California Charming

• The most recent edition of High Country News takes a jaundiced look at our green as a dollar bill governor. Editor John Mecklin finds exactly the right description (of Schwarzenegger with Tony Blair) in his editorial.

It was a typical Schwarzenegger performance, by which I mean to say it was charming and, as is too often the case with the telegenic former Terminator, unrealistic. Discounting asteroid and comet strikes, there are two primary threats to humanity’s existence: nuclear war (which Schwarzenegger will have no chance of addressing outside the four corners of a movie screen) and global warming, which he could address, but is instead using as the set for his latest politico-cinematic feature, Arnold Against the Hotness.

This supports the longer cover story: "Hydrogen Highway Revisited" which provides a does of reality.

Once more, someone has to be calling the Governator on his slick promotions before he promotes us all into oblivion. It is a role that is perfectly suited for the Green Party if only the GPCA were willing to be the vehicle for this effort. We all saw what the California Nurses Association did with Arnold. I believe that the Green Party should be making a similar effort to take him to task for promoting policies of ecological collapse while touting his own green-ness.

The list of failures waiting to happen increases with every new challenge he faces.

• Water solutions that will destroy the delta.
• Cap and trade system for CO2.
• Maybe a new forest fire control policy for Tahoe (yet to be specified).
  

The time for this action is now.

Greenwashing and the Governor

I have ALMOST dropped out of site. But, the following arrived in my email this afternoon and it is just too important not to pass along, especially since we have a Red state governor trying to take on the image of our party's name.

It is about the time that the GPCA started to do something to directly challenge the governator's propaganda campaign. The following comes in two parts. The first from Dan Bacher, ed. of The Fish Sniffer, the leading West Coast magazine dedicated to fishing.

Good Afternoon

Here is Restore the Delta's press release regarding Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's ramping up of his campaign to destroy the California Delta by building the peripheral canal. Following the press release is Restore the Delta's "Delta Flows" newsletter that includes an urgent action alert.

I urge everybody to RIGHT NOW call the Governor’s office at 916-445-2841 and ask for the date and time for the Governor’s press conference to be held this week in the Delta. If you actually acquire an answer, please share it with Barbara@restorethedelta.org and c.c. the answer to me at danielbacher@fishsniffer.com.

The Governor's campaign to build the peripheral canal at a time when he is nationally touting his "environmental" credentials by posing on the covers of national magazines is "greenwashing" of the worst sort. We must expose the Governor for his hypocrisy - and stop him in his efforts to build a canal that would undoubtedly destroy the Delta and result in the destruction of Delta smelt, salmon, steelhead, striped bass, sturgeon and other species.

The Delta smelt, an indicator species, is on the brink of extinction and spring run chinook, winter run chinook and other fish will follow the smelt into oblivion if it becomes extinct. What we need is a restored Delta, not increased water exports from Delta through a peripheral canal as the Governor is pushing for.

Please forward this to everybody who cares about the future of the Delta!

Thanks

Dan

The other is from Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Campaign Director of the non-profit Community Organization, Restore the Delta.

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2007

Restore the Delta Contact: Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

PO Box 691088 Phone: 209-479-2053

Stockton, CA 95269 Email: Barbara@Restorethedelta.org

www.restorethedelta.org

Governor Schwarzenegger Ramps Up Publicity Effort to Push For a Peripheral Canal

Stockton, Ca – Restore the Delta, a local broad-based coalition including Delta farmers, environmentalists, everyday citizens, fishermen, and business leaders, announces its opposition to Governor Schwarzenegger’s water plan for California.

While local Delta stakeholders are making presentations regarding the future of the Delta to the Delta Vision Stakeholders Panel, Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference at the San Luis Reservoir announcing his water plan for the state. The Governor called once again for the building of additional water conveyance from the Delta (a.k.a. peripheral canal). However, in explaining his five-point plan, he did not utter a word about a long term strategy for maintaining and improving Delta levees.

Restore the Delta Campaign Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla noted that the Governor held his first press conference in the heart of the Westlands Water District – the primary area in California where land irrigated with Delta water does not drain properly resulting in polluted local groundwater tables – rather than embracing what local Delta stakeholders have to say as they participate in the public process that he mandated.

