Valley Futures

Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead
By Madeleine Kunin/Book Review by Rob Williams
Chelsea Green; 2008; 233 pages

“Remember the ladies.”
– Abigail Adams

“Well-behaved women rarely make history.”
- Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Vermonter Madeleine Kunin has led an extraordinary life.

Born in Zurich to a Jewish family, she moved to the United States as a girl, studied journalism in school, and developed an interest in literature, women’s rights, and politics. She chose to enter Vermont politics in the 1970s, and in 1984, ran and won the office of Vermont governor, serving for 3 terms before declining to run for another term in 1990. Shortly after leaving the governor’s office, Kunin found herself appointed Deputy Secretary of Education by the Clinton administration, a post she held from 1993-1997, when she became ambassador to her native Switzerland. All this, and she found time to raise four children, to boot.

And now, with the publication of Pearls, Politics, and Power, Kunin reflects on all of these experiences in a thoughtful book-length meditation about “how women can win and lead” in the public sphere.

The book is really two books in one. For much of the monograph, Kunin uses her own experiences in public life as a springboard to explore the struggles women face as political leaders, as well as considering women who have “made it” in the political world, from Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh of Egypt, to Hillary Clinton, whose failed 2008 presidential bid offers lessons for anyone interested in a serious consideration of the relationship between women and politics. She then concludes with a final chapter entitled “Where Do We Go From Here?”, which functions as a sort of “step by step” guide for supporting women as they consider involving themselves in formal politics.

Throughout the book, Kunin shares the stories of a wide variety of women who recount their own path to political office, and this is one of the best reasons for reading her account. Even in the 21st century, in the male-dominated world of formal politics, women must work that much harder to demonstrate their credibility and qualifications for the job. “The issue of competence is one that men seem to get an advantage on. For a man, either because he comes from an executive background, or just because he appears to be competent, there’s an assumption that men now how to run things and that women are compassionate and understand your feelings, but may not have executive ability,” CBS news political editor Dotty Lynch recounts to Kunin, who agrees with Lynch’s conclusions, based on her own gubernatorial run in the early 1980s. “We found that once you got a woman governor, it was a lot easier for the next one.” Indeed, and Kunin’s book provides a valuable service as inspirational text for any woman considering public life.

As a male observer, I found Kunin’s last chapter most helpful. How do we prepare more young women for public life? She offers several suggestions. First, teach community service and support programs to do the same (interestingly, the Teach for America program, which Kunin references as a good model, was started by Wendy Kopp, a college classmate, growing out of her educational work done as part of completing her undergraduate thesis). Second, reinvigorate feminism as an exercise in collectively imagining what is possible, politically speaking, for women, and make public office a civic virtue. Third, educate girls to exercise power, encourage community participation, and ask women to run for office. Fourth, think structurally, and fight for campaign finance reform and other institutional changes that open up more opportunities for women to lead. One final suggestion, and it a good one – establish a mentoring bank to create possibilities for female leaders to encourage up-and-comers – a wonderful idea.

“Education, the culture, and laws have to change,” Kunin concludes, “to open the doors wider to the halls of power and to reprioritize the decisions that are made within those halls to achieve the government that more accurately reflects the will of the people.” Easier said than done, of course, but Kunin’s own example provides a compelling case for what is possible when women are more able to participate in public life, and her book offers us some blueprints for a way forward.

Tags: Arts and Media by Rob Williams
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This is an overview of the Transition Town Initiative by Rob Hopkins, author of The Transition Handbook. Many members of the Valley Futures Network have been reading this book with great interest, as it provides a blueprint for communities interested in building resilience in an uncertain world.

Check out Bob’s post below for what is happening right here in Vermont and get involved!

Tags: Transition Towns by Joshua Schwartz
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This morning we launched a new website for Transition Vermont (http://transitionvermont.ning.com/).  Join and visit to find out what others are doing around the state.  Great place to post and view actions relating to transition towns, peak oil, local currencies, relocalization, etc.  See you in the ether.

Bob Ferris

Tags: Transition Towns by Bob Ferris
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The Forests, Wildlife, Communities (FWC) Project is a fantastic planning initiative has been taking place in the Valley over the past year. This is an effort to bring diverse interest groups and residents together to share information and strategies for wildlife and forestland conservation. The project intends to create a coordinated approach to wildlife and forestland conservation through providing assistance in conservation efforts across town boundaries and providing mapping data, planning information and guidance that could benefit landowners and local conservation planning efforts.

