My blog post from www.libertyhill.typepad.com on May 11, 2009

Like many of you, I go to several fundraisers per month.  I receive dozens of direct mail pieces.  All have a common message in the last six months. "Times are difficult but we'd appreciate it if you can find a tiny morsel more for our important cause."  Ok, so maybe not that timid, but you get the point.  Everyone feels obligated to somehow acknowledge the economic situation before asking for money for critically important work.

I'm a progressive working for economic and racial justice.  I'm a gay man fighting for marriage equality. The need for social change after 8 years of the Bush Administration has never been more dire. And the political opportunity with progressives in power from City Hall to Sacramento to the White House has never been greater. 

This is not the time for us to cut back our giving out of fear of what may happen or because our investments are down.  If we are employed or still have accumulated assets (admittedly somewhat less of them), this is the time to give and give more generously than ever. 

 If not now, when? 

As Angelenos who count immigrants both documented and undocumented amongst our friends and neighbors and The White House is calling for true immigration reform, if not now, when?

When more people than ever need access to affordable housing due to high unemployment, if not now, when?

When the basic civil right of marriage for gay and lesbian Californians can be won, if not now, when?

I will not give less in these hard times and I will ask you to join me in stretching further than ever.  The time is now.  Not two years from now when our investments bounce back.  Not six months from now when our property values rebound a little. 

"Change will NOT come if we wait for SOME OTHER PERSON OR SOME OTHER TIME" --Barack Obama

Not some other person or some other time.  It's you.  It's me.  Today is our day.  We need to dig deep and give our time and our money.  We will never see a bigger return on our investments in social change than investing big. Today.

The culpable Media will not print the truth that our economic reality is much, much worse than reported. This has been well known by economist for many years and Greed is the one and only 1 thing responsible, the Crime of the Century continues. The reality is that this crisis is rooted in every industry. Industry after industry is rigged to limit services and products from the middle class, and then dump piles of cash at the accounts for the top 1 percent, it is unbelievable. When you sit down and really figure it out, it just grabs & shakes you. Then you begin to look deeper at each situation for each industry, and then for another industry, and, on and on, Industry after industry. Once you start getting a better understanding, on each industry, you will soon realize the root problems inherent to a particular industry and to what group the problem is geared to reward. Then you understand how and why a group attacks a certain industry. Finally, reality becomes so overwhelming after further investigation on all the groups and individuals at the top, and you figure out every single media person, Left, Right, in the Middle, are all a part of the problem, or, in on it.
The Disgust attacks your whole being while you come to the realization just how bad things are and you finally realize it is pure greed, possibly unstoppable, and unfettered greed. This is GREED AND they are the GREEDY PIGS who cornered the money markets.   Read More »