“Clearly, by going on tour to call for the building of the peripheral canal, the Governor has chosen to cast his lot with large corporate water interests, rather than with Delta family farmers, citizens, fishermen, wake boarders, water skiers, yachting enthusiasts, local business owners, rowers, duck hunters, agricultural workers, nature lovers, and soccer moms who simply care about what kind of environment their children will inherit," said Barrigan-Parrilla.

Restore the Delta President Bill Loyko added that the Governor will be holding a similar press conference in the Delta some time this week, but his office will not release the time and location of the event.

“After a week of courting the national press on his environmental leadership record, Governor Schwarzenegger does not have the courage to admit publicly to local Delta stakeholders that his water plan is centered on providing more Delta water to special water interests and corporate agriculture in the southern part of the state," said Loyko.

Without a doubt, the Governor is embracing a policy that would be the final death blow for Delta fisheries and, thus, has lost the right to claim the title of environmental governor. He has bought into and is selling the notion that the peripheral canal is the environmentally superior method for water conveyance from the Delta.

Of the numerous reasons that Restore the Delta opposes the Peripheral Canal, Ms. Barrigan-Parrilla points out that state and federal water agencies have proven time and time again that they do not “operate water projects in a way that protects the Delta’s ecosystem or the needs of local Delta communities. Why should we trust these same institutions to operate a new water conveyance system in a way that will be compatible with Delta values?”

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla

Campaign Director

Restore the Delta

Making the Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!

Barbara@restorethedelta.org

www.restorethedelta.org

ph: 209-479-2053

PO Box 691088

Stockton, CA 95269

Action Alert:

Delta Flows – Weekly Highlights from Restore the Delta for the Week of July 16, 2007

“So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.”

Adrienne Rich

Governor Schwarzenegger Ramps Up Publicity Effort to Push For a Peripheral Canal

Today, Monday, July 16, 2007, while local Delta stakeholders are making presentations regarding the future of the Delta to the Delta Vision Stakeholders Panel, Governor Schwarzenegger held a press conference at the San Luis Reservoir announcing his water plan for the state. The Governor called once again for the building of additional water conveyance from the Delta (a.k.a. peripheral canal) and the building of additional dams. However, in explaining his five-point plan, he did not utter a word about a long term strategy for maintaining and improving Delta levees so as to deal with the state’s identified threats to the Delta including seismic activity and sea level rise.

Restore the Delta staff is incensed that the Governor held his first press conference in the heart of the Westlands Water District – the primary area in California where land irrigated with Delta water does not drain properly resulting in polluted local groundwater tables – rather than embracing what local Delta stakeholders have to say as they participate in the public process that he mandated. Clearly, by going on tour to call for the building of the peripheral canal, the Governor has chosen to cast his lot with large corporate water interests, rather than with Delta family farmers, citizens, fishermen, wake boarders, water skiers, yachting enthusiasts, local business owners, rowers, duck hunters, agricultural workers, nature lovers, and soccer moms who simply care about what kind of environment their children will inherit.

What is even more disturbing for Restore the Delta staff is that the Governor will be holding a similar press conference in the Delta some time this week, but his office will not release the time and location of the event. After a week of courting the national press on his environmental leadership record, Governor Schwarzenegger does not have the courage to admit publicly to local Delta stakeholders that his water plan is centered on providing more Delta water to special water interests and corporate agriculture in the southern part of the state. Without a doubt, the Governor is embracing a policy that would be the final death blow for Delta fisheries and, thus, has lost the right to claim the title of environmental governor. He has bought into and is selling the notion that the peripheral canal is the environmentally superior method for water conveyance from the Delta.

Restore the Delta Opposes the Peripheral Canal Because…

1) Water quality will deteriorate even further leading to the death of the Delta’s ecosystem – the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of both North and South America.

2) The local water supply will become so saline that Delta agriculture can no longer be sustained, thereby undoing our region’s economy, culture, history, and way of life.

3) Delta water quality will never meet Clean Water Act standards.

4) The Delta recreation industry will cease to exist as we know it. Sports fishing will be a thing of the past, and other water sporting activities will be cease to be pleasurable in such polluted waters.

5) There will be no incentive to fix Delta levees or to create a flood management plan that will protect Delta people, Delta property, and Delta infrastructure, such as railways and gas lines. In the event of a natural disaster, the Delta will be written off in the same way that New Orleans was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.