Partners in this effort are the Mad River Valley Planning District, Audubon Vermont, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for Wildlife, Northern Forest Alliance, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The project is supported through a grant from the Wildlife Action Opportunity Fund of the Wildlife Conservation Society. A full description of the project in PDF is available here: fwcpdescription.

The project has included a variety of landowner workshops exploring management practices to benefit wildlife (eg: Invasives on Your Property) and landowner bird habitat assessments. A successful Natural Resources Values Forum took place in the spring of this year, resulting in 45 attendees identifying places in the Valley that are well used and valued by residents.

The results of the Forum, along with other work undertook by the Steering Committee, will be presented on October 30th, 7-9 PM, at the 1824 House. All Valley residents are encouraged to attend this event, which will include information and initiatives relevant to creating a balance between the interests of people, forests, and wildlife.

A PRESENTATION OF THE FORESTS, WILDLIFE, COMMUNITIES PROJECT
OCTOBER 30 – 7-9 PM – 1824 HOUSE BARN WAITSFIELD

The forests of the Mad River Valley provide a home to wildlife and provide its residents and visitors with recreational opportunities, timber, fuel, views, and a sense of place.

How can the Valley best protect these vital resources?

As a follow up to the community values forum last spring, please join us for a presentation and open discussion on the following topics:

• Forest Fragmentation: What is it, why it is a concern, and what are the implications for diverse uses of the forest such as recreation, timber management, wildlife, watershed protection, and carbon sequestration.
• Wildlife resource maps for the Mad River Valley: How suitable is the valley for sustaining wildlife?
• What are the trends in the Valley and Vermont concerning the fragmentation of forests?
• What are the results of the community values mapping exercise performed last spring?
• How will future development in the Valley impact forests and wildlife?
• What are the strategies for protecting forests and wildlife?

The event is free and open to the public. Questions contact: Jamey Fidel, Vermont Natural Resources Council (223-2328 x. 117) or Joshua Schwartz, Mad River Valley Planning District (496-7173).

Tags: Announcements, Forest Wildlife Communities Project, Habitat by Joshua Schwartz
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“A truly gifted performer, full of enchanting songs,” gushes The New Yorker.

“The troubadour of modern city folk,” exclaims The Boston Globe.

“As warm and tasty as cinnamon tea, as hopeful as daybreak,” proclaims Rolling Stone.

The performer in question is New York City singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, one of the most nuanced and gifted folk musicians of our generation. And Valley residents will have an opportunity to share the love when Lucy comes to Mad River this Saturday as part of the Valley Players Showcase acoustic series capably assembled by Bruce Jones and his trusty team.

I’ve been listening to Lucy for years, first noticing her unique musical mojo when she provided back-up vocals for well-known songwriters like the Big Apple-based Suzanne Vega, Boston’s Shawn Colvin (back in the day), and Jersey Boy John Gorka. Kaplansky’s voice has a mesmerizing crystalline quality to it – not quite as “hide, wide, and lonesome” as, say, Allison Krauss, but equally arresting, and she uses it to full dynamic effect in all of the projects in which she is involved.

And fortunately for all of us, Lucy embarked on her own solo career several years ago, crafting songs that are at once intimate and personal, but also in a powerful and understated way that speaks to the universal human experience. When you hear Lucy perform, you are reminded, as Marcel Proust was with that little gateau, of your own moments, your own “a ha’s,” your own transcendental experiences, even the small ones.

And this, perhaps, is Lucy’s greatest genius. She can turn a seemingly mundane or clichéd moment – “hey, look, the moon” – into magic through the power of song. She has this knack for immediately “placing” the listener in another world with laser-like precision and great compassion, as she does in the first verse of the first track of her new CD, entitled “Manhattan Moon:”

You say you want to see the moon
Outside of our living room
Over the Manhattan sky
Like we saw last night

And then she connects that moment with the larger universality of the human experience, with the chorus, like so:

I used to travel in a straight line
Now I’m walking on a road that winds
You take my hand we take our time
Oh, we take our time…

A simple and very effective songwriting formula, and Lucy uses it to maximum effect.

She is also smart enough to surround herself with some remarkable musicians – veterans of the songwriting world: the masterful Duke Levine on the high strings (electric guitar, mandola), Ben Wittman on percussion, and standout vocalists like Jonatha Brooke and Richard Shindell on harmony vocals.

