.

This does not in any way alleviate the burden upon you, the student. Quite the contrary in fact - it imposes a larger responsibility because you must find a way to demonstrate a modicum of deference to my years of experience and knowledge while, at the same time, double checking the veracity of everything you learn from me.

One of the first things that you will learn is that a good critical thinker does not mistake opinion or "common sense" for fact. Opinion, after all is just that; one person’s view of something. Common sense, that stalwart beacon of logic and wisdom with which your elders have urged you to imbue your thoughts and behavior, is an even more devilish force because it is empowered by the vast influence of majority thought.

Stephen Hawking, in his extraordinary "Science in the New Millennium" speech, said “. . . common sense is just another name for the prejudices that we have been brought up with.”

Facts, on the other hand, as Mark Twain said, are "stubborn things"
they may stand by themselves or they may be turned into thought, but without them thought has no basis in reality; and, ultimately, no power.

So, as we begin this term, make it your goal to keep both your eyes and your mind wide open. Take joy in the moments in which your notion of the world is turned upside down because that is the surest sign that something useful is happening to you.

The Best Leader

A leader is best
When people barely know
That he exists,

Less good when
They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when
They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people
And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,
When his work is done,
His aim fulfilled,
they will all say,
'We did this ourselves.’

Lao-Tzu
Chinese philosopher

Wayne D. King

A Glow of Lilies
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Time to Stand OUR Ground

In the years to come the trial and verdict in the murder of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn will be remembered as a cultural touchstone.   A tipping point where suddenly the veil fell away and left all of us who are rational, thinking people asking ourselves how we came to this place and how we find our way out. 

Like many others, I have been transfixed by this trial, gathering up news as it came through the filters of the various news sources. I was stunned at the confluence of evidence and testimony. Stunned that Michael Dunn had the gall to try and describe a crime scene narrative totally inconsistent with the physical evidence and the eye witness testimony. A listing of these inconsistencies could run 

But what has been the most shocking and ultimately the most hopeful on the flip side is the reaction. In short Black people are pissed. Here we are seemingly on the verge of a post racial America only five years ago when President Obama was elected and suddenly we find ourselves face to face with Jim Crow himself.

It isn’t just the usual suspects who are outraged. We expect indignation from Rev Al or Cornell West who sometimes seem to see the world through mud crusted glasses but even the voices of moderation have suddenly found themselves radicalized by the realization that this is all bigger than any of us thought. When moderates like Michelle Bernard  or even the usually apolitical Wayne Brady are compelled to speak out something is in the air. 

Jon Stewart and Jessica Williams teamed up on the Daily Show Tuesday night to do a sharp and biting analysis of the case and the verdict but even the humor of the moment could not mask the message - the message that for black mothers their baby boys were in danger and even those who are fortunate enough to be a part of the 1% could not sit easily. 

And therein lies the seeds of change. . .

Last night I spoke with an old friend from High School. He was the black kid in an almost all white high school in the 70’s. The kid that everyone loved. He’s usually as upbeat as any human being I know but last night the sadness in his tone was palpable. I got off the phone and turned to my wife and said simply; “Black people are pissed.” and she did the oddest thing. She raised her hand as if she was in school. I looked at her questioningly and she said “So am I!”  

Its not just black people who are outraged. Its a whole lot of us of every color. It is just the army that will be needed to take on the institutional Frankenstein that we have created with Stand your Ground laws, Voter “Fraud" legislation intended to tamp down the minority and low income vote and a host of other stalking horse laws intended to match the growing wealth gap with its evil twin - The justice gap.

The fight is on. Choose your side because its going to be a battle. Either we kill the monster or it controls our country for another 100 years. It's time to Stand OUR Ground and say that we will not go back. 

Cannon Cliffs in the Winter
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