6) State and Federal water agencies have proven time and time again over the last thirty years that they do not operate water projects in a way that protects the Delta’s ecosystem or the needs of local Delta communities. Why should we trust these same institutions to operate a new water conveyance system in a way that will be compatible with Delta values?

Instead, Restore the Delta Maintains…

1) Freshwater is essential for the health and vitality of the Delta community, economy and ecosystem. Both immediate actions and long-term solutions must be founded on protecting the Delta as a public trust resource. Therefore:

· Exports of water from the Delta must immediately be reduced to a level compatible with protecting Delta values.

· All proposals for long-term Delta management must be based on a firm understanding of Delta freshwater needs and must include strong protection for sufficient flows of water necessary for healthy Delta communities, including Delta agriculture. Strong assurances must be made for such protections, with appropriate and sustainable water export reductions before any proposals for alternative export conveyance or diversion methods are considered.

2) A comprehensive flood plan and an emergency readiness plan must be immediately prepared to protect the people, property, and infrastructure and provide for a healthy ecosystem of the Delta. A comprehensive plan to improve essential project and non-project levees must be immediately prepared and fully funded in consultation with local Delta experts.

3) To restore the health of the California Delta while maintaining a reliable water supply for our neighbors throughout California, state and regional water agencies must aggressively implement regional water self-sufficiency measures, such as water conservation, reclamation, and water recycling.

4) All Delta planning must be designed to minimize the regional impacts of climate change. Specifically, plans must address increased flood risks, sea level rise, and peak river inflows that are likely to result from climate change. These plans must also allow for incremental responses to ecosystem changes resulting from climate change.

5) All land use decisions, including potential island reconfiguration must be guided by local Delta expertise. Delta landowners and residents must have an active role in development and implementation of all plans affecting their community.

6) To help preserve the unique cultural and environmental resources of the

California Delta, the state should immediately establish a California Delta Conservancy, as well as assist with obtaining a federal and/or state level protected status for the Delta region (i.e. park, monument, or recreational area). Such programs should be developed in consultation with local Delta landowners and stakeholders, and should help to protect Delta agricultural interests.

Here’s What Restore the Delta Supporters Can Do to Help…

Call the Governor’s office at 916-445-2841 and ask for the date and time for the Governor’s press conference to be held this week in the Delta. If you actually acquire an answer, please share it with Barbara@restorethedelta.org. In addition, keep checking your email this week for an update from Restore the Delta regarding the Governor’s Delta press conference. We will let you know the details as soon as we hear more information so that all of you can attend this historical event.

On the efficacy of public action…

A number of Restore the Delta supporter attended the July 2nd House of Representatives Resources Subcommittee hearing "Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta crisis and the implications for California water management.” Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), indicated that this hearing (in which a number of Delta water agency officials were questioned with vigor on water operations decisions harming the Delta) would not be the end of inquiry or action.

Restore the Delta staff would like to thank Congressman George Miller for his advocacy on behalf of the Delta during this hearing. Restore the Delta staff would also like to extend a special thanks to Restore the Delta supporters Betsy Reifsnider, Larry Nelson, Joshua Stark, Ron Forbes, and James Rexroth. Your fine work displaying banners, signs, and pamphlets created Restore the Delta’s positive image at the hearing.

Ron Paul-Walter Williams '08 - Old "Race" Politics

Ron Paul Libertarians think they're being "clever" by hinting Mr. Paul would choose Black economist, Walter E. Williams, as his running mate. In fact, they have inadvertently "outted" themselves as captives of the idiotic old "race" politics as practices by cynical Democrats and Republicans for nearly forty years. On the Green blogs, there has been heavy arguments over a Greens-Libertarian alliance (see for example: a ron paul even a green could love). Most of the Greens, to their credit, reject the seductions of libertarianism.

In a comment on Green Commons, Colby Peterson played the "Walter Williams card":

This is Ron Paul's view on racism, just because he doesn't support
affirmative action and privilege programs doesn't make him a racist...

You can disagree with him politically, but you cannot say he's not for an
equitable society or for equal opportunity. This is just a different method to
the same ends. Were you even aware that Ron Paul is considering an
Black man (Walter E. Williams) as his running mate?

Wow! Hold the presses!