Lucy has another nifty talent, as well – she is a fine (and daring) interpreter of other people’s music. Case in point: on an earlier album, she throws down the most remarkable version of an old Police tune from “Ghost in the Machine” called “Secret Journey.” I laughed at her hubris when I first heard her– after all, what is a singer/songwriter from the Big Apple thinking, recording a Police song? – but by the end of the tune, I was hooked.

On her new CD, she pays homage to June Carter Cash (rendering her own sexy version of “Ring of Fire”), Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music’s cult classic “More Than This”), and the under-appreciated but wonderful wordsmith Loudon Wainright III (“Swimming Song”). On this last one, she does what she does best, taking a funny song, and making it both funny and poignant.

As a complete musical package – singer, songwriter, straight-ahead musician, and gifted storyteller – Lucy is awfully hard to beat. I’ve seen her half a dozen times over the years, and I’ll probably go hear her again this Saturday night, to be reminded of music’s power to captivate, heal, and inspire.

Hope to see you there.

Tags: Uncategorized by Rob Williams
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October VFN Energy Committee Meeting

Present:  Tara Hamilton, Lawrence Mott, John Norton, Dennis Derry Berry, Bill Maclay

Agenda:

1.       Mission:  Not discussed.  To be on next agenda.

2.       Biomass Project Update:  Tara Hamilton provided update.  This grant will fund research on the forestry resource in the valley as well as pellets, chips, or other possible uses.  The energy group offered support of these efforts which could benefit the valley.  It will be a great asset to have a more concrete understanding of our resources and options for the future.

3.       Community Energy Projects:  Lawrence Mott provided information on New Generation Partners, which is a non-profit independent power producer whose purpose is to find power projects, form LLC’s, and develop projects in the 500 kW to 10 MW range.  Specifically, they are looking for investors in projects.  Possible wind projects in the valley were discussed and how to develop community oriented projects.   It is exciting to look at how we can further energy independence in the valley through community projects.

4.       Blog thanks:  Thanks to Bob Ferris for active blogging.

5.       Chair:  Dennis agreed to be the chair of the energy committee.

6.       Transition towns:  To be discussed at next meeting or by e-mail.

7.       Next meeting:  As agreed at the last meeting, there will be meetings every other month.  The next meeting will be December 11^th at 6pm at Yestermorrow School.

Tags: Energy by Bob Ferris
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Waitsfield resident and filmmaker/author Eugene Jarecki will be signing copies of his new book on Friday night at the Big Picture, and Saturday at Sugarbush Ski Resort.

Booking the Empire: “Why We Fight” Filmmaker Makes His Case In Print

What happens when an award-winning documentary film producer turns to a print monograph to make his case?

If you are Eugene Jarecki, the answer (to borrow a baseball metaphor) is: you hit a solid triple, with an eye towards home plate.

Jarecki’s new book – The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men and a Republic in Peril (Simon and Schuster, 2008; 324 pages) – is a provocative and personal exploration of the same crucial themes he explored in his Sundance Film Festival 2005 Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary “Why We Fight.” Ignore Jarecki’s “confession” to being “first and foremost a filmmaker” on page 1, rather than a “policy scholar, a soldier” or an “insider to the workings of America’s military establishment.”

Pay his humility no mind. Jarecki possesses a keen eye for detail, an ability to listen closely to his subject’s personal and professional motivations (and the often-felt tension between the two), and a knack for speaking synechdocally – that is, using individuals and moments to illustrate larger systemic and historical truths, and the reader is the better for it.

The book begins, as his film does, with President Dwight David Eisenhower’s 1961 “Farewell Address,” in which the prescient Ike warns Americans to guard against the dangers of the “military-industrial complex,” that potent and profit-seeking combination of special interests that might spell the death of the U.S. republic. Jarecki then takes us on a historical and global tour of the United States, from its early 20th century emergence as a global imperial force to the present moment, with some remarkable stops along the way, from interviews with air force pilots and West Point cadets to conversations with those in the highest levels of government, including Richard Perle and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who proclaims the United States to be “the greatest force for good in the world today.”

