The Backbone Campaign, Progressive Government, and a coalition of grassroots organizations have initiated a process to empower citizens to nominate, comment on, and rate progressive leaders to serve as a virtual Progressive Parallel Administration. We want to demonstrate that the progressive movement is not merely an oppositional, but also propositional movement, and that we are not content running campaigns, but preparing to run the country.
Phase II of this project is Conversations with the Cabinet a weekly webcast conference call and podcast, designed to create links between grassroots activists and our most effective policy and movement leaders. Join the email list to be notified of opportunities to participate in these calls.
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Accountability for BP: Lessons From London
Featuring James Marriott
The BP Gulf oil spill continues to spread, destroying entire ecosystems and economies. However, since corporations, including oil companies, have the primary voice in the passage of laws in our country it's not clear that our government will do anything useful in this tragic moment. Oil companies' record breaking profits began in the early years of the Bush gang, and have continued apace, so they are more powerful than ever.
Without new citizen actions, elected officials will not hold BP - and other oil companies -- fully accountable for the devastation and destruction they have caused. Without effective pressure from citizens, the Obama Administration and Congress members won't pass laws with teeth, laws that move our country rapidly away from burning fossil fuels.
Who are BP's leaders, what are its government ties in the U.S. and in its home base, London? How are BP's fortunes linked to governments, to other oil companies, but also to ordinary people's communities, pension funds and personal finances? We cannot count on mainstream media to learn most of this important information.
For our 78th Conversation, we spoke
with James Marriott, a co-director of London-based PLATFORM. James was our
guest four years ago in a Conversation about art and
activism. But PLATFORM also became a prominent oil watch
group when it launched Unravelling the Carbon Web in
2000.
James Marriott is an expert on BP. In this Conversation, we asked James to share his perspective and knowledge on BP in this critical time.
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Transforming Catastrophe into Opportunity: A Conversation on Gulf Eco-Crime, Big Oil, & Carbon Tax as a Tool to Transition Off Fossil Fuels
Featuring Antonia Juhasz, James Handley, and Kathy Callan
As we recoil in horror that not 1,000 - not 5,000 - BUT 25,000 barrels of oil per day are gushing into ocean waters poisoning the Gulf of Mexico, let us prepare for action. Backbone Campaign organized Monday's (5-10) Conversation with the Cabinet conference call/interview/webcast to help you channel your rage into action with the strongest possible demands.
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Now That the Theater Has Ended, Real Talk about Real Health Care Reform
Featuring Dr. Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Esq.
The noisy and media-studded passage of the Democrats' health bill has the entire country in debate. Increasingly, people are wondering if this law will pave the way for permanent control of Americans' health by private, for-profit insurance companies, big pharmaceutical industries, and their moneyed allies.
For this Conversation, we were honored to speak with two of the country's prominent single payer leaders, Dr. Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. Margaret Flowers is a Maryland pediatrician and Congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program. Kevin Zeese is executive director of Prosperity Agenda.
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Corporate Personhood & Amending the Constitution
Featuring David Cobb
On February 22, David Cobb, a long time Backbone Campaign collaborator and progressive movement champion, joined us to discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling on "Corporate Personhood" and the opportunities it provides for movement building.
David is part of an exciting new effort underway that is uniting organized labor, environmentalists, peace and social justice activists, and yes, Greens, progressive Democrats, Independents and principled conservatives.
The coalition is called The Campaign to Legalize Democracy and the initial campaign is a call to amend the U.S. Constitution to strip corporations of their illegitimate claims to any constitutional rights. movetoamend.org We are very proud that Backbone Campaign is participating as a Key Partner on this effort.
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