Ron Paul is considering a Black man!

Here's the problem: I have followed Walter E. Williams career for many years and the man is a total rightwing nutcase.

You don't have to take my word for it. Point your browser to the conservative web site, Jewish World Review, and you'll find all Williams' recent writings lovingly archived. Here of some samples of recent wisdom from Dr. Willams, a Black man:

Rules of Engagement, May 2, 2007

The March 23 Iranian capture of 15 British Royal Navy sailors should raise a number of questions. The sailors were part of the crew of HMS Cornwall, a state-of-the-art frigate bristling with high-tech surveillance devices and advanced weaponry. The sailors, dispatched in small boats, were boarding and inspecting merchant vessels in Iraqi waters for contraband...

The West's survival requires that we wake up and recognize the true character of the enemy we face. We are involved in a clash with a culture that has little regard for the Western values that hold the sanctity of human life dear. Terrorists specifically target civilian populations. It makes no difference to them whether their victims are babies, women or children. In fighting the war on terrorism, the West goes to considerable lengths, often risking the lives of our troops, to avoid civilian casualties. The West has the means, but not the will, to utterly destroy terrorists and countries that give them sanction. I hate to think of what the terrorists might do to give us the
will.

The Temperamental Minimum Wage, May 9, 2007

The first fundamental law of demand postulates that the lower the price of something, the more will be demanded, and the higher the price, the less will be
demanded. To my knowledge, there are no known exceptions to the law of demand.
That was until last fall when 650 economists, including several Nobel Laureates,
signed a letter calling for an increase in the minimum wage...

Creating Effective Incentives, May 22, 2007

What should our response be if terrorists set off a nuclear explosion, or some other weapon of mass destruction, in one of our cities?...

Holding the country responsible would mean that in response to an attack we'd totally destroy their military bases, power plants, communication facilities and, if necessary, totally destroy their major cities. You say, "Williams, that's unthinkable!" Yes, while unpleasant, it is thinkable. That's precisely how 50 years of peace were maintained between the Western powers and the former Soviet Union. . .

Compassion Versus Reality, June 6, 2007

Dr. Thomas Sowell, a distinguished economist and longtime friend and colleague, recently wrote a series of columns under the title "A War of Words." He pointed out that liberals succeed in duping the public because they are so clever with words that they give the appearance of compassion. Liberals talk about the need for "affordable" housing and health care. They tarnish their enemies with terms such as "price-gouging" and "corporate greed." Uninformed and unthinking Americans fall easy prey to this demagoguery...

So, this is a guy the antiwar movement is supposed to rally around? This is the "proof" that Ron Paul is for an "equitable society" and "equal opportunity."

The Idiocy of Old "Race" Politics

For nearly forty years both Democrats and Republicans have played this cynical game: pointing to their favorite handpicked token Negro or Hispanic and saying: "See! I love Clarence Thomas (or Ron Brown, or Henry Cisneros, or Condolezza Rice, or Alberto Gonzalez), therefore, I'm a nice guy!" This is a politics practiced by people who never seriously cared about civil rights issues in the first place. This is a politics practiced by people who think "minority" voters are stupid and "White" voters are more stupid.

For thirty years rightwing Republicans have trotted out the likes of Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams to say reactionary stuff that most mainstream Republican politicians would never dare say, themselves. And then, to add insult to injury, these conservatives get self-righteous about how their token "minorities" were picked "on merit." Thus, in this instance we are actually supposed to believe that Walter Williams is the man Ron Paul thnks is the "most qualified" person to run for vice-president of the United States.

That's crap! In the final analysis it doesn't matter what a person's color or ethnicity is. In the final analysis what matters is their character and what they stand for. If Ron Paul is considering Walter Williams, that's a big point against Ron Paul.

This week, Ron Paul made an appearance before a bunch of Google employees in Northern California.

Googlers Applaud GOP Presidential Candidate Ron Paul
San Jose Mercury News, July 14, 2007

He said he does not support network neutrality... nor does he support tech-friendly immigration reforms... And he doesn't believe in federal student government loans, which a huge majority of the audience, by a show of hands, had used to make it through college... he thinks fears of global warming are "overblown." And then he raised the question of why American business should be subject to more regulation if so much pollution is coming from China.