How McCain measures this goodness is, of course, a matter for readers to ponder, given the economic and political realities of our current moment, and Jarecki’s book, while wisely steering clear of an attempt to exhaustively chronicle America’s empire-building abroad, explores the historical tension between America’s desire to remain a neutral, even isolationist player on the world stage, and its desire to build an Empire. Eisenhower, for whom Jarecki has deep admiration (as have I, even more so after reading Jarecki’s book) remains the central figure here, walking a remarkable line between competing pulls on his loyalty as a military man, a policymaker, and a compassionate human being in a tough position of leadership.

Not surprisingly, as Eisenhower himself warned, the war-making and profit-taking interests have dominated this debate during the past sixty years, and Jarecki takes pains to explain the nuances that undergird the building of the most powerful (and expensive) Empire in world history. His final chapter – “Shock and Awe at Home” – is a referendum on the past eight years of King George’s administration. For anyone who is unfamiliar with or has forgotten how the USA PATRIOT Act, or John Yoo’s new and novel legal theory of “the unitary executive,” or the John Warner and Military Commissions Acts, or the FISA nonsense, or dozens of other presidential abuses of power have reshaped the federal government’s very essence over the past eight years, a close reading of this chapter alone is worth the price of the book. And I am not comforted by the conclusion most observers make here – that, once Mr. Bush exits office stage right, somehow everything will “return to normal.” Sunset clauses somehow provide little comfort here.

Speaking critically, as a U.S. historian and secessionist/ decentralist, my arguments with Jarecki’s book are not insignificant. I find troubling his refusal to touch the mountain of evidence – the scholarly and well-researched work of David Ray Griffin or Michael Ruppert, for example – that suggests that the 9/11 attacks served as a “false flag” operation engineered by elements within the U.S. government to advance a “new Pearl Harbor.” This is an odd omission, since this phrase is one he uses repeatedly in the book, quoting the Project For A New American Century’s statement calling for a new “defensive” posture – one that essential advocates a policy of “full spectrum dominance” in which the U.S. militarizes the entire globe and outer space. (Orwell would be nodding knowingly right now.)

Jarecki’s otherwise spot on “iron triangle” analysis – in which he masterfully considers the intricate interconnections among the U.S. military, profit (and war) seeking global corporations, and both the legislative and executive branches – largely leaves out the vital role of U.S. media and “news” outlets as propaganda arms for war-making (General Electric manufactures weapons systems for the Pentagon AND owns NBC, which hypes war 24/7. This is not a coincidence).

And, perhaps most importantly, Jarecki chooses to downplay the tremendous amount of money U.S.-based multinational corporations (and the politicians who front for and work with them – Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and the current occupant of the White House, He Who Must Not Be Named) have made supporting what former Bush I insider-turned whistleblower Catherine Austin Fitts calls “the tapeworm economy.”

The country of Iraq is a perfect example here. Let’s connect the dots: the U.S. military-industrial-media-energy-complex makes money bombing and destroying Iraq (Ka-ching!), “rebuilding” Iraq, often badly and/or corruptedly (Ka-ching!, Part 2), while privatizing all of its assets (Ka-ching! Part 3). Oil, black gold, is the bloody tip of the spear point here, as 1 million Iraqis have died since the U.S. 2003 invasion, 2 million more have been displaced, and the U.S. taxpayers have been left footing what Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stieglitz has estimated to be a $3 trillion dollar war (“on terror, that “will not end in our lifetimes,” according to Mr. Cheney.)

If I sound outraged, I am – and, while I deeply appreciate Jarecki’s willingness to listen to all sides, I found myself wishing he’d take off the gloves, at times. But I am also willing to own my own sense of outrage, and laud Jarecki for his vital contribution to this important and unfolding conversation about the future of the United States under the regime that is the “military-industrial complex.” In turning to typography, filmmaker Jarecki has produced what many will see as a minor tour de force, an important book at a pivotal moment in the history of the United States republic-turned-empire.

Tags: Arts and Media, Uncategorized by Rob Williams
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The Valley Futures Network is now posted for all to see on the Transitions United States website inspire by the transition towns book.  Years from now we will be proud that we got into this movement on the ground floor and were able to provide early examples and inspiration to others.  We are on the Transitions Vermont forum page at: http://transitionus.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2320371%3ATopic%3A1287

You can join this site personally as well and communicate with other folks who want to create their own transition towns.  Join today.

Bob Ferris (Transition United States member #51)

Tags: Transition Towns by Bob Ferris
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