I don’t like to brag too much about my wife Lenore. So I was really glad when my friend Noland sent me this note:
HOW COULD ANYONE HAVE GOTTEN ALL OF THESE SPONSORS IN JUST TWO DAYS?
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I am so proud of Lenore and the thousands of other people, but mostly Lenore, for organizing pro-Wisconson rallies in all 50 state capitals in like three days. I’m at the NY rally right now, loving every moment.
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Progressive Alliance PAC Launch from 6-9 p.m. at Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 1 W Grand.
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Suddenly, I am an expert on suburbs.
The scariest thing about this piece was my interview with Arthur C. Nelson, who is actually an expert on the cost of suburban sprawl at the University of Utah. He described to me the cost of maintenance on suburban infrastructure as a “2 TRILLION dollar infrastructure time bomb” that will haunt taxpayers for generations to come, and is likely to bankrupt many suburban towns.
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Let’s get personal for a sec…
Values Values Values is supposedly all the rage. But um… what are our values again?
It’s hard to remember.
I’m a big fan of mnemonic (memorization) devices.
Below is an example of a very awesome very personal ritual I have developed to remind myself to live my values every day. It may seem like a crazy long list. But the trick is that I have actually memorized the whole thing and I have incorporated it into my morning exercise routine.
I totally recommend doing your own version of this. It’s f-cking awesome. Hoping to start a discussion on:
Trying to be provocative…
Billy
Exercise Your Values (Literally): 10 Commandments, 9, 8, 7, 6…
Stephen Colbert once interviewed a Republican Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) who had introduced a Bill to have the 10 Commandments installed in public buildings.
Colbert nailed him on camera: “What are the 10 Commandments?”
Rep. Westmorland: “What are all of them?”
Colbert: “Yup.”
Rep. Westmoreland: “You want me to name them all?”
Colbert: “Yeah, please.”
Rep. Westmorland: “Hmmmmm…(pause)… Don’t murder…. Don’t lie… Don’t steal… I can’t name them all.”
Don’t let this happen to you.
I have a foolproof system.
Just in case I die tomorrow (cuz y’all know I am riding the Chinatown bus to DC), I wanted to make sure I share it first. This is one of the best kept secrets ever. Anyone out there can adapt it to your own values and morning rituals.
You know when you read a book like the 4 Agreements, or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and you think:
“Damn… I should memorize these. If I could live by them every day, it would make my life better.”
But then you never do?
Like: “Damn, what are those Four Agreements, again?”
About a year ago, I came up with a way to memorize them all and use them every day. The best memory device ever. I do crunches in the morning and recite each value system with each crunch: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6… like this. I know it sounds crazy. But it takes 10 minutes, flattens my abs, and I swear to God it works. I know you’re probably laughing. But hold your fire for a sec. One day, I’ll do an exercise video. Upski vs. Richard Simmons. Then you can laugh.
What are other dope value systems? I’ll keep adding them as I go…
EXERCISE YOUR VALUES
10 Commandments
There’s only one God (AKA God is Love)
Do Not Worship False Idols (AKA Materialism)
Do Not take the Lord’s Name in Vain
Keep the Sabbath Holy
Honor Your Elders
Do Not Kill
Do Not Commit Adultery
Do Not Steal
Do Not Lie
Do Not Covet
9 Fruits of the Spirit (New Testament Galatians 5:22-23)
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Goodness
Faithfulness
Kindness
Gentleness
Self-control
9 Practices of Rockwood Leadership Institute
I’m Enough
I’m Authentic
I Know
I Choose
I am Powerful
I am impeccable
I Listen Deeply
I Breathe
I Stress no more
8 Habits of Highly Effective People
Be Proactive
Begin With the Ends in Mind
Put First Things First
Think Win/Win
Seek First to Understand Before Being Understood
Synergize
Sharpen the Saw
Find Your Voice and Inspire Others to Find Theirs
7 Values of the League of Pissed Off Voters
Family
Freedom (with Responsibility)
Community
Opportunity
Sustainable Jobs
Transformation
Peace
7 Principles of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba)
Umoja (Unity)
Kujichagulia (Self Determination)
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Nia (Purpose)
Kuumba (Creativity)
Imani (Faith)
6 Lessons from Good to Great and Built to Last
Level 5 Leadership: “Personal humility. Fanatical about results.”
Right people on the bus. Wrong people off the bus.
Core values made real and infused
BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
Confront the brutal facts. Yet maintain unwavering faith
Culture of Discipline.
5 Pillars of Islam (Sunni)
Shahadah (Profession of faith)
Salat (Prayers)
Sawm (Fasting)
Zakat (Giving)
Hajj (Pilgrimage)
5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Absence of Trust
Avoidance of Conflict
Lack of Commitment
Lack of Accountability
Inattention to Results
4 Agreements
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t make assumptions
Don’t take things personally
Always do your best
3 Circles of the Hedgehog
What are you most deeply passionate about?
What are you best in the world at?
What drives your economic engine?
3 Rules from Rha Goddess
Stay True
Get Paid
Do Good
3 Billy’s Rules
Be good
Get power
Don’t do anything stupid to mess up your life
2 Principles of Tao
Yin: Darkness, Earth, Femaleness
Yang: Lightness, Sun, Maleness
Everything reflects and contains its opposite.
1 Golden Rule
Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you
AKA Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself
AKA God is Love.. for generations to come.
I’m ALL IN.
GOOOOOOO TEAM.
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It’s really disturbing to read that another graffiti writer named “Upski” was brutally stabbed to death.
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This is the kind of person I want representing me in Congress. Unfortunately, he just lost to a Republican hack.
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Fun with math: Repubs won the House by less than 250,000 votes out of 75 million cast (or is it 90 million? -I’m seeing conflicting reports).
This is back of the envelope math with 5 races still undecided. The real number is closer to 220,000 with no more than a 30k margin of error. My round number back of envelope math (below) came up with 213,000.
But it’s safe to say Repubs won this “Tsunami” by less than 250,000 votes across 26-29 districts.
That’s less than .3% of the 2010 electorate.
And it’s significant for a few reasons:
1. Progressive voter turnout matters. A lot. It needs to be invested in by party and independent groups alike. Several of these races were decided by 5000 votes or less. For all the concern about losing independents, Dems could have held the House by turning out 250k more base voters in key districts.
2. There is no Republican mandate.
3. Michael Moore and others have been using the talking point that Democrats lost by 5 million votes overall, which is true in terms of the entire electorate (and his talking points are good overall). But the House specifically was won by less than 250,000. If someone from Moore’s shop is on this list, please pass this along…
Has anyone else crunched these numbers more precisely?
I’d like a partner to work on this with and make sure we’re using the most updated and precise figures from County BOEs.
Anyone have suggestions on best place to look (other than 538, Wikipedia, CNN, Yahoo election center? –these don’t seem to be reliable updated with precise numbers)
Billy
ps. Here’s my back of the envelope on the 26 closest repub House wins, excluding the 5 undecided races (rounded to 1000s) –from Wikipedia and Yahoo election center which might not be perfect sources. Also, by highlight of the closest races dissappeared in this version. So the 213,000 only represents the 26 closest ones.
|
5000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 213,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Billy Wimsatt 