"I don't agree with him on everything, especially immigration," said Google employee Vijay Boyapati, an Indian immigrant who gained citizenship last year...

Ron Paul comes to address a very tech-savvy audience in Silicon Valley in liberal Northern California and insults half the people in his audience to their faces (Please note how nevertheless the corporate "Murky News" headline about the "Free Market" Ron Paul is friendlier than anything it would print about an antiwar "Lefty" like Dennis Kucinich).

A Liberal Democrat - Green - Libertarian alliance around Ron Paul? I don't thnk so.

CA-37 - 37% of 11% = Safe Seat in Congress

You call this a democracy?

[UPDATE: MORE ON CASINO ISSUES]

Everybody says Laura Richardson is on her way to Congress. In the special election to succeed the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. Richardson received a “whooping” 37.57% of the ballots cast. That is 11,956 out of 31,825 votes out of 265,102 registered voters.

In other words, Laura Richardson is presumed to be going to the Congress based on 4.51% of the registered voters.

On this Fourth of July no doubt the good folks in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, and Iran are really, really impressed by the manifest superiority of democracy in America.

Follow the Votes

(Source: County of Los Angeles Department of Register-Recorder/County Clerk)

                                                        
                                                     
NAME:                  PARTY:      VOTE:     PERCENT:       
                                                     
LAURA RICHARDSON       DEM         11,956    37.57
JENNY OROPEZA          DEM          9,960    31.30
VALERIE MC DONALD      DEM          3,027     9.51
JOHN M KANALEY         REP          2,425     7.62
PETER MATHEWS          DEM          1,125     3.53
TERI RAMIREZ           REP            612     1.92
DANIEL A BREZENOFF     GREEN          391     1.23
JEFFREY LEAVITT        REP            386     1.21
ED WILSON              DEM            362     1.14
L J "LJ" GUILLORY      REP            361     1.13
HERB PETERS            LIB            342     1.07
GEORGE A PARMER JR     DEM            242     0.76
LEE DAVIS              DEM            202     0.63
JEFFREY S PRICE        DEM            142     0.45
BILL F GRISOLIA        DEM            141     0.44
FELICIA FORD           DEM            122     0.38
MERVIN EVANS           DEM             29     0.09
                                                     
REGISTERED VOTERS:                265,102   100.00
RICHARDSON VOTE:                   11,956     4.51

What Does it Mean?

A clueless AP reporter actually gushed that "an energized black electorate proved the difference." Ha! If that is "energized" then next year the Republican won't have to campaign.

Follow the Money

Laura Richardson raised $105,000 for her campaign.

In addition, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor poured $275,000 into the Richardson campaign. They put 1,140 union members on the street and on the phone contacting 37,000 union voters, making 45,000 phone calls.

                                                                                                                                     
MONEY RAISED:          $105,000
MONEY FROM LABOR:      $275,000
TOTAL MONEY:           $380,000

RICHARDSON VOTE:         11,956

DOLLARS PER VOTE:           $31.78

Follow the Tribes

That’s not all. A huge proportion of the Richardson vote was a direct, unapologetic appeal for “racial” solidarity from the African-American community. Black residents make up 22.7 percent of the district's population, down from 33.6 percent a decade ago, while Latinos make up 47.6 percent. Among registered voters, however, African-Americans still have the edge.

Throughout the campaign Richardson repeatedly said creepy stuff like "no one can take our seat from us... " and persisted in this "party line" about "our community" and "our seat" even after being criticized. Los Angeles’ major African-American weeklies, The Los Angeles Sentinel and the Los Angeles WAVE quit pretending to be newspapers and became the Pravda and Izvestia for the Richardson campaign. At her victory party, gleefully reported by Pravda, there were high-fives all around over sending a "bad sister" to Washington.

Incidently, California casino gambling interests (which the MSM always refers to as "Indian Tribes" instead of as the profit-seeking capitalist businessmen that they are), spent $450,000 for Latina Jenny Oropoeza on account of Oropeza's vote on a controversial question about expanding casino slots. And so, Marc Cooper of the LA Weekly and The Nation, warns about "what might become a full-blown political war between labor and the tribes."

The Incredible Flip-Flopping Fabian Nuñez

Why did the unions come out so strongly for Richardson even though Oropeza had a strong labor record? Presumably, it was their anger over this casino business.

