Ken’s Notes, December 2024

In a blatant rip-off of Cliff’s Notes, I thought I’d share some bullet points on some of the most compelling things I’ve been reading or hearing over the last month. I know that you, like me, are processing so much right now. I have been seeking out conversations about how we can escape this festering hole in our country’s story before it is too late. I’ve been ignoring the news as much as possible.

I’d love to hear what you are reading, hearing and sharing. Sure, I could share on social media. But I’m tired of the algorithms separating us from one another. I’m turning to this “old fashioned” way of sharing ideas.

Plotting Our Way Back. Stacy Abrams speaks with historian Heather Cox Richardson.

• None of this will be easy, but this podcast gave me hope.
• Heather Cox Richardson compares the corporate authoritarianism of today with that of the 1880s and how that resulted in the broad consensus around the Progressive Era.
• They discuss strategies for countering disinformation, preparing to use states’ rights to their advantage to challenge Trump’s federal overreach.

Speaking to Real American Needs. Rahm Emanuel, who oversaw the Dems’ return to power in 2006, speaks to Ezra Klein about what Dems need to be doing now to turn the tide.

• Not a fan of podcasts? See the edited transcript here.
• In 2024, Dems failed to carry on their long tradition of being reformers.
• They need to find their way back to being reformers, rather than defending a broken system. (I made this same point in my post-election list, here.)
• Dems took back the House only two years after GW Bush was re-elected in 2004.
• Emanuel is on the short list to lead the DNC again.
• Emanuel says we will have many targets of bad policy in 2025, but we need to prioritize what we go after.
• The similarity between Bush and #47’s ability to convince voters to reject more qualified opponents is striking.

Can We Finally Stop With This Myth Already? A video graphic on what trickle down economics has given us.

• Trickle down economics set the stage for the ills that we have today.
• This is why we need a fair tax structure:
• Tax the rich what they owe. Fund the IRS to go after tax cheats. Help people get out of poverty.

Was Bernie Right All Along? Bernie Sanders says that the Democratic party broke its vow to working people.

• See the edited transcript here.
• Sanders says that Trump was able to convince people that he would be their protector, despite evidence that he will not be.
• Sanders says we need to step away from the big money interests and re-center the needs of working families.
• Sanders spells out how he thinks the party can prepare for 2026 and 2028.

From the World of Fighting Climate Change

The Energy/Water Nexus. Well known anglers group shows how dangerous fossil fuel power generation is to our water future.

• This is a shocking report.
• AT LEAST 889,000 homes-worth of water every year goes to cooling dirty fossil fuel power plants.
• There is certainly more wasted, because this report could only access public data for 17 of 57 power plants in Arizona.
• The utilities are planning to install at least 8 more dirty methane power plants over the next 5 years.
• Trout Unlimited is a trusted alliance of folks who love fishing. This is not a leftie environmental group.
• If you are concerned about water in Arizona, we must urgently push Arizona Public Service – APS, Tucson Electric Power and Salt River Project to move toward solar, wind, battery back-up and to support more energy efficiency in homes.

Locking in Biden Clean Energy Reforms. Biden locks in $6.6B for TSMC chip factories, ensuring Trump can’t rescind CHIPS Act deal

• There is a huge rush right now to lock in huge chucks of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) before #47 rescinds it in favor polluting fossil fuel donors.
• The IRA has resulted in millions of clean energy jobs across the country, and tens of thousands in Arizona.
• The IRA is bringing manufacturing back to the US –something that #47 promised during his first term and never delivered on.

Taking Advantage of Navajo, Again. Tucson Electric Power is abusing desperately poor communities for profit.

• 50 years ago, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) gave Navajo communities a raw deal, paying a one-time payment of $34,948 for 5 decades of leasing rights for a long power line across Navajo land.
• A huge percentage of Navajo residents don’t have power in their homes, but they can see these lines in the distance. 
• Now they are trying to renew this lease by getting approval resolutions from Navajo chapter houses without disclosing what a raw deal they got in the past.
• TEP needs to give the Navajo Nation a share of the ownership of this line.
• Lease payments, even if they are more fair than this, don’t contribute to intergenerational wealth, and only serve to keep Navajo communities under the thumb of utilities.