Check this out!

Do a search on Google News and this is exactly the way two items appear:

Richardson wins primary for congressional seat

Los Angeles Times, CA - Jun 27, 2007
By John L. Mitchell, Times Staff Writer Assemblywoman Laura Richardson finished ahead of her closest Democratic rival, state Sen. Jenny Oropeza, and a field ...

Impasse over tribal gaming accords ends

Los Angeles Times, CA - Jun 28, 2007
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) agreed to move ahead with the compacts, which the state Senate already had approved. But union issues were not ...

It was like: "The election is over now and Laura is in... Screw the unions!"

Here's what flip-flopping Fabian told the Los Angeles Times about his endorsement of Richardson:

Nuñez, a former labor organizer, said he had heard some of the complaints about his decision.

"There were some voices out there who think that because you are Latino, you should only be supporting Latinos, but we were able to lower the decibels a bit," he said. "The good thing about the job I have is that it carries a little bit of weight with it."

More important, Nuñez said, was the principle of supporting a strong African American candidate.

"I wanted to send a message loud and clear to the African American community of Los Angeles that we have got to work together to advance the Democratic agenda," he said. "The cause of African Americans is not a flag that African Americans have to carry on their own."

What a world-class Clintonesque double-talking hustler!

August Run-Off

Since Richardson received way below 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff election between the top vote-getters for each party in August. So, Green Party candidate Daniel Abraham Brezenoff gamely carries on as the last progressive left standing and the only candidate actually talking about issues like the war, healthcare, and the environment.

Big league politics in America is a big bucks dirty business. Nevertheless, this nonsense bodes ill for the future of the Democratic Party at least in a hugely diverse state like California. As a matter of practical politics Democrats will never be able to raised enough cash to "buy" more votes than rich Republicans in competitive districts. And Republicans are s-o-o-o-o much better at playing the divide-and-conquer game. I can see 'em now -- cackling over a "war" between the Black, Brown, and Red "Tribes."

So, as a member of the Black "tribe" I'm supposed to be "proud" of this?

I feel a little ashamed and frightened for my country when at this critical moment in the history of the world anybody can schlep into the United States House of Representatives in this way.

Our Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish friends in Iraq must be really impressed. Pray each night Laura Richardson is not another Harold Ford. Work like hell each day for Daniel.

Unusual thought near a patriotic holiday.

There are times when some turn of phrase, some connection of two words that had not earlier become part of any conscious thought, we expand for a flash and I will think that they are some kind of truth. Later, when I might sit down at the keyboard as I am now, I can't quite remember what that was or why it was then so important.

Those that do remember and that do continue the process are called poets and I do read them with appreciation. So it was that I opened Modern American and British Poetry, Louis Untermeyer, ed. © 1955 this morning and only by chance picked page 478. William Butler Yeats. (1865-1939)

The Leaders of the Crowd

They must to keep their certainty accuse
All that are different of a base intent;
Pull down established honor; hawk for news
Whatever their loose phantasy invent
And murmur it with bated breath, as though
The abounding gutter had been a Helicon
Or calumny a song. How can they know
Truth flourished where the student''s lamp has shone,
And there alone, that have no solitude?
So the crowd come they care not what my come.
They have loud music, hope every day renewed
And heartier loves; that lamp is from the tomb.

It seems as if things are as they always were. That what we have done matters less than the height of Hilton's skirt or whether Tatiana has red knickers.

The number of people who died on the 4th of July is not statistically unusual, but it give some pause to think that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams succumbed on that day in 1826 and James Monroe on July 4th, 1831. I have always paid a lot of attention to the Jeffersonian ideal of an informed electorate.

"Though [the people] may acquiesce, they cannot approve what they do not understand."
-Thomas Jefferson: Opinion on Apportionment Bill, 1792. ME 3:211

Again, from reading Yeats...

To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing

Now all the truth is out,
Be secret and take defeat
From any brazen throat;
For how can you compete,
Being honor bred, with one
Who, were it proved he lies,
Were neither shamed in his own
Nor in his neighbor's eyes?
Bred to a harder thing
Than Triumph, turn away
And like a laughing string
Whereon mad fingers play
Amid a place of stone,
Be secret and exult,
Because of all things known
That is the